Well my house has been on the market for almost 2 weeks now. I’ve been averaging about 2 showings a day. This week, I’ve gotten 3 offers and it looks like I might have 2 more by the end of the weekend! It has all been a bit exhausting, but I am very pleased that the housing market is so active! I guess I’m not the only one who is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to our economy. I’ll be out of this neighborhood and into a new one in no time!

Lately, all of my art projects have revolved around improving the curb appeal of my house. I have to admit that it shows very well!

One of my favorite things to do is making mosaic table top art with ceramic tiles. I just love smashing the tiles with a hammer! And with all the pressure I’ve been under with trying to sell this place, it feels good to break something! I found this table at a thrift store for $12. What a bargain! I was so pleased and proud of my find. When I bought it, I immediately knew that I wanted to experiment with a different kind of tile that I’m not familiar with. Tumbled marble! I admire chic and classy style of the table. And tumbled marble has some classy characteristics too it as well. The dynamic between the broken, jaged tile pieces and the fluid lines that the table makes, gives this piece of furniture an original edge. When you made a table of your own you can use any kind of technique you want to.

The materials I used were extremely affordable. One pack of 10 tiles cost me about $5. It took 3 packs of antique gold tinted tiles for my table. I used premixed ceramic tile adhesive to glue the tiles onto the table.

This adhesive doesn’t set immediately, so it allows you to move the tiles around. The grout was tricky with tumbled marble. You will notice that there are pores in the marble. They kind of look like dried out pieces of coral that you would find washed up on the ocean shore. I used painters tape to cover the clusters of open pores, and tested out two kinds of grout that I bought from the craft store. White sanded tile grout is ideal for polished ceramic tile, but not for tumbled marble. It’s too grainy and thick. For tumbled marble, use Clearly Mosiacs. Slowly add water to the grout. Once you have reached a desired consistency (which should compare to watered down peanut butter), pour the grout into the gaps and gently spread it around until the table is covered. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before cleaning the grout off the top of the tiles. This cleaning process takes some time, but it will be well worth your patience. Allow the table to dry over night before removing the tape. Clean off excess grout with a damp cloth before you remove all the tape in order to be sure that none of the grout will clog up the pores you have so carefully tried to preserve! Stay tuned next week for a new mosaic technique with more tumbled marble. Happy crafting!