by L. A. Hardt

Created on: October 15, 2007

You can make a very simple mosaic picture even if you don't have any artistic ability. It can be any size that you want, the one that I am going to tell you how to make will 8x11 square cut mosaic tile. As you get better you can experiment cutting your mosaic tile any shape.

First get a piece of 8X11 chip board; you can paint with sand paint, or lightly spray it with sand paint (sometimes called stone paint) in a color of your choice. When it dries completely, spray it lightly again. Decide what kind of picture you want, it can be anything, something from a magazine or a book, including a photo that you that you have enlarged to 8X11.

Place the picture face down on a cutting mat, (or newspaper to safely cut) take a ruler and lay across the top of the picture and place a mark every one inch across the picture. Repeat the same at the bottom and along both sides. Now you can draw lines to each of the marks then take your ruler (I recommend a metal ruler) and with an exacto knife cut out the squares or you can use a scissor. When you cut each square lay it out in the order that you cut so the picture that you chose stays together.

Now take the chip board that is sand painted and one by one lay your picture face up on the board. When the picture is complete remove the squares along all the edges placing them carefully along side the chip board again making sure that they stay in order. Now carefully move the squares on the chip board putting even spaces between them. When you have achieved the look you want, lift each one and carefully apply glue on the back and stick it back down, you can use a good glue stick, or with a stiff brush apply a thin coat of e6000. Now take the pieces that you put off to the side and trim them so that they now fit and then glue them down. When you are all done apply a sealant that you spray on.

(An alternative method is you can lay your picture face down on a clear contact paper before you cut and then follow all the directions above. Also you can use puff paint to fill in as grout just smooth it a bit when it is still wet.)

This method can be used on pictures you find in a book or something you down load from your computer or even a drawing one of your children made. You can apply your mosaic on wood and actually use it as a back splash in your kitchen, of course you would have to apply several coats of sealant. You can make decorative trays and you can also use it on top of furniture, and where the picture doesn't cover you can make a blank color mosaic to match the design, just remember it has to be sealed, you can use a satin look sealer or a high gloss.

Then there is a random pattern that you can make with just a mix of colors or a pattern that you have designed. You can even make the mosaic thick by gluing your picture to the chip board and then cutting it out. Then glue it down to another piece of chip board and use faux grout or puff paint as grout. I always recommend sealing any project.

In scrap books you can do a mosaic right on paper, you just pick the background paper the color that you would want it to be if it was grout. And you just glue the mosaic design to it. You can make the mosaic the background for your pictures, or you can make your pictures the mosaics. You can cut the people out in one piece and the rest of the picture in mosaics and then put it back together around them.

Now that you know how to do a no fail mosaic you can use this to decorate tissue boxes, napkin holders, bathroom garbage pails, books and picture frames. The ideas are yours to run with, and with the holidays around the corner you can perhaps use some of your ideas to make some wonderful gifts.

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