How To: Make Mosaic Coasters

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Introduction

Making mosaic is very fun for those who have the patience for the tedious work required. Mosaic is an art that displays images using closely set tiles of glass, stone, or hard materials filled with grout. It is mostly used as decoration for both indoor and outdoor areas. It's usually found on walls, ground, tiles, tables, chairs, anything really that can withhold the weight. This How-To will explain step by step how to make mosaic coasters. Before I begin, here is a list of things you'll need:

List of Materials

• Blank coaster of your choice
• Pencil
• Universal adhesive (preferably Wellbond)
• Selection of tiles pieces, old plates, sea shells, beads, scrap glass or broken mirror
• Grout (white or black)
• Nippers
• Needle nose tweezers
• Double sided spatula
• Trowel
• Sponge
• Protective eye wear

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Step One: Choose Your Design

First, make sure that the tile pieces, or whatever material you chose for your coasters, are small enough to fit an elaborate design. The design does not need to be complicated or complex, in fact, it will be rather simple. This step is just to ensure that the pieces will fit well enough to display the design. Next, make any design of your choice using a pencil on the coaster. The design can be anything you like, just make sure your tile pieces will fit whatever you have chosen to draw. To make life easier, you can shade in your drawing with colors that match your tile. Do not shade in if the tile is not opaque!

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Step Two: Add Your Tiles onto the Coaster

The next step is to glue the tiles onto your coaster. The tiles need to be glued as close as possible with a gap in between them. This space is for the grout we will use later. In my experience, I believe it's best to work from one side to another. You may chose to do whatever works for you. In this step, you may have to adjust the size of your tiles using the nippers. To do this, you must make sure you are wearing protective eye wear. Cutting tile, glass, or whatever scrap you used, will definitely fly in the air when cutting them with your nippers. You can use the needle nose tweezers and spatula to place your tile pieces onto the coaster. This will help with placing them on correctly and nicely. 

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Step Three: Prepare Grout for Application

Wait for the glue to completely dry. Do not attempt the next step if the glue is still a bit wet. Doing so will cause the pieces of tile to move, which will complicate the situation. After you are sure the glue is dry, you must start to prepare your grout. Follow the instructions on the back of the grout packaging. The choice of grout color is up to you, and what you think will look best on your coaster. You must chose wisely, as the color of grout can affect the way your coaster will look at the end.

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Step Four: Apply Grout to your Coaster

Once the grout is made, apply it to your coaster using a small trowel. Apply a heavy amount and scrape away the excess gently. Make sure to cover every gap with grout. As you are cleaning off the excess, you will need to wipe the tiles with a damp sponge. Make sure to do this step smoothly and gently, as you can easily wipe off the grout you need in between the spaces. Reapply grout if needed.

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Step Five: Time to Dry!

Let the grout dry overnight. Grout usually takes a long time to dry, but since we used it on a small project, it shouldn't take more than a day. You can always polish and clean the tiles after the grout is dry. Keep in mind, if you continue to wet the grout, the grout will take longer to dry completely. Covering the grout lines with grout sealer is optional, but will still work well without it. Now that you are all done, you can finally enjoy your own mosaic coasters.

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