Hello again, as foreshadowed at the end of my last post, today's post will be about mosaic stepping stones!
They can be designed to be focal points in a garden, enhance the colors in nearby vegetation, or you can place them in series to act as little targets for the feet of children, who may otherwise take a detour through your lovely flower patch.
A single, intricate, and particularly colorful stone can be placed in a remote part of the garden. This is the kind of thing that can lift your spirits when you are hanging your head and just feel like staring at the ground. They transform broken plates and tears into beautiful art .
They make great conversation pieces too. They can be made from sea shells that were collected during a beach vacation, favorite rocks from a hiking trip, or even the broken glass from David and Rachel's wedding ceremony.
As you can see in the picture to the left, this stepping stone is made from broken dishware. The dishware was collected by the UC Davis Dining Services staff whenever a student would drop a piece of colorful "fiesta-ware."
If you are blessed enough to be in range of a large scale cafeteria or restaurant with clumsy waiters I would suggest networking a little bit to recieve some free art supplies. Simply explain to the manager that you are concerned about waste in the food industry and hint that the business' name is sure to come up in conversation whenever somebody asks, "Oh my, what a beautiful stepping stone! Where on earth did you find all those plates?"
Instructions:
This is not a step-by-step guide complete with mixing ratios. The following is simply a couple of pointers that the bag of mortar, or box of grout won't tell you.
Planning:
Once you have collected your broken plates or leftover bathroom tiles. Roughly lay out the pieces onto the stone to make a design. Consider the function of the tile when creating the design. If the stepping stone is being used to facilitate heavy foot traffic, it is pretty important to use flat pieces to create a uniform and durable stepping surface.
Mortar:
Use the instructions on the bag to mix your mortar. In order to glue the pieces in place, Apply some mortar to the back of the tile like you are smearing a big glob of thick peanut butter onto the back of a cracker. Next, smush the tile down onto the stone, so that the mortar squishes out from the sides. Just make sure that the side squish does not come above the level of the tile. Otherwise, the mortar will interfere with the grouting process.
Grout:
Mix the grout and apply generously into every nook and cranny of the design. Don't be scared to really cake it on thick. The grout doesn't dry very fast and you can always smear it to other parts of the stone that are lacking. Once you have grouted the design, reinforce the rim of the stone to reduce the chance that someone will trip and break a piece of tile off. I like to use my hands, once the grout has dried a little bit, to smooth down the contours of the stone, and shape the rim.
Polishing:
After the grout has dried for about 20 minutes, take a slightly damp rag and gently wipe off any grout that is stuck to the surface of the mosaic pieces. Careful not to make the rag too damp, otherwise it becomes too easy to wipe off more grout than you bargained for. After 2 hours, the grout should start getting pretty hard. Use the damp rag again to finish polishing the mosaic pieces until they shine.
And there you have it, your very own signature garden piece! So, start collecting those broken dishes and give them a life beyond the landfill.
Next week: Worms!
Looking forward,
Jeff
Mortar:
Use the instructions on the bag to mix your mortar. In order to glue the pieces in place, Apply some mortar to the back of the tile like you are smearing a big glob of thick peanut butter onto the back of a cracker. Next, smush the tile down onto the stone, so that the mortar squishes out from the sides. Just make sure that the side squish does not come above the level of the tile. Otherwise, the mortar will interfere with the grouting process.
Grout:
Mix the grout and apply generously into every nook and cranny of the design. Don't be scared to really cake it on thick. The grout doesn't dry very fast and you can always smear it to other parts of the stone that are lacking. Once you have grouted the design, reinforce the rim of the stone to reduce the chance that someone will trip and break a piece of tile off. I like to use my hands, once the grout has dried a little bit, to smooth down the contours of the stone, and shape the rim.Polishing:
After the grout has dried for about 20 minutes, take a slightly damp rag and gently wipe off any grout that is stuck to the surface of the mosaic pieces. Careful not to make the rag too damp, otherwise it becomes too easy to wipe off more grout than you bargained for. After 2 hours, the grout should start getting pretty hard. Use the damp rag again to finish polishing the mosaic pieces until they shine.
And there you have it, your very own signature garden piece! So, start collecting those broken dishes and give them a life beyond the landfill.
Next week: Worms!
Looking forward,
Jeff
I just finished the blog. Really very helpful. Thanks for sharing such an amazing blog.
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