Is it possible to make your own concrete mosaic?
Yeah, you can make dozens and dozens of your own concrete mosaics for the same price as one of those mosaic kits, and even more cheaply, if you use found and natural objects for the mosaic tiles, and recycle plastic packaging for the concrete molds. Seriously, the only material that you need to buy to make concrete mosaics is the concrete.
How do you make a stepping stone mosaic out of concrete?
Stepping Stone Molds. You can press tile into wet concrete in a stepping stone mold or have a mosaic design on contact paper at the bottom of a stepping stone mold and pour concrete on top of that. Note that both methods require that you mix up a powdered concrete product because you cannot use glue to attach tile to an outdoor or wet mosaic.
How do you apply mosaic tiles to a concrete floor?
Apply it to the foundation using a trowel or spatula. While still wet, gently affix the mosaic tiles by pushing them into the mixture. Apply tiles starting in one corner of the design and work across in rows. Make sure you leave enough space between pieces for grout.
What is the best material for a mosaic?
Mosaics are supposed to be slightly messy and imperfect, meaning that your little mistakes will only add to the beauty of the piece. Any concrete surface, like cement fiberboard, makes a great foundation for a mosaic.
How to increase life of mosaic?
Tip: Consider sitting your sculpture on some plain concrete stepping stones when you install it in the garden by raising it slightly off the moist soil , you can greatly increase the life of the mosaic, especially the tiles near the bottom edge.
What is the best mixture for concrete?
There are different concrete mixtures recommended on the various websites, some of which include glass fibers used to give the concrete the tensile strength it normally lacks. For my concrete sculptures, I used thinset mortar instead of regular concrete. Thinset mortar is like regular cement with sand, but it also has polymers for adhesion and tensile strength. I also mixed in fine pea gravel for additional strength and bulk. The pea gravel was sieved to remove larger pieces and added 1 part pea gravel to 2 parts thinset on a weight basis.
What is a butterfly mosaic planter?
Butterfly mosaic planter by artist Lyn Richards was made on a concrete base, which are much more durable than terracotta planters. Note how the artist used the grout line to add even more detail to the butterfly’s wing. Also note how the black grout makes the colors look even brighter.
What is a frog mosaic?
Frog mosaic lawn sculpture by artist Lyn Richards is an excellent example of how you can take a mass-produced concrete base and make it your own unique piece of art by how you tile it. Note how the artist used multiple green hues instead of one monolithic color field and how the greens contrast the reds and yellows, which are arranged in patterns that suggest motion.
Do mosaics need grout sealer?
Outdoor mosaics on horizontal surfaces tend to have shorter lives as standing water penetrates between the tiles. Mosaic benches and birdbaths and other horizontal surfaces should be sealed with multiple applications of a tile and grout sealer to prevent this from happening.
Is pea gravel stronger than concrete?
Thinset is more expensive than regular concrete, but it is so much stronger, and you don’t have to worry about whether or not it is adhering well to a bare wire frame.
Can you make a base from a lawn and garden center?
A factory-made base purchased from a lawn and garden center will be identical to all the other pieces made from the same mold, but there is obvious the advantage that you can start mosaicing immediately without having to make the base yourself, which is a complete project in itself and tends to be more labor intensive than expected, unless the artist has worked with concrete before. Also, you can make the generic base into an original work of art by how you tile it, as demonstrated by the artwork by Lyn Richards featured on this page.
How to get mosaic to stick to mold?
If you’re worried that your mosaic will stick to the mold (it probably won’t), grease it up a little first with cooking oil, lotion, or whatever you’ve got handy. Scoop concrete into the mold, overfilling it slightly, and lift the mold up and thump it down a few times to release any air bubbles from the mix.
What are some good mosaic tiles?
Thrift store plates, smashed to smithereens, also make excellent mosaic tiles, as do river rocks.
Can you substitute cement for concrete?
If you buy the cheapest concrete you’ll find yourself out in the yard for half the day sifting all the pebbles out of your concrete, and you just don’t need that kind of hassle. You can also substitute cement mortar for the concrete, and frankly cement mortar is my favorite, because it doesn’t have the pebbles to sift out.
Can you make a concrete mosaic?
Yeah, you can make dozens and dozens of your own concrete mosaics for the same price as one of those mosaic kits, and even more cheaply, if you use found and natural objects for the mosaic tiles, and recycle plastic packaging for the concrete molds. Seriously, the only material that you need to buy to make concrete mosaics is the concrete.
Why do you need a background for a mosaic?
The background of a mosaic is an opportunity to add visual interest to the scene and should never be “bricked” up like the tiled wall of a shower. Andamento is the visual flow of a mosaic created by arranging the tile in rows, and it can make the background of your mosaic as visually interesting as the figures in the foreground.
Why use a stepping stone for mosaic?
This is recommended because the acids in decaying organic matter slowly rot stone, concrete and grout.
How to make a stepping stone for kids?
A Practical Method For Kids And Thinset 1 Make squares from cardboard that are the same size as the stepping stones/pavers or draw squares the size of the pavers on cardboard or trays. I prefer to cut out the cardboard squares so that they can be wrapped with contact paper with the sticky side out to prevent the tile from moving around. 2 Have children spend one or two sessions arranging tile into designs on these squares/trays. 3 Have teachers or parent volunteers mix up and spread thinset on the stepping stones. 4 The children transfer their designs to the stepping stone one tile at a time. Alternatively, clear mounting tape could be used to pick up and transfer more complex designs made from smaller tile. 5 After the thinset has hardened for a day, grout the mosaics with more thinset or grout. 6 After the grout has hardened for at least a day or two, clean off any remaining grout residue by rubbing with a clean cloth and seal the mosaics with a tile and grout sealer.
How do I put tile in a concrete mold?
You can place your tile UPSIDE DOWN in the bottom of the mold and pour the concrete on top of that. The easiest way to keep your tile from moving around when the concrete is poured on top is to put contact paper at the bottom of the mold with the sticky side up. Then you stick your tile UPSIDE DOWN onto the contact paper. This method is recommended if you want a very detailed design because it allows you to get all your tile carefully positioned before you mix up the concrete, which only has a few hours of working life before it starts to harden. Even if your design isn’t very complicated, I wouldn’t attempt it without the use of contact paper. Make sure you add the concrete slowly and gently tap the mold as you go along to make air bubbles come to the surface.
How to remove sharp edges from mosaic tile?
Removing Sharp Edges. A marble file or a rubbing stone can by used before the tile is mounted to remove any sharp edges. After the tile is mounted, it is a little more difficult to remove sharp edges, but gently rubbing the surface of your mosaic with a rubbing stone can help a lot.
What is Lyn's mosaic made of?
You can use any of the glass we sell. Lyn’s mosaic was made from different brands of 3/4 inch vitreous glass tile, metallic glass tile. iridescent glass, and stained glass. To find out how much tile you need, you can divide your shape into component surfaces and use our mosaic tile estimator.
How to make a mosaic bird bath?
To make a mosaic bird bath such as this, you could use a ready-made concrete bird bath from a lawn and garden center, or you could make an original concrete sculpture if you are looking for something with a less conventional shape. Lyn used a ready-made concrete bird bath that came in two sections: a base column and a bowl.
