Mosaic Starfish Table

I was inspired to learn mosaic art art over 20 years ago from Jackie Stack Lagakos  when she gave me some tips for some basic mosaic work. You should visit Jackie's site  http://www.bottlestructures.com/ and see the amazing bottle structures and mosaic art she has created and taught over the years. 

After Hurricane Sandy came through ,I was left to recreate many of the furniture  pieces I had created over the years, that were now gone. I had a clean palette to start creating again.  

Below is  a dark wood table that had  a glass insert. I did not like the table and always knew it was ripe to remove the glass and use for a  mosaic.

 Table with 1/8" Luan board set into table where the glass had once been.I adhered the luan board with Liquid Nail that dried overnight.

As always, I had a beach  inspired idea on my mind. I wanted a starfish that had washed upon the shoreline . I had a Starfish hook in my bathroom that I had copied and enlarged at Staples in three sizes( At this pt I wasn't sure what size was going to give me the look I had in mind.) I traced them on cardboard and created a template that I then traced onto the luan board. 

Now I was ready for phase one of the mosaic. 

Taking my hammer to the back of my tiles I cracked up my tile and using clear caulk I glued the pieces into the starfish shape I had traced onto the luan board. 

To make this easy I used the caulking gun and would caulk out a big mound onto a paper plate and using a plastic knife I would add the caulk to the back of each piece and secure it in place. You will get to a point where you can't fit all the cracked pieces into place and you'll need to hand cut these pieces for a better fit. You'll need a hand nipper to do this and it's quite easy . I bought my hand tile nippers at Lowe's. They are a great $20.00 investment. Make sure you are wearing safety goggles when nipping tiles and smashing tiles with a hammer. 

When I mosaic I use a wide grout line. 

With a sponge I  grouted  a white sanded  grout mix that I had picked up from  from Lowe's and filled in my tiled starfish. 

Next step , add the sand part of the mosaic tiles and  grouted with a grey grout this time.

All of the tile used in this piece was bought at Lowe's . I mixed in tumbled stone and marble tile along with glass tile.

After the grout is dried I used a grout sealer to protect the grout because I don't use a glass topper on this finished table. Not a glass person.

I used chalk paint and waxes to finish the table and chairs. 

That is a small collection of driftwood in a stone vase with a paper  umbrella.   Gorgeous centerpiece  for a  beach wedding or a beach house.

Note :When I chose the 2 different colored grouts they looked different enough to created the look I was trying to achieve , in my mind.....however, it is not apparent that there are two different colored grouts here and I think I would have made the "Sand Section" of the project darker by using a darker grey grout.

Thanks for reading about my projects. I enjoy being creative and I hope I inspire you to explore your creative side.

Michele Michael

Coastal Bohemian 

I participate in Link Parties all week and you can find me here partying!