DIY Mosaic Tray from Broken Plates: Step-by-Step Guide

Both of my girls take after their mom in that they enjoy crafting. And it makes my heart so happy!

So, when Lainey asked me in the middle of the thrift store if she could get all the supplies for a craft she wanted to do. Of course, I said yes!

Her first add to the cart was a pretty wooden tray, followed by 3 floral dinner plates. I didn’t know what she was making, but I trusted that she knew what she was doing.

Here’s how she made a DIY mosaic tray:

Step 1: Break the Plates

The first step was the most fun!

To create a mosaic, you need little pieces of tile or, in this case, broken plates. The safest and ‘cleanest’ way to break glass is to wrap it up in a towel first. Not only does it keep tiny pieces of glass from being left on the ground, but it also prevents pieces of glass from flying up into your face and possibly your eyes!

Lainey only wanted the pieces of glass that had flowers on them. So, we picked out any blank pieces and threw them away.

You want to use the flattest pieces to make your tray bottom as even as possible. So, if there were rounded/bumpy pieces that had flowers, we broke them again to try to keep the flattest pieces.

Step 2: Arrange & Glue the Mosaic

The next step is less brutal and more artistic.

Place the pieces of broken glass on the bottom of the tray. Once you have them artfully arranged, pick them up one by one and glue them to the bottom of the tray with Super Glue.

Try to leave as few and as small gaps between pieces of glass as possible.

Let the glue dry for an hour.

Step 3: Grout the Tray

After the glue as dried, it’s time to grout your tray!

We used an all-in-one grout, in the color ‘Biscuit’, from Lowes. It’s super easy to use, since it’s pre-made and you don’t have to mix it yourself. Use a plastic putty knife to scoop grout out of the tub and spread it across the bottom of the tray.

Make sure to fill in all the cracks and crevices. Build the grout up until the surface of the grout is even with the tops of the pieces of broken glass. This will make the bottom of your tray as smooth as possible.

It likely won’t be perfect, since broken glass isn’t uniform like tile. Just make sure you cover any potentially sharp edges and corners.

You aren’t supposed to expose the grout to water until it has fully cured, but we used a damp paper towel to carefully clean the edges of the tray and any grout left on top of the plate pieces. Once the grout has hardened, use a wet sponge to clean all the cloudy dust off.

And it’s done!

Lainey is super happy with how her DIY mosaic tray turned out! And I’m so proud of her for planning this project and seeing it through to the end.

Making this tray was a fun way to spend the afternoon. Plus, she’ll be able to use it for years to come! I highly recommend this craft.