I Can Do That!: Mirror Mosaics by Lesley Thompson

 One thing I love about this job is finding hidden talents that you never knew you possessed. Remember when you realized you were actually really good at tying a perfect bow? Or arranging florals? Or you were way stronger than you thought?

Well my hidden talent that I discovered is mirror mosaicing. I really love to do it and now you can too!

Start with your basic supplies:

 - 5 Gallon bucket

- Sand-free grout

- Heavy duty glue gun

- Large natural sponge

- Large spackle knife

- Hammer

- Plyers

- Heavy duty leather gloves

- Mirror bits

- Prepare the surface you will be covering. Make sure it is sturdy enough to support the weight of the mirrors. Wipe it off thoroughly so that the glue sticks to the surface and not to dust or debris.

- Then simply START! Glue down one piece. Then find pieces that are similar in size and scale in varying shapes (use gloves when digging in mirror bin!). Glue them about 2 millimeters from each other so there's room for the grout in between. If there's not an exact fit, try finding smaller pieces to fill in the gaps.

- If you need to break a larger piece to make smaller pieces, you can either grab the piece with 2 pairs of pliers and snap off what you need or hold piece with pliers and break gently with a hammer. Be sure to protect your eyes with goggles and always use gloves when breaking anything!  

-Work in a a circle to avoid straining your back, depending on the size of the surface you are working on. I worked in a clockwise fashion.

-Once you have the surface glued, then you are ready to grout! Simply mix grout and water (amount specified on box) in the large bucket. Let sit for 5 min and mix again. Then use spackle knife and spread grout over mirror pieces.

- Be sure to press down while spreading so the grout gets in between each piece. Also be sure that there is as little grout residue remaining on the mirror surfaces as possible.

- Let sit for 2-4 hours to dry.

- Use a wet sponge to wipe off excess residue. Use a scraper to clear off hard to budge clumps. Wipe with a dry clean cloth

-Viola!! A magical mirror pond!

See the finished product in our windows here at 427. It really helped add that icy, frosty feeling! Happy mosaicing!