What happens when you’re ultra crafty and you come across a sturdy blank table? Um, easy. You switch into DIY mosaic table top mode! That’s what happened to me. I passed by a plain bistro table while shopping and I swear, it just kinda glanced at me with big, sad eyes as if to say – “Bring out my inner charm, Crafty Chica!”
Next thing? The store attendant is loading this baby in the back of my SUV. But really, you can use any strong table, you want it to be solid, that way it can withstand the wetness from the glue and grout. Don’t use anything that will warp.
Visit your local secondhand store or even look at whatever pieces you have in your house.
The size of your table will determine how much supplies you’ll need. I made a bunch of clay pieces and I thought I made plenty, but because with mosaics, you have to glue the items very close together, I ran out pretty fast. Make sure to buy extra supplies!
SUPPLIES FOR A MOSAIC TABLE TOP
If you don’t have access to make your own fired clay pieces, you can find some at the craft store or even here
Grout (about 3 pounds will do)
If you want, you can also buy tile cutters and nippers
Plastic bowl and a large sponge
Directions!
Cover your work area with a drop cloth. If you are cutting glass pieces, you’ll need goggles.
Gather all your pieces big and small and sketch out your design. A way to “cheat” is to use some big tiles to take up space! That’s what I ended up doing! Once you know what you want to do, start gluing!
Keep going! Put on your favorite playlist or audiobook and let yourself enjoy the process. It’s very peaceful, a little time consuming, but peaceful!
Fill in the pieces nice and tight. The grout will really make everything look far apart so for maximum eye candy, glue those pieces close!
Once all your pieces are affixed, let everything dry overnight. Then mix up your grout. I mixed mine to the consistency of creamy peanut butter. Wear some plastic gloves and slather it on. work it into all the little grooves the best you can!
It’s so wild to see all that hard work disappear, but trust me, it will look fabulous!
After everything is covered, take a damp sponge or towel and wipe off the excess grout from the top of the table. Clean off the sponge/towel in a bowl of water and wring excess water and clean the table off again.
Let it set a few minutes so you can see a haze appear on the top of the table. Use a dry cloth to wipe this all away.
I did all of the above and still had some extra grout show up. No prob. Just use that cloth and wipe it away.
You can use a sealer if you want, but I didn’t. And here you have it! Didn’t it come out nice? I even painted the chairs. I used spray paint and then green fabric paint on the seats, followed by glittered varnish.
Here are a couple more pictures!
Stand back and admire your hard work!
Beautiful! Where did u get the little cactus tiles? The middle Tiles are full Tiles?
I was wondering the same thing about the saguaro cactus tiles. They are really cool. But where to find them???
Holy cow this is beautiful. and the chairs! im inspired.
The article said she implies that she “made the cactus tiles” but no information about how. Would love to know Quote: more!
“I made a bunch of clay pieces and I thought I made plenty…”
“I made a bunch of clay pieces and I thought I made plenty,”
Full quote (above): ” The size of your table will determine how much supplies you’ll need. I made a bunch of clay pieces and I thought I made plenty, but because with mosaics, you have to glue the items very close together, I ran out pretty fast. Make sure to buy extra supplies!”
How did she make the clay pieces? Baked in an oven? Kiln? What kind of material did she use? Such an important part of the design and we want to know more!
SUPPLIES FOR A MOSAIC TABLE TOP
Broken Talavera tiles
Assorted mosaic pieces
More mosaic pieces!
If you don’t have access to make your own fired clay pieces, you can find some at the craft store or even here : (Amazon)
Jennifer’s Mosaics 5-Pound Deco Ceramic Mosaic Tile, Assorted Colors
Brand: Jennifer’s Mosaics
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044SCV3I/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=craftychica-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0044SCV3I&linkId=b1a3d0069db5aede7914b83047726080
Great idea! i’ll show how to do this in a future tutorial!