How to Make a Mosaic House Number Plaque

Start on paper. Draw the shape of your sign, the border, the number and the background. Angelica goes for a round sign with white border squares, the number in the middle and a landscape behind it: blue sky on top, green grass below and flowers between. Note the colors on the sketch. It tells you how many tiles of each color to buy.

If you have never cut tile, practice on an old tile of the same thickness first. Hold the tile with one hand and bite into the edge with the tile nippers. For tiny pieces, use only the corner of the jaws. It feels awkward at first and gets easier fast. You can also tap a tile with a hammer inside a bag to break it into big pieces.

Use a waterproof board for an outdoor sign, like foam tile backer board. Trace around a bucket or a plate to draw the circle with a marker. Then draw a second, slightly smaller circle inside it. The gap between the two lines is where the border squares go, so make it the width of one tile piece.

Draw the number in the middle of the circle with the marker. Make the strokes about the width of a tile square so you can fill each line with a single row of pieces. Check the spacing between the digits and keep them centered. These lines are your guide for the white tiles in the next steps.

Nip white tiles into small squares and lay them along the border line, one beside the next. Keep the gaps between them even. Then fill the number lines the same way. Lay everything dry first so you can see the whole border and number before any glue goes on, and adjust pieces until the curve looks smooth.

Glue the white pieces before you start the rest. Pick up one piece at a time, spread a little exterior tile adhesive on the back with a plastic spatula, and press it back into exactly the same spot. Press gently so the glue spreads and every piece sits at the same height. Keep the gaps even as you go.

Now the flowers. Cut small triangles from orange tile for the centers and longer pieces with pointed ends from pink and yellow tile for the petals. Lay each flower out on the table first, then move it onto the board. Once the flowers look right, glue them down the same way as the border pieces.

Fill the background last. Work from the border inward, cutting blue pieces for the sky and green pieces for the grass to fit each gap. This is the slow part, so settle in. Glue each area as you finish it, and let the whole piece dry overnight. Then trim the board round with a sharp knife.

Mix powdered grout with water until it is like thick peanut butter. Wear gloves. Spoon some onto the mosaic and spread it with a rubber float, pressing it into every gap. Work in all directions. Grout the cut edge of the board with a small putty knife too, so the sign looks like solid stone.

Let the grout firm up for 15 to 20 minutes, then wipe the surface with a damp sponge. Rinse the sponge often and wipe lightly so you do not drag grout out of the gaps. The colors and the number come back as you go. Buff any haze with a dry cloth once it dries, then hang your sign by the door.