How to Make a Broken Tile Mosaic

We all break the occasional dish, vase or flower pot, and sometimes the pieces are just too colorful or beautiful to throw away. Gathering these pieces together, you can easily transform them into something unique and gorgeous for your home in the form of a tile mosaic.

Things You'll Need

• Tesserae
• Adhesive, or Sealant
• Popsicle stick or paint brush
• Towel
• Hammer
• Grout

Instructions

1. Assemble your broken tiles. Don't discard odd angles, shapes or types such as broken handles. These can be unique and wonderful in a mosaic. Use a hammer to modify the piece size, if necessary, by placing them in a towel and hammering in intervals. Check periodically to be sure you don't crush the tile past the desired size.

2. Lay out your design in advance on a table top or flat surface, with enough room to mirror the mosaic next to your layout; you should be able to lay your tesserae backdrop next to your tile template. Trim the tesserae to the proper size of your future mosaic before beginning.

3. Work from top left to right, or in another logical order. Pick up your top piece from the pattern and invert. Using a paintbrush or Popsicle stick, apply adhesive to the back of your tile. Flip it so that the colored side faces you again, and place it against the tessarae backdrop so that it adheres to the top left corner (where it will appear on your pattern).

4. Continue placing tiles from your design onto the tessarae, using adhesive, until you have transferred the entire design.

5. Fill empty space between tiles and even out your mosaic using grout. Use pre-mixed grout, or mix grout powder with water, and carefully fill in the spaces between tiles to make a solid piece. Choose a grout color, usually white or gray, that will complement the mosaic.

References

• Tesserae for Mosaics
• Adhesive for Mosaics
• How to Grout Mosaics

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish