How to Make a Mosaic Garden Stake

Start with your backer board cut to size. The cut edges show bare blue foam, and those need covering. Center self-adhesive fiberglass mesh tape over each exposed edge and fold it down onto both faces. Press it flat and wrap the corners too. Wear disposable gloves if the fiberglass makes your hands itch. The tape gives the mortar something to grip.

Push the rod into the foam core at the bottom edge, or the side, depending on your design. You may need to snip a small hole in the mesh tape first because its adhesive grips the foam hard. Go in about halfway up the board at most. Push too far and the foam can split. Mark the rod with a marker if you want every stake the same.

Spread a thin coat of thin-set mortar over the front, back and sides of the board with a plastic putty knife. Cover the mesh tape and the spot where the rod enters the foam. Julie pulls the rod out, adds a dab of mortar into the hole, and pushes it back in for extra hold. Let the board cure for at least 24 hours.

Sketch your design straight onto the cured board with chalk. Then prepare the border. Julie edges her stakes with white glass tiles and uses nippers to trim pieces to fit the corners and the short ends. Lay the tiles out on the table first so you can see how many full tiles fit along each side before you cut.

Butter the back of each tile with a little thin-set and press it in place around the edge of the board. Keep the gaps between tiles even so the grout lines look tidy. Julie holds the stake up by its rod to check the edges and the sides as she goes. The border frames the design and protects the board's corners.

Now the fun part. Work inside the chalk outline with red stained glass pieces. Dab mortar on the board or the glass and set each piece with tweezers. Leave small, even gaps for grout. Mixing a couple of shades of red makes the heart look richer and more like stained glass in a window.

Once the heart is filled, cut yellow stained glass to fill the space between the heart and the white border. Fit the pieces like a puzzle, keeping the gaps about the same width. Tile the back and sides too so the whole board is sealed. Let the finished stake sit for at least 24 hours before grouting.

Mix fortified grout, or use a latex additive instead of water, and let it rest a few minutes. Wearing gloves, spread it over the tiled face and push it into every gap with small clockwise and counterclockwise circles. Work around the rod too. Julie rests the rod against her forearm to hold the stake steady while she grouts. Let it sit about 10 minutes.

Once the grout firms up, wipe the face with a dry paper towel, using the same circular motions. Dry towels pull off the haze without adding water that can weaken the grout lines. The colors come back as you go. Use a damp sponge only for the stubborn spots, then go back over everything once more to polish.

Stand the stake on its edge and wipe the side tiles the same way, then the back. Check the corners and around the rod for any gaps you missed. Let the grout cure. After at least three days, you can add a grout sealer for longer life outdoors. Then push the rod into a bed or planter and enjoy it.