I know looking at it to start, there doesn’t seem to be much too it. But this is just the beginning. One of the reasons that I wanted to make this tray was for snack time. When the weather is nice, I will put all the cups and snack food in a cake pan, because that is what I had, and would head out to the play yard with it. I thought, “how much fun would it be if the children and I worked on a snack tray together so we would have that to use?” So that is what we did. I would like to invite you to join us on our journey. I hope this inspires you to step out and work on a project together with your little ones.
Mosaic Glass Tray Project
Step 1. dab adhesive to the backs of your tiles and set them into the tray base.
Step 2. You can then talk with your children and find out what they would like to see on the tray, or you can just do a drawing and ask them what colors they would like to use best.
Step 3. I used a sharpie so the ink would not smear when the glue hit it. This is just a guide line for the glass to fit into. I then start to sort the colors for the first part I want to set.
Step 4. This is where the children of all ages can really get involved and learn a lot about sorting, and color recognition. The children helping me were from 20 months, to 4 years old. They all had fun working with this glass. You do need to supervise the small ones closely. But it is worth the effort to see their since of accomplishment when they have found the right colors.
At this time, I was going outside to work with the children and was carrying all the supplies out on the tray. We had just had snack inside, the youngest when he saw me carrying this tray full outside, he jumped up and down shouting SNACK! SNACK! and ran over to the picnic table. I guess this was a good choice of a project for us. They really do love that snack tray idea. 🙂
Step 5. I chose the green to start working with because it was the most detailed and ran through all the other colors, so I wanted to make sure it had space to be seen.
Step 6. This is the tiles with my glass design all filled in. I guess the normal way to do a mosaic is to fill in all the background with a color also. I could have done that here, but I really liked the 3D look I have going so I stopped and thought I would try it this way to see how it worked out. When you are doing yours, you can choose many different options. You can have each child do a tile, then use the adhesive to stick them into the tray base. Keep an open mind and see what you come up with.
Step 7. In the kit you will have grout with instructions for mixing. I only mixed as much as I thought I would need. I did not use all that was available to use. I still had more than enough mixed.
Step 8. These are the items you will need to have ready before you start to grout. Mixed grout, dried project, bucket of water, clean cloth to wipe the grout off with.
Step. 9 Spread grout over all the work surface and press into all the cracks and edges. At this time all I could think was, huh, I sure hope I did this right because it didn’t look too bad before……? After it sets for a few minutes you use a damp cloth and wipe off the excess. You will need to rinse often to keep your cloth as clean as possible. Be sure to wipe gently, you do not want to lift all the grout out of the cracks, just off the surface.
Step 10. Once I got it this clean, I let it set for 24 hours. I then took an old tooth brush and really worked to clean up the edges and all the surface areas that had been covered too much. In the flowers I had lost some of the red glass, so I needed to really brush them to get them to show again. I also used a sharp tipped knife to clean up the surface edges so the lines were straight. At this time you can be a bit more aggressive.
This is my finished tray project. After I had the tiles and glass as clean as I wanted, I used a small paint brush and used grout sealer to make it water proofed. I am really happy with the way this project turned out and the children are so excited when they see me coming out into the yard with their snacks.
This Active art and Science Mosaic Glass Tray is only one of the many projects that you can find to do. It sells for $48 It comes with everything you need. Tray, tiles, glue, glass, adhesive, and grout. All you need is some time and imagination.
I hope that you will take the time to go the Active Art and Science to see the other great glass projects available. I love playing with the glass and so do the children. Sorting it and looking at it in the light is a great experience all on its own.
I received product samples and/or compensation in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed above are my own. Any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site.