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Mosaic table

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You will need

1. Small table (revamp an old one or make one using marine ply)
2. Copper rim 1-2cm deep and the circumference of your table, copper nails and a hammer
3. Mosaic tiles (Venetian glass tiles are your best bet. They're easiest to cut and come in every colour under the sun.)
4. Heavy-duty tile nippers
5. Tile grout (use different colours to accent parts of your pattern, or stick to a light sand and darker natural shade, such as charcoal)
6. Firm plastic grout spreader
7. Roll of brown paper and scissors
8. Masking tape, pencil and black marker pen
9. PVA glue and an old jar
10. 1cm-wide paintbrush
11. Adhesive (if you are working on a wood surface, ask for a flexible adhesive, as wood expands and contracts)
12. Safety goggles and a dust mask
13. Sponge
14. Yacht varnish (if your table is wooden)

Method
Plan your design. This is the fun bit and mosaic tiling is delightfully escapist, so really go to town. Find images that you like the shape of, such as insects, tropical palms or huge vibrant polka dots. Use a photocopier to enlarge them to a suitable size for your table.

Transfer the outline of these shapes onto a large sheet of brown paper with a pencil. This is easy - tape your images to a window and place the brown paper over the top. The daylight will shine through, allowing you to trace the outlines. It's important that you use brown paper, as this is strong enough to hold the tiles, whereas normal paper is not.

Once you've drawn a basic outline, go over your pencil lines with a big black marker pen. Mosaic is a bold craft, so simplify intricacies at this point.

Cut the paper with the design on it to the exact size of the surface you are covering. You need to be exact. Any bigger and it won't fit; any smaller and you'll be left with big patches of grout. Put your safety goggles on. When cutting tiles, chips fly off in all directions. Also, when you're cutting tiles and mixing grout and adhesive, wear a dust mask to stop you from inhaling microscopic particles of ceramic, glass, grout and cement.

In an old jar, mix equal parts of PVA glue with water. It's best to make up just a little at a time - a couple of centimetres in the bottom of the jar will be fine.

Look at both sides of the tiles before you start sticking them onto the paper. Often, but not always, one side of the tile will be bumpy and the other side will be flat. Remember that they need to be stuck flat side down (this is the side that will show on your finished mosaic).

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