Steampunk Mosaic House Numbers
10 Materials
$15
30 Minutes
Easy
We love steampunk and we love doing mosaics, so we made these mosaic house numbers with a little steampunk style. And the best thing about this mosaic? No grout! So they are fast and easy (and fun!) to make.
We made a complete video tutorial for this project. You can see it on our blog by clicking here. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter while you're there. We post new projects all the time!
We started by spray painting wooden house numbers black. Then we smeared black silicone all over the front of one number using a putty knife.
Next, we cut the shanks off the back of a few brass shank buttons. Then we stuck the shank buttons, keys, and charms into the silicone. We used mini tiles to make a border around the number.
The black silicone shows through the tiles and looks like grout! Here's a detail showing the keys, locks, and heart charms mixed with the tiles.
We repeated the same technique to make the other numbers, but we used different color tiles for each. Just for fun! You can see the whole list of materials we used, plus the step-by-step instructions, here.
We've used this same technique to mosaic a heart for the garden using broken brooches and rhinestone earrings. It turned out so pretty!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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3 of 169 comments
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I used to make crosses like this and sell them. I had so much fun.
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I love what you done on this project and do intend on using it myself. I was wondering what kind of protection to spray or paint on to protect my master piece from the outside elements. Can you suggest a product that will not interact with the silicone and loosen up the tiles. Thank you
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You shouldn’t need to clear coat the project, unless you use plated steel buttons. If using plated steel buttons, I’d coat them with exterior grade polyurethane, first, before applying them.
The silicone should be ok in the elements.
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Frequently asked questions
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Where do you get the mini tiles. Do they come in different colors so you can mix and match. Love this. Will show to my daughter.
Is there a way to Pin this in Pinterest, to save for later?
Can you tell me how many tubes of black silicone to buy for 7616? I'm planning to use the same size numbers as you did. Thank you so very much!