As a child I remember going round my Gran’s cottage garden with a margarine tub picking out bits of broken china from the flower beds, and then washing them carefully in the kitchen sink. It was always a childhood mystery why there was so much broken china in my Gran’s garden, one which I never found an answer for. Therefore there’s something wonderfully nostalgic about mosaic making for me. I also love the idea of taking something broken and making it whole, and better than it was before.

Not long ago my friend Sarah taught me how to mosaic. So I thought I would share how to with you.

1. Save up all your broken and chipped china (if you don’t have much you can cheat a buy some from charity shops). This is the fun bit.  Wearing gloves, put all your china in a heavy duty bag, and take a hammer to it. Keep smashing until you have the right size pieces.

2. Chose a base for your mosaic. Sarah uses mdf letters which you can buy cheaply online, you could also use canvas, or a photo frame. I’ve seen people mosaic onto dress maker’s dummies and giant polystyrene spheres. There’s no limit really. Arrange your broken china bits on your base and glue them down. Don’t worry if your china pieces don’t lie flat because they were once a round bowl, you can fix it down with grouting later on. You can experiment with broken mirror, glass and beads. (You can also buy ready cut regular mosaicing pieces online, but I prefer breaking your own stuff, its more therapeutic!)

3. When the glue has dried, mix up your tile grout. You can add acrylic paint of any colour to contrast with your china bits. Using an old store card or butter knife, slap on the grout, make sure you fill in all the gaps and get under any bits that don’t lie flat on the base. Then use an old rag to wipe off the excess from your china bits.

4. Allow to dry, and enjoy!