At stores, you’ll spend $100 or more for a little mosaic café table. Why not make one yourself and have the added benefit of self satisfaction for a job well done? All it takes is patience, information and supplies.
Make it personal
We all hate breaking favorite dishes, but now you can use them again on your café table! Save the pieces in an old coffee can – and don’t forget to also save old costume jewelry, game pieces and other keepsakes. If you don’t have enough for a tabletop, you can also buy tiles from a store or shop in secondhand stores for potential shards and decorative elements.
Collect your supplies, materials and equipment
If you don’t have a table to decorate, they’re easy to find in stores. Look for wrought iron with a glass top for a classic look, or anything else with a small surface for your first project. Your shopping list should also include:
- Mastic, the adhesive that will keep it all together
- Unsanded grout
- An acrylic additive for making your grout durable enough for outdoor use
- Grout pigments to add additional drama to the tabletop
- A dust mask
- Sandpaper and a metal file
- Old cloth towels or rags
Start designing
Lightly sand the wood surface or texturize the glass by applying a very thin layer of mastic. Select your pieces and dab a small amount of mastic in the center of each shard as you work from the center of the tabletop out, creating the pattern you want. Be sure to press each piece firmly down, but don’t allow the mastic to ooze from underneath any piece. Once you’re happy with the pattern, let it dry for eight hours. Next, working in small sections, spread the grout (with added acrylic and pigment), pressing it thoroughly into the cracks between the shards. Fill every hole! Finally, scrape off any large amounts of grout and wipe the table with a rag or towel. Allow the grout to dry for 3 – 5 hours. Carefully feel for any rough edges and smooth them with a metal file. Polish your new café table with a clean towel, then stand back and admire your work!
Get the mosaic bug
Add a mosaic personal touch to picture frames, flower pots, candle holders and more! Mosaics make wonderful gifts and are a nice way to recycle treasured keepsakes. |
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