Mosaic tiles

[raiderbaby0307]

does anyone know how to make a mosaic tile mirror inexpensively?

[Getcrafty.com!]

[ChristineRenee]

I have an easy trick for makng a mosaic mirror. It's sort of cheating, but it's much, much cheaper than doing it the real way.

1. Glue the mirror onto a piece of wood (mirror mastic works the best, or use some other strong glue) leaving as much room around the edges as you like.

2. Paint the wood around the mirror in whatever pattern or solid color you want your "mosaic" to be. It doesn't really matter what kind of paint use.

3. Take a sheet of glass (leftover from a broken frame or found on the street...) and break it into pieces. The glass must be perfectly flat on the side that is going to be glued to the wood. If you like the look of irregular pieces then you can use a hammer or tile nippers. If you want perfect squares then you can cut the glass into pieces with a glass cutter.

4. Glue the glass onto the painted area. If you have a pattern, the trick is to have each piece of glass covering only one color. Use a glue that dries clear and make sure that each piece of glass is glued solidly and completely to the wood. (If any grout gets behind the glass it will ruin the effect.) White school glue works great, so don't waste your money on fancy glue like PVA.

At this point you might think this is silly and will never look like a real mosaic, but you'll see the magic transformation with the next step.

5. Grout around the tiles. If you've never used grout before, it's easy. Don't waste your money on the pre-mixed stuff. A small box from the hardware store will go a long way, and it's handy to have around for future projects. Follow the directions on the box--how much water to use, how long to wait for it to try before wiping the extra grout off etc.

And that's it.

[raiderbaby0307]

thanks that sounds really great!

[smudgy_cat]

you can also get materials pretty cheaply from stained glass artists or potters. usually both types of people have lots of broken stuff that gets tossed out at some point.

if you have a stained glass store nearby, you can contact them and see if they sell scrap glass. usually stores sell scrap glass for a set price per pound. it could be worthwhile to you.