Collage & Mixed Media

Mosaic Newbie

24 May

My friend has been encouraging me to dabble with mosaics for several months. Monday I joined her in a simple mosaic stone project. We gathered our supplies:

Garden stone; She thinks she got these at Lowes for $0.35. I hope she is right. I have not verified this!
Broken glass in different colors; She had this left over from another project.

Mosaic adhesive; We bought this at hobby lobby for $6.99

I drew out my circle triangle design with a marker on the stone. Next, I spread a thin layer of the adhesive onto the stone in 3 square inch segments, and placed my stones in the colors I liked. The design was intentionally very simple, since this was my first mosaic project. I just wanted to get a feel for the process. We let the glue dry overnight, then applied the grout, following the directions on the bottle. I basically smeared the grout over the piece like I was icing a cake. Then I waited 30 minutes and smoothed away the excess using a damp cloth. Here is my final result…

This was actually way simpler than I thought it would be. For some reason I have always been intimidated by mosaic projects. This little project has inspired me to dive into something more complex.

Here are some cool freebie tutorials I have bookmarked under “To Do”…

*Great beginner tips at MosaicArtSupply.Com, here;

Photo courtesy of MosaicArtSupply

*There are tons of free mosaic projects and tips at Making Mosaics, here.

Next time, I will make sure my pieces of glass/tile are the same thickness. This would have made grouting much easier. I will also place my pieces closer together, and use smaller pieces for more detail and thinner grout lines. I have a stool I scored at a yard sale that is begging for a mosaic top. Keep your eyes peeled for bargain mosaic substrates while garage sale season is at its peak!