Ceramic Tile Mosaic Birdbath - A Creative Customer Project!

With the right decorative tiles and an eye for design, the sky's the limit with your craft projects.

When valued customer Lori Gilson of Florida showed us the birdbath she'd created around one of our ceramic mermaid tiles, we were so impressed. Granted, Lori is an artist whose work tends to get snapped up as soon as it's displayed in booths at the craft fairs where she exhibits, but her bird bath project is really simple enough for even a beginner to try.

If you love the glowing beauty of mosaics, there's no reason you can't make your own, and the water-tolerant nature of ceramic tiles makes them an ideal choice for garden water features like bird baths or reflecting pools. This is a very easy mosaic project that will result in a decorative garden feature you and the birds will enjoy for years to come.

This Mosaic Birdbath Looks Like Magic, But All You Need Is A Few Supplies

Step 1 - Choose Your Container

Your local nursery or garden center is likely to dazzle you with its offering of decorative planters and flower pots. Choose a shallow one if you plan to make a birdbath as most birds prefer to stand in water just deep enough to get their little feet wet. If you can find a planter or pot you like that doesn't have a drainage hole in the bottom, so much the better, but if the container you like best does have a drainage hole, you'll need to remember to seal it off to make sure your birdbath is 'seaworthy'! Ceramic and waterproof terra cotta will be good choices for the container and there are simply hundreds of beautiful designs to choose from.

Step 2 - Choose Your Tile Designs and other Decorative Elements

Lori's birdbath design was created from tile remnants she'd saved - broken pieces of decorative tiles that could easily be worked into a pretty mosaic pattern. Additionally, the birdbath design is accented with round stained glass nuggets which lend brilliant color and a wonderful underwater feel to the overall look of the finished piece. Finally, Lori brought all of these elements into play around a central tile - a decorative mermaid tile that acts as the focal piece of the project.

Here at Cape Cod Treasure Chest, we have an enchanting selection of decorative mermaid tiles, but, in creating your birdbath, perhaps our bird tiles or flower tiles will hold special charms for you and your garden!

Glass nuggets and jewels, broken tile remnants or colorful pebbles may strike your fancy as you begin to work up the design of the floor of your birdbath. The choice is yours. The only rule is to make sure that all materials you use stand up to exposure to water...after all, that's the whole point of this neat project!

Step 3 - Choose Your Adhesive

Mosaic artists can choose from a wide variety of adhesives including epoxy resin, cement, waterproof glue, craft glue and ready-mixed grouts. Some adhesives even come in pretty colors that can be used to complement the tile design. Again, the only rule is that the adhesive you choose must be able to stand up to constant exposure to water.

Step 4 - Play Before You Stick!

This is the fun part! Before you stick those tiles down, spend time playing with all of the decorative tiles and elements you've chosen. Try arranging them in different patterns until you hit on one that really pleases your eye. Take color and texture into account. It might help you to draw your design on paper, as well as playing with the actual materials.

Our tiles come with an adhesive backing that you'll need to remove prior to using the tiles in this mosaic project. Simply soak the tiles in water to remove the adhesive backing.

Once you've settled on a design that really satisfies you, you're ready to apply the mosaic adhesive and put your tiles in place. Be sure to let the design fully dry, based on the drying time indicated on the adhesive package, before you fill your birdbath with water. Once it's all dry, you're ready to set your one-of-a-kind birdbath in an honored spot in the garden.

Special Note To Bird Lovers

It's very important that you change the water in your bird bath on a daily basis, not only to keep it clear and pretty, but also to keep your birds healthy and keep mosquitoes out of your yard. Providing fresh water every day for your feathered friends will help them get through even the hottest summers and will fill your yard with song and color.

Our Customers Keep Inspiring Us With Their Ingenuity

Lori Gilson says she's just begun with her plans to use Cape Cod Treasure Chest's ceramic tiles in her mosaic projects. She's hoping to create a fruit bowl around some of our Wine Tiles and she's getting ideas together for mosaic stepping stones, planter boxes and even a tile mosaic table! We hope she'll share photos of her next easy tile mosaic projects with us so that we can share them with you.

The art of mosaic work is ancient. Mosaics have graced everything from Greek temples to Inca pyramids and they offer a unique opportunity for people of all ages to work with simple materials that result in something of significant visual appeal. Kids can be amazingly gifted mosaic designers and projects like this birdbath would create great summertime fun. But little ones certainly don't have a monopoly on creativity and seniors can get tremendous pleasure out of working with lovely tiles, making functional pieces for the home or gifts that everyone will treasure. With the right decorative tiles, you are almost certain to end up with a finished project that wins praise from all who see it.

Have you redone a space in your home or created something pretty with tiles purchased from Cape Cod Treasure Chest? Send us photos of your project and share your pride in your creative home improvements with us. We're really interested.

2 Fantasic New Mosaic Birdbaths From Our Creative Customer!

Lori Gilson impressed us afresh with her 2 latest birdbaths featuring our decorative tiles. Just look at the beautiful Water Lily Tile birdbath and the fantastic Turtle Tile birdbath! These fine tiles, and so many more, are available right here at Cape Cod Treasure Chest.