Project 18: I Saw the Light

So this week I decided to try my hand at mosaic making. A mosaic is a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone or glass. I have never made a mosaic before, so I went to my fav craft store and got a mosaic votive candle kit. Basically I made a candle holder into a mosaic. The kit came complete with glass tiles, candle holder, adhesives and grout. Everything I'd need! The kit came with enough stuff to make two candle holders, but I only made one since I wasn't sure how it would go. You can't really tell from static pictures, but the design is supposed to resemble a wave. 

The Process:

The first step in mosaic-ing is to break the glass tiles into smaller pieces. So I put my tiles into a bag and took it onto my porch and smashed them with a hammer. It was quite fun actually. Next step is to take an adhesive, which smells terrible and apparently isn't good to get on your skin, and glue the glass pieces into place on the candle holder.

One of the reasons this project is late, besides my lack of time, is that the glue needed to dry overnight. I thought I could knock this out in a day. Not the case! The next step is to grout the mosaic.

Yummy!

Grouting the mosaic apparently just means spreading sludge all over the top of the tiles and working it into the crevices between the tiles.

At this point, I was skeptical that the grout was going to come off the tiles...

The last step is to let the grout dry a little and then wipe off the excess. Technically, I was supposed to let the grout dry for a full 12 hours, but I didn't have the patience so I let it dry for 3. I polished the glass tiles up (vegetable oil is apparently the way to go) and lit the candle!

Final Product: