After washing all of the cups and plates, the fun began. I used a shallow box to smash the china into small pieces. Of course, I wore eye protection since glass shards could go flying.
I wanted to use the cups as the planters so,
A-I began with the tea cup
B-Using a Dremel, I scored two lines on the cup,
C-cutting through completely
D-I then scored a line at the bottom of the cup, connecting the two lines
F-And cut the piece completely off
G-I also cut a slit on the front of the cup, at the bottom. This slit is the drainage hole.
Again, I wore protective eye wear, gloves and a dust mask because of the tiny glass shards flying off of the cups.
This is what the cup would look like once it was attached to the shutter.
I applied mastic to the shutter using this notched “trowel” (cost $0.99 at Lowe’s). If you never applied mastic before, you cannot apply it as a smooth surface, you must make grooves so whatever you are applying, in this case the china, actually stays in place.
I worked in small sections so the mastic wouldn’t dry too quickly.
Because my shutter had a recessed panel, I filled the groove with mastic making the entire shutter surface even.
Then I placed my pieces of broken plates and the teacups onto the shutter making sure they were secure in the mastic.
I allowed the mastic to dry overnight. Now it was time to grout.
I applied the grout it using a Mr. Clean magic eraser-type sponge. You have to squish the grout between each piece of china and this sponge was small enough to do that.
Again, I worked in small sections.
Once the grout was complete, I used a damp cloth to wipe away any excess grout. You normally use a sponge to wipe away the excess grout; however, this project was small and the pieces of china were tiny so the cloth worked much better than a sponge.
I allowed the grout to dry 24 hours.
After the grout was dry, I flipped the mosaic on it’s back and attached 2 “U” hooks onto the back of the shutter.
I took the mosaic outside and sprayed the front and back with Thompson’s WaterSeal. I allowed it dry for 2 hours.
I planted the teacups with plants called “Treadwells” which are low, creeping ground cover.
I hung my planter on a stone wall beside my patio. I screwed 3″ screws between the blocks and hung the mosaic with the “D” rings.
This area gets late afternoon sun so it’s perfect for these plants.