How I grout a rainbow mosaic house number with sunflower motif!

Hello blogger friends,

I often get asked how I grout my mosaics. I must say from the beginning that no one has ever taught me - this is the just the way I do it, and it is seems to work pretty well, so this is for all you budding mosaicists out there!

Having made the mosaic and all the tiles are thoroughly stuck and are where I want them,  I get the Unibond grout  www.diy.com, plastic jug www.asda.com and spatula www.amazon.co.uk

 

I measure three serving spoons worth of the powder grout (about the right amount for this 20cm x 20cm mosaic), and mix in small amounts of water until I have a buttercream consistency, the same as in the middle of a cake, mixing it together with the spatula. Make sure you don't get a dry lump of grout at the bottom of the jug!

Next, be brave and get spreading! I work the grout firmly into all the spaces between the tiles.

I keep going over the mosaic, spreading the grout on thickly, and then scraping it off with the soft edged spatula, again and again.

The edges are very important in mosaics - especially for this exterior house number - as that is the place where water might get in. I use my index finger to press the grout right into the edge, going round and round the edges until I am sure it is all completely covered. - be careful for sharp edged tiles!

I wipe all the excess grout off, checking once again that there are no gaps - it's amazing how grout sinks and suddenly a hole appears from nowhere!

Before the final wipe, I use a thin and sharp tool to make the holes either side for fixing, before the grout dries.  I paint the sides and back in an exterior paint to finish it off. The mosaic is then ready to go up, and lift your spirits every time you go into your place for years to come 😀

If you have any questions about making mosaics, or a project you are working on, do leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer it for you.

Thanks so much for reading, and look forward to hearing from you.
Felicity x

Felicity Ball mosaics and Pinterest

Hello everyone,

This is just a little blogette to let you know about all my lovely Pinterest boards.

I have been on Pinterest for quite a while now and really enjoy collecting all sorts of arty pins I like, just so that I have them in one place and can go back there and enjoy them whenever I want!  There is so much amazing work out there of all media, and its such a pleasure to have my very own gallery at the press of a button.

So, I thought, if you are a Pinterest person (or even if you're not!), you might like to join me there sometimes too. Here is the link to my boards - https://uk.pinterest.com/justmosaics/  I am always adding new pins so do keep an eye open, and I look forward to your company over there!

Many thanks,
Felicity x

Thinking ahead for my mosaic business ...

Happy new year, blogger friends!

With my business this year, I am going to try and learn from last year's mistakes - that's a good start to the year, isn't it?!
Let me explain. As you can imagine, my mosaics take a long time to make - I cut and stick every single tile myself.  Of course, I'm not complaining - I am very lucky and love my work.  But I am determined to improve my planning this year.  With that in mind, I am now using  'The Maker's Yearbook' devised by fellow maker, Nicola Taylor to help us all achieve this - do take a look at her website - it is so helpful!  www.makersbusinesstoolkit.com

Last year, I received orders for my popular mosaic bistro tables too late for me to make them in time for spring and summer.  I did make them all in the end, but felt terrible, when the sun was shining and my customers didn't have their tables to sit at.

So, I know it only January and sunny days seem along way away, but I am now encouraging everyone to make their orders now, so that all shall be well and you can enjoy a glass of something the minute the air warms and the sun shines.

For more details, please visit my website and treat your patio to a lovely table and a mosaic piece of art!  www.felicityballmosaics.com

Thank you for reading and I would be really grateful if you could share my blog with your family, friends, and followers.

Until next time ...
Felicity x