DIY

Spice Up a Room with Mosaic Letters

By Eric C.
January 13
DIY

All shapes and sizes make a nice mosaic design.

A mutual friend of my wife and I creates "big letter" designs. You know the ones I'm referring to. The rather large, 8-12 inch single letters that either represent when combined, names or initials of family members. She's rather adept with her creations using different letter fonts, stains, paints, vinyl appliqués and matte finishes.

An infinite number of colors are available.

A derivative of that idea that I recently discovered are mosaic monogram or initial letters. Often abstract and creative, mosaic letters come in a variety of styles, sizes and materials. Handmade by skilled artisans, mosaic letters can be personalized in an infinite number of ways from specific colors to specific materials to shapes other than letters. Popular materials for the tiles include mirror glass, stained glass, iridescent glass, metallic glass, textured glass, rippled glass, glass beads and hand painted ceramics. The tiles can be square cut, round or oval and can be tumbled to smooth any rough edges.

Glass beads and mirrored glass add interest to mosaics.

The glass to make the mosaic is easy to find and is often inexpensive. The savvy shopper will go to a tile or local art supply store and ask for remnants or broken pieces/discards of glass or tile. Since these pieces of glass are often just recycled, you can find some great deals to keep costs down.

Customize your design with hand painted glass or ceramic tiles.

When creating mosaic letters, artisans will usually start with pre-made birch plywood or MDF (medium-density fibreboard) letters. For those who are adventurous, you can always create your own with a routing table or a trusty jigsaw.

Sheets of glass are often transformed into irregular, organic shapes by placing them in a pillow case and then lightly smashing them with a hammer or mallet. They are further refined with glass cutters for exact shaping.

The tiles are affixed to the letters with mortar and then grouted and sealed. Creative artisans will use colored grouts to make their designs stand out amongst others.