Garden Decor Project: Make a Mosaic Pot

Mosaic Pot by Mickie_G

A few summers ago, I made the mosaic pot you see to the left at a workshop sponsored by Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama.

Ever since I was a child, I have loved creating crafts that involved tile. I remember my mother taking me to the hobby shop every year just before our annual summer visit to my grandmother. My mom knew that if she let me pick out a craft kit, I would not get bored. More often than not, I chose a mosaic kit.

I still remember the 6" circular dish I made with prayerful hands in the middle. The kit came with enough 1/4 inch square tiles for me to play with the design if I did not want to make one just like the example on the box lid. I usually I ended up choosing a checkerboard pattern.  These mosaic craft kits filled my days with much happiness and gave my parents a vacation from entertaining me, I imagine. But enough reminiscing!

I won't go into how I made the mosaic pot shown in the images on this page, but I will share with you some things I did learn about tile covered pots:

• Do not leave your mosaic pot outside during the winter months as the freezing temperatures will cause the pot to break and the mosaic pieces to fall off.

• If you use broken dishes or crockery, it is best to use totally flat pieces if you use larger, broken bits.  It is easier to rub off the grout if there are no sharp points that are higher than your decorative shards. You can see in the photo below that I used some broken pieces from a plate. I should have trimmed the sharp points on the edges off. 

• To break up dishes and crockery, put them between several sheets of newsprint before you break them up with a small hammer. 

• If you want to preserve the pattern as it is on the dish, use duck tape on the back of the dish before you break it into pieces.

• Try to fit the "tiles" close together as possible but still leave enough room for the grout. I think I left too much space so there is a lot of grout space. 
• Wear a mask to mix up your dry grout and powdered mastic. This is a MUST!

• Gloves for your hands are another must when rubbing in the grout. Surgical ones work best. 

Close up of my mosaic pot. 

 
I used glass globs and a broken dish. 
Can you see the buttons, too?

I am a "keeper" of useful things and a recycler of the broken and chipped, so I have a stockpile of broken dishes and pottery. However, I do not have the supplies like the grout and ceramic tile adhesive for making a mosaic piece.

Here is a video by "DIY Maven" that I discovered on YouTube that shows a very similar and easy process for making a mosaic flower pot.

There are several articles on Squidoo that might whet your appetite for making other types of mosaic crafts. Unfortunately, there are none about how to make a pot like mine. How To Mosaic: Art For Your Garden is a good introductory article to the craft of mosaics. 

If you like the idea of a "kit", I found several mosaic craft kits for children available on Amazon. Here are a few links for you: Kits for ages 14+; kits for ages 8 to 13; Kits for ages 5-7 years; Kits for ages 2 to 4. Most of the kits for young children use foam pieces and no grout. That is a good thing.

Keep your hands busy, y'all!

Photos: Mickie_G - all rights reserved.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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