How to make a seed/bean abstract mosaic . . .

My teachers sample of an abstract bean mosaic.

       Seed and bean mosaics seem to go in and out of fashion. This simple craft can be used to teach young students about the qualities of texture and design at very little expense to the teacher, camp director, or an art department. 

Supply List: 

• A heavy duty piece of cardboard or inexpensive Masonite, or recycled sheet of pressed wood 
• either wood glue or white school glue
• pencil 
• Mod Podge 
• A wide assortment of seeds, beans, rice, nuts, and or dried items may be collected; I've listed specific varieties below. 
• Suggested dried beans, seeds and rice available at your local grocery store: Red beans, Black beans, Anasazi beans, Sunflower seeds, White rice, Brown rice, Pumpkin seeds, Melon seeds, Black eyed peas, Green split peas, Yellow split peas, Navy beans, Pinto beans, Wild rice, Indian corn, Lentils, Grass seed, 
• Suggested dried materials available at your local florist, hobby outlet, or even outside in your own backyard: Devils claw, Wheat stalks, Money plant, Sponge Mushroom, Pomegrante, Lotus Pods, Okra Pods, King Cobra Bark, Pod Oars, Pinecones, Acorns, Hazelnuts, Walnuts 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Draw a design on your cardboard or wood board 
2. Glue the dried materials down with either wood glue or white glue in designated areas or patterns.
3. After the glue has dried, completely cover the entire surface with Mod Podge in order to seal it properly.

Left,Photograph of my abstract, bean mosaic up close. 
Right, These dried beans were purchased at a local grocery store.

More Crafts Made With Seeds and Beans:

• Here is a listing of projects using seeds, pods, nuts and beans from my Christmas blog.

How to mosaic a bird house . . .

I purchased this prefabricated, wooden birdhouse 

from a craft store called Michael's. It is an actual

 birdhouse that may be used outdoors.

       This mosaic birdhouse can be hung outside if you would prefer. My mother kept it inside in her sunroom.

Supply List:

• Selection of mosaic tiles, glass marbles, tiny mirrors, seashells... 
• Cement grout 
• Elmer’s wood glue 
• Plastic-like gloves 
• Old damp rags or paper towels 
• Prefabricated wooden bird house 
• white acrylic paint 8. burnt umber acrylic paint 9. bucket of clean water

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Glue the tiles directly to the surface of the prefabricated wooden bird house. 
2. Let the applied tiles dry over night to ensure that the glue has hardened. 
3. Check to see if the glued tiles have stuck to the surface permanently. Some of them will, some of them may only seem temporarily attached. The application of this step is necessary to help the tiles to stay in place before grouting them primarily. 
4. Mix the grout solution according to the directions on the label. 
5. Wear gloves if the label says that it is necessary. 
6. Gingerly apply the grout directly onto the surface of the tile work. Make sure that the grout does get pushed into as many of the cracks as possible. This is a bit messy. 
7. Wash your gloves thoroughly and you may put them back on or choose to remove them all together at this point. Be cautious about this removal however, some people do have mild skin allergies to grout and will develop a rash when coming in direct contact with it when its wet. 
8. Now your going to delicately wipe down the surface of your tiles with a damp rag or paper towel. You will be throwing these towels away. 
9. If you wish to rinse and squeeze out a sponge or towels as you work, keep an old bucket full of water for this procedure. Do not wash this contaminated water down a sink! Grout will collect in pipes and harden. You will need to pour this old water down a sewer pipe outside or simply find an area of your yard where you may dispose of it. Grout won't hurt an old leaf pile or the ground where plants are not growing. 
10. You want your project to look clean on the surface of the tiles when you are finished. The cracks between the tiles should also be completely filled with grout. 
11. Leave your mosaic project out over night to harden properly. If you see remaining grout on the surface of your tiles after it has hardened, you may go over the surface of these tiles with a light weight sand paper and damp sponge again. 
12. You may wish to seal the exposed wooden areas with a tough varnish if you choose to hang your bird house outdoors.

More Crafts About Birds:

• How to draw a peacock, an ostrich and a blue jay...
• Download bird coloring pages to practice your fine motor skills

Craft a Mosaic Tea Tray

Handmade mosaic tea tray with lovely scones.

       These tea trays are perfect for serving up your favorite tea and scones. I recycled these 1950's ceramic tiles that I found inside of an old cabinet. It seemed a shame to throw them out. I am sure that these would be quite expensive if I were to purchase them today.  

Supply List:

• Selection of mosaic tiles
• glass marbles
•  tiny mirrors
• seashells 
• Cement grout 
• Elmer’s wood glue 
• Plastic-like gloves 
• Old damp rags or paper towels 
• Prefabricated wooden tea tray 
• white acrylic paint 
• bucket of clean water 
• soft paint brush 
• acrylic varnish sealer 

Left I recycled 1950 bathroom tiles to mosaic a prefabricated wooden tea tray. Right, A close-up
 of the period tiles.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Glue the tiles directly to the surface of the prefabricated wooden tea tray. Let the applied tiles dry over night to ensure that the glue has hardened. Do not check to see if the glued tiles have stuck to the surface permanently. Some of them will, some of them may only seem temporarily attached. The application of this step is necessary to help the tiles to stay in place before grouting them only. 
2. Mix the grout solution according to the directions on the label. 
3. Wear gloves if the label says that it is necessary. 
4. Gingerly apply the grout directly onto the surface of the tile work. Make sure that the grout does get pushed into as many of the cracks as possible. This is a bit messy. 
5. Wash your gloves thoroughly and you may put them back on or choose to remove them all together at this point. Be cautious about this removal however, some people do have mild skin allergies to grout and will develop a rash when coming in direct contact with it when its wet. 
6. Now your going to delicately wipe down the surface of your tiles with a damp rag or paper towel. You will be throwing these towels away. If you wish to rinse and squeeze out a sponge or towels as you work, keep an old bucket full of water for this procedure. 
7. Do not wash this contaminated water down a sink! Grout will collect in pipes and harden. You will need to pour this old water down a sewer pipe outside or simply find an area of your yard where you may dispose of it. Grout won't hurt an old leaf pile or the ground where plants are not growing. You want your project to look clean on the surface of the tiles when you are finished. 
8. The cracks between the tiles should also be completely filled with grout. Leave your mosaic project out over night to harden properly. 
9. If you see remaining grout on the surface of your tiles after it has hardened, you may go over the surface of these tiles with a light weight sand paper and damp sponge again. 
10. With a soft brush wipe on gently a wash of white paint on the exposed wood and then seal it with a varnish.

More Crafts for "Tea Time" Play:

• Craft a Christmas Themed "Time For Tea, Placemat"
• Search the posts at our doll blog for Tea+time

Assemble a birch bark bird feeder...

       This bird feeder is easy to make because you start with a prefabricated wooden bird feeder. I made it many years ago while camping at Arcadia. I collected the bark from a peeling birch tree in the woods and glued it to the bird feeder, simple as that! 

Supply List:

• prefabricated wooden bird feeder
• wood glue
• small stones, about 30
• large rubber bands or twine
• hot glue and hot glue gun 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Make sure the surface of the wooden bird feeder is clean before your begin.
2.  Glue strips of birch bark to every surface area of the feeder excluding the "floor" of the feeder. 
   
3. You may need to wrap twin or rubber bands around the exterior of the feeder to help keep the bark from sliding off while the wood glue dries. 
4. After the bark is dry, hot glue the stones onto the floor of the bird feeder with a hot glue gun.

More About Birds:

• Visit our secret listing of "bird" crafts, printables, poems etc... for young crafters and their teachers here.
• Craft a bird-feeder toy for your dolls here and then learn how we made an outdoor garden bench for our dolls here.
• Learn how to make a bird with feathers too!

How to craft a shell covered mosaic box

       Although this craft is simple in its application, the design work used in such a project may be very complex. The key here is to work slow if you should choose to use a cardboard box to decorate instead of a wooden one. Otherwise, the walls of the box could warp while your work is drying. 

I gave a gift of pencils and paint brushes to a family member using the box to store
the craft items inside.

Supply List: 

• wood glue 
• a bag of tiny stones shells 
• a sturdy box with a lid 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Lay out your mosaic supplies and determine the pattern that you would like to use in the creation of your decorative gift box. I chose to arrange these tiny shells in a simple floral design. 
2. I used wood glue to adhere the shells first to the surface of my box lid. 
3. Then I let this dry overnight. 
4. Then I carefully applied the wood glue to small areas of the lid and covered these with my tiny stones.
5. These areas were approximately two inches in diameter. Let each area dry completely before proceeding to the next application of stones. Again, this will help prevent the surface of your lid from warping.

A few close shots of the surface of my gift box: left, is a side view, right,
a top view of the floral shell pattern.

More Ways To Use Boxes In Crafts:

• Fold and decorate a triangular gift box with two different designs . . . 
• Assemble a Disney Castle Jewelry Box from paper mache box and stickers
• Valentine Mailbox Links and Ideas for School Aged Children

How to Craft a Tile Mosaic Angel

The tiled angel that once hung in my 
mother's garden room.

   My children made this mosaic angel for their grandmother long ago. It once hung on the wall behind her African violet collection.

• Selection of mosaic tiles
•  glass marbles
• tiny mirrors
• seashells 
• Cement grout 
• Elmer’s wood glue 
• Plastic-like gloves 
• Old damp rags, paper towels, sponge 
• Sturdy prefabricated paper mache angel form 
• Bucket of clean water 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. First you will glue your tiles directly to the surface of the prefabricated angel with Elmer's wood glue. Let the applied tiles dry over night to ensure that the glue has hardened. Do not check to see if the glued tiles have stuck to the surface permanently. Some of them will, some of them may only seem temporarily attached. The application of this step is necessary to help the tiles to stay in place before grouting them only. 
2. Mix the grout solution according to the directions on the label. 
3. Wear gloves if the label says that it is necessary. 
4. Gingerly apply the grout directly onto the surface of the tile work. Make sure that the grout does get pushed into as many of the cracks as possible. This is a bit messy. 
5. Wash your gloves thoroughly and you may put them back on or choose to remove them all together at this point. 
6. Be cautious about this removal however, some people do have mild skin allergies to grout and will develop a rash when coming in direct contact with it when its wet. 
7. Now your going to delicately wipe down the surface of your tiles with a damp rag or paper towel. You will be throwing these towels away. 
8. If you wish to rinse and squeeze out a sponge or towels as you work, keep an old bucket full of water for this procedure. 
9. Do not wash this contaminated water down a sink! Grout will collect in pipes and harden. You will need to pour this old water down a sewer pipe outside or simply find an area of your yard where you may dispose of it. Grout won't hurt an old leaf pile or the ground where plants are not growing. 
10. You want your project to look clean on the surface of the tiles when you are finished. The cracks between the tiles should also be completely filled with grout. 
11. Leave your mosaic project out over night to harden properly. 
12. If you see remaining grout on the surface of your tiles after it has hardened, you may go over the surface of these tiles with a light weight sand paper and damp sponge again. 
13. The color of grout you choose to use with this project will also make a big difference in it's appearance so think about it awhile before beginning.

More Angel Crafts and Coloring For Kids:

• DIY A Praying Angel Paper Wreath
• My Gingerbread Angel "Peace Among Men" plus 62 other angels for kids to color here.
• How to craft vintage cone angels our family The Belznickle Blog

How to make faux mosiac eggs using abalone shell tiles . . .

These egg when finished are quite heavy; they
should be displayed in baskets or in vignettes,
not on egg trees.

        Traditional mosaic eggs made from plastic manufactured eggs, grout, and tiny mosaic Mother of Pearl pieces from Michael's. These crushed tiles have been sold at Michael's for over 10-12 years and come in many colors depending upon the year. 

Supply List:

• large plastic egg forms for the local hobby store or dollar store
• crushed abalone shell tile
• wood glue or tacky white glue or hot glue if you prefer
• tile grout, white
• Mod Podge

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. When adhering the tiles to the egg shell rough up the surface of the egg with sandpaper and then glue on the tiles using a strong bonding glue. I believe that I used wood glue for these eggs. 
2. After the crushed shell has dried, smear on a tile grout and then use a soft damp sponge to wash away excess grout.
3. Let the grout harden overnight. Crafters may also use wooden eggs to replace the plastic ones if they wish.
4. Seal the grout with a thin layer of Mod Podge or something like it.

How to craft mosaic Easter eggs using egg shells?

Photo of the egg membrane being separated 

from the shell.

        First you will need to collect egg shells for this craft and the number of those egg shells will depend upon your love of the craft. I collected only enough to demonstrate the process. In order to keep your kitchen clean and bacteria at a minimum, soak the left over shells in a vinegar solution. One cup of boiling water, plus two tablespoons of any type of vinegar will suffice for a gentle soak. This will also help loosen the membrane from the inner shell. The membrane should be removed for several reasons, the first being that it will help keep the egg shells from developing an unfortunate odor and the second being that the shells will adhere better when glued to another shell's surface. Above is a photo of the membrane being separated from the shell.

        After the shells have been dried, break them up and soak them in dying solutions. I chose to do this with food coloring. This is the traditional recipe which includes a few drops of food coloring combined together with the ratio of vinegar and water that I have mentioned above.

Broken egg shells soaking in the vinegar solution.

        After draining and drying the shells on a paper towel, you may then glue these to either hard boiled eggs or eggs that have been hollowed out and cleaned in advance. I used white school glue for this process and then covered the surface of my sample eggs with Mod Podge. You could also paint a layer of clear nail polish over the eggs if you have no other alternatives on hand.

How the mosaic process turns out after gluing the mosiac
egg shell pieces directly onto whole eggs. These eggs are
hollowed out, but you could use edible hard boiled eggs 
for this technique as well.

 Easter by Marjorie Goldwasser, (8 yrs. old)
The grass is turning oh, so green.
Everywhere new buds are seen.
The Easter bunny is on his way,
To bring us eggs on Easter day.

Cover Styrofoam Eggs and Cardboard Versions with Seeds and Beans

Pick up a mixed 15 bean soup bag at the grocery store and you needn't purchase so mush for 
variety in this craft...

      You can cover Styrofoam eggs with seeds and beans in an endless variety of patterns. The large Styrofoam egg pictured has a cross at one end and a yellow flower at it's other end. 

      It is important to use Styrofoam eggs for this craft so that you will be able to lightly press the seeds into the egg form as you glue these down.  This process will create a surface across the egg that is even and the seeds/beans will be firmly glued in place. Allow for a couple of days to complete your decorated egg. You will need to wait for sections of the egg to dry before completing others. Mod Podge the end product.

        If you would prefer to put bean eggs out after Easter for the birds, craft designs using a plastic eggs and use peanut butter for the glue instead. The birds will prefer you to decorate with seeds instead of the beans for sure!

 

The same egg decorating can be switched to cardboard shaped eggs for younger students.

Four Easter egg patterns in one!