How to Make a Mosaic Tile Collage
A mosaic tile collage lets you express your creativity while making something useful, durable and attractive. Mosaic collages are very popular and enhance a wide variety of surfaces, including the lamp posts of Greenwich Village, New York. Make your collage on a table top, paving stones or a birdbath and place it in your garden. Frame your mosaic and hang it on the wall. Look around and you'll find many spots in your home and garden to spruce up with your personal creations.
Things You'll Need
- Notched plastic spreader
- Latex-modified, thin-set mortar
- Mosaic tiles
- Putty knife
- Rubber kitchen spatula
- Latex-modified grout
- Sponge
- Plastic dish scrubber
Instructions
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Spread thin-set mortar on the surface you will tile. Create grooves in the mortar by combing it with the notches in your notched plastic spreader.
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2
Arrange your mosaic tiles on the mortar, pressing them into the mortar with a putty knife. Arrange the tiles to create images or distribute the colors evenly. Keep the distances between the tiles as consistent as possible, so that the grouting looks even. Let the mortar dry overnight.
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3
Spread latex-fortified grout over the tiles with a rubber spatula, pressing the grout into the spaces between the tiles. Scrape excess grout from the tile surface with the spatula. Let the grout dry for 15 minutes.
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4
Wipe the tiles with a damp sponge, wait 10 minutes and wipe them again. When the grout has dried completely, remove the last remnants of the grout from the tiles with a plastic dish scrubber.
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Tips & Warnings
To make your own mosaic tile, place several tiles in a thick towel or burlap bag, place the bag on the ground and hit it with a rubber mallet until the tiles break into pieces no larger than 1 1/2 inches.
If you can't find a plastic spreader with notches, cut notches into a spreader with a hacksaw.
References
- Photo Credit mosaic image by Stanisa Martinovic from Fotolia.com
