Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
WATERMELON BIRDBATH
Gather your supplies
• Terracotta birdbath
490 x 110 x 490mm
• Primer (sealer)
• Tiles 75 x 150mm: 2 white,
10 dark green, 9 pink
• Tile nippers
• Tile adhesive
• 22 individual black penny round tiles • 1 litre ready-mixed glue grout • Flexible knife (or old plastic key card)
You’ll also need
Paintbrush; safety glasses; tea towel; hammer; disposable gloves; dry soft cloth; nylon nail brush; old bread knife
Here’s how
STEP 1 Apply sealer to the inside and outside of terracotta bowl with a paintbrush, then leave to dry.
STEP 2 Wearing safety glasses and using a hard surface as a base (this could be a tabletop or chopping board), place tile right side down with tea towel on top. With a hammer, tap on top of the tea towel, breaking the tile into small pieces. You will need a variation of shapes and sizes. For detailed shapes or smaller sizes use the tile nippers.
STEP 3 With gloves on, start adhering pink tiles to the middle of the bowl by putting adhesive on the bottom of the tile with an old knife. Press down onto bowl. In the pink section sporadically add the black penny round tiles to represent watermelon pips.
STEP 4 Once the centre bottom of the inside bowl is ¾ covered start the top of the bowl rim in the green coloured tiles. Use the tile nippers if you need tiles to fit within a space. Complete the whole circumference of the top of the bowl.
STEP 5 Add green tiles to the top inside of bowl – complete a single line in the green tile all the way around.
STEP 6 Directly below the last completed green line, start adhering a white line of tiles that goes all the way around the bowl.
STEP 7 Fill the gap between the white line of tiles and bottom pink tiles with more pink tiles and the black pips to finish off. Leave tiles to set overnight. Be sure to check manufacturer’s timelines for glue setting just in case, as times can vary.
STEP 8 Put tile grout onto the base of the bowl and push down with a flexible knife (or old key card), filling all the cracks and gaps. Leave for a few minutes until the surface has dried, then brush off any excess grout using a stiff nailbrush.
STEP 9 Polish with a soft cloth when the grout is dry.
STEP 10 Turn bowl upside down and repeat mosaic steps to cover the outside of the bowl, this time starting near the rim and working your way to the bottom of bowl. Stop about 10cm from the base, leaving the terracotta to show.