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1. |
Start off with a small chunk of white self-hardening clay. |
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 2. |
Flatten the clay with a rolling pin or tall bottle. Spread out the clay into a relatively uniform thickness. |
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3. |
Leave the flattened clay to dry overnight. |
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4. |
The best time to cut the clay is actually when it is almost completely dry but still slightly pliable. Clay that is completely dry and hard is still manageable to cut. Cut it into small triangles, rectangles, or irregular-shaped pieces, very much similar to broken ceramic tiles. |
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5. |
Plan the mosaic tile piece that you want to make, including its size, shape, and design. For this demo, I plan to make a round coaster-sized piece with a heart design. It helps to draw the planned size and shape on paper. Use an object to trace the shape with, if possible. |
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6. |
Put the clay tile chips together in jigsaw puzzle fashion to come up with the main shape for your mosaic. |
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7. |
Fill in more tiles inside the shape. If you can't seem to fit the pieces perfectly, you can still trim and cut the tiles into a more suitable size and shape. |
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8. |
You can mark the edges of the main shape by drawing around it with a pencil. This will make it easier to tell it apart from the background tiles. |
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9. |
Fill the background with more tiles. Again, you can trim or cut your tile chips if you can't find a good fit. |
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10. |
Paint the tile pieces. To ensure that you don't lose your carefully laid out design, work at an area at a time and put back each painted piece to its original position. |
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11. |
When you're done painting, set your work aside to dry. |
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12. |
Once the painted tiles are dry, prepare the clay base for your tile mosaic by flattening a chunk of clay to a thickness of at least 1/3 of an inch. Use your hands to mold it into the intended size and shape. Or better yet, use the cup or mold that you used in Step 5. Pat the sides of the clay to smoothen the trimmed edges. |
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13. |
Now start transferring the tiles one at a time onto the clay base. |
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14. |
After you have positioned all the tiles in place, slightly press on each tile to bury it into the clay. This pressure will slightly deform the clay so it will be helpful to support the edges of the base as you press on each tile. |
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15. |
Allow the clay to set completely. This may take a day or more, depending on the size of your work and the relative humidity in your area. |
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16. |
Once your mosaic work has set completely, brush over a thick layer of white glue on the tiles. To waterproof your work, such as if you want to turn it into a usable coaster, varnish it with clear wood varnish (ask an adult to do it for you) instead of coating with white glue. |
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17. |
The white glue will dry clear and will give the tiles a glazed look and brighter colors. |
