mosaic step by step

My kitchen window sill was plain, peeling, and white.  I have been talking about doing a mosaic for years in this aforementioned ugly spot.  I didn't do it for one of many reasons.  The number one reason was fear.

I had some broken plates from home, some from the thrift store, some unbroken ones from TJ Maxx, and some from Anthropologie that I had grown fond of.  I didn't have the guts to break them.  I had been using them decoratively.  So I put it off.  For a very long time.  About 7 years.

I have tried to overcome fears in my life.  I have ventured out and have used the air compressor.  I even used an electric drill.  The extent of my power tool usage is a Panini Grill.  I really am a wimp.  Which is why I recruited my fearless daughter Morgan to break the plates for me.  She takes after one of my other female offspring, Madison, the daughter who breaks boards (stacked two deep) with her bare hands and feet.

My oldest child has no fear, (except for bugs and spiders).  She was not always this way.  She was just like me.  timid. shy. wimpy.  Until she discovered that if trained properly, she could kick a guys butt if she disagreed with the way she was being treated.  But I digress, back to the mosaic step-by-step with Morgan, the 5'2" powerhouse.

Morgan delivered for me.  She was not afraid.

It is helpful to put the plates in a sack or cereal box or newspaper before you start whacking, always wearing goggles.

I sat on the sink's edge designing and thinking for about two days before I actually began glueing each little piece.

Morgan was at school one day and I needed this pate broken.  It 's crack made it eligible for a part in my mosaic.  I needed to get going, so I did the deed myself.

It looks pretty good huh?!

TJ Maxx was a good source for pretty plates.  In fact, Morgan liked this one so much, she bought 8 of the dinner plates in this pattern for her stash.

This is the guilty plate from Anthropologie that caused a delay in the project.

After I broke these two perfectly beautiful and unbroken plates, I had to take a picture of myself with my goggles on.  Do I look tough? (this picture is solid proof of me facing fears, posting an unedited close-up like this takes some serious Kahonies!)

You are probably wondering why I am so helpless with power tools.  It's because of my ultra handy better half.  Now THIS is the fearless one in the family.  He can build, repair, or design anything.  I'm not just bragging, it really is true.  So if I ever need anything done around the house, he does it.  He wants to do it.  I don't think I have ever even changed a light-bulb as long as I have known this man.  If any thing ever happened to him, I'd probably have to move into a care facility for the technically challenged.

I had some pieces that were too thick and he volunteered to grind them down for me AND he suffered an injury in the process. :(

I played around with some different design ideas and finally decided to reconstruct some plates and have that be the theme.

The bright blue pieces were from a bowl we bought in Poland that was broken years ago.  I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I made good use of it here.

I'm done glueing!  Grouting is next.

The sampler plate with the school house I bought in England in '93 and couldn't bear to throw it away after it fell off the wall it was hanging on.

I had to take a picture in between tile placement to showcase the activity level in my house while doing my big job.

Life does go on, doesn't it?  Nathaniel asked a girl to the prom with this little horse while I glued my last pieces on.

Grout.  This was so fun putting on.  It was the highlight of my project.  I highly recommend doing a mosaic activity just so you can grout.

After the grout dries, clean off all the haze and left over grout.

Tom's mom came over for dinner yesterday and looked so pretty, that I had to take a picture.  She saw the window sill before the grout was cleaned off the tiles.

The reveal

TaDa!