This week in my tutorial I want to show you how to create and make a Mosaic in Eight Simple Steps. With Valentines Day round the corner this is a simple and beautiful gift to make for a loved one or to make with each other for your home.
You will need:
- 1 MDF heart shape. I cut mine with a hand held jigsaw - please remember how vital it is to wear a mask when cutting MDF.
- Tile adhesive - pre mixed from any hardware store.
- A Spatula (or in my case an old butter knife).
- Tile Nippers (or a hammer to break your china - I prefer to use nippers because I can shape each piece more precisely.)
- Old China plates and cups - gather and collect as much old china as you can from charity shops, car boots etc - become a magpie and give yourself as much choice as possible to create your mosaic.
- A toothpick.
- Black Grout
- Black Paint (optional)
1. Using your knife or spatula spread the tile adhesive across your MDF heart. It needs to be about 3-5mm thick.
2. Gather your china and choose a piece that will look good in the centre. I’ve gone for a bird in this example but flowers look equally as beautiful.
3. Cut it to the size you would like and rest it on the surface. Don’t push it into the tile adhesive just yet (although it is tempting!).
4. Using your tile nippers start to cut some other china and place these pieces around your central piece and the outside edge. NOTE - don’t let any of the china stick out over the edge of the MDF as it is vulnerable to being chipped off over time.
5. As you work you need to pay attention to the gaps between the tiles/china. Ideally you want them to be roughly the same in other word no big spaces between the china because when you come to grout your work every space will be filled with grout and if they are too big then the china gets lost a little. This is the art of mosaic. Paying attention not just to your tiles but to the spaces in-between.
6. Once your heart is completely covered and you are happy with it (and there are no bits sticking over the edge) then the next thing to do is very gently press each tile into the adhesive….not too hard! You will notice that the adhesive ‘squidges’ up between the gaps.
7. You need to get your toothpick and carefully remove all the excess adhesive. It is fiddly but well worth it because we are going to grout this with black grout and we don’t want white tile adhesive to be peeping through.
8. You need to leave your masterpiece to completely dry. This takes at least 24 hours. Do not be tempted to rush it as the tiles may well lift off before it’s set. Once it is set you can grout your heart.
See my Grouting Tutorial here.
Once grouted I like to tidy the edges with a little black paint to finish it off beautifully. Now wrap it up in some delicious gift wrap and give it to the one you love…….or keep it for yourself as a reminder of just how amazing you are