Mosaic Valentine Keepsakes

The boys made these for their grandparents for christmas and I wanted to make one to hang in our house as well and with valentines day coming up I thought that they would make wonderful valentine keepsakes.  You could do them in any shape, although hearts would be quintessential for valentines:) Materials you will need:  - 2 cups white tile mortar we used Mapei Ultraflex 1, which was $12.99 for 25 lbs.  - large heart shaped metal cookie cutter (ours was about 5 inches wide)  - vaseline (for rubbing onto the inside of the cookie cutter)  - broken pieces of any color of ceramics or glass (kids love breaking larger pieces into smaller pieces with a hammer).  Tumbled glass would work very well although pricey.  Damek used those semi-flat glass marbles that you use for plant drainage to make the one for his Oma & Opa.  - tie wire from the home improvement store or very sturdy wire from the craft store (for hanging) Step 1 - rub the inside of your mold/cookie cutter with vaseline for easy removal of your finished heart. Step 2 - break up your ceramic/glass into approx. 1-inch pieces.  The boys did this with a small hammer and my husband used pliers to snip off any jagged edges for a more finished look (optional).

Step 3 - Cut about a 5 inch section of wire and with a pair of pliers, twist it into a double or triple circle at one end for hanging.  About 1 inch from your circle, again with the pliers, bend the wire up so that it will go up and into your heart once you pour the mortar into the mold.

Place your wire as shown in the picture before mixing and pouring in your mortar.  Also make sure your cookie cutter is on top of a piece of cardboard so it doesn't end up adhering to another surface.

Step 4 - Mix 2 cups tile mortar with about 1/2 cup of water.  Stir until completely mixed.  Mixture should resemble thick mashed potatoes.  We ended up used just over a half cup of water.

Step 5 - Spread mortar mixture into your greased cookie cutter and spread around until 3/4 of the way filled.

Wet your fingers and smooth out the top before placing your glass pieces.

 Smooth it until it looks something like the picture below.  This is a good time to check your wire and make sure that it is still sticking up into the cement.  Just wiggle it and you can see the mortar move if it's up in there.

Step 6 - Place glass pieces by pressing them into the mortar and making sure to leave a bit of space between pieces so they will be cemented in on all sides.  Also make sure your wire is centered on the back for hanging.

Let mosaic dry before removing it from cookie cutter.  The first 2 we did we let dry for about 12-16 hours and this last one we removed after only 4.  It just slipped right off with using the vaseline.  Since it was still a bit soft, we were able to very carefully smooth out the edges with our fingers.  Let thoroughly dry before hanging or gifting, approximately 24 hours.

finished heart