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.
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