How to Make a Vintage Tea Cup Mosaic Jewelry Box

This Shabby Chic Vintage Jewelry Box is a great hostess gift, vintage craft project, or even a vintage gift kids can make themselves for Mom or Dad. This Vintage Tea Cup mosaic jewelry box is the perfect hostess gift for anyone who likes to decorate with a vintage or shabby chic look in his or her home.

Vintage Tea Cups are the perfect material when you want to create an eclectic and durable craft in a vintage or shabby chic look in your home. These Vintage Tea Cups are so easy to find at flea markets, Goodwill, and even yard sales.

Working with mosaics can sound a little intimidating, but you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it really is!

To make this Vintage Tea Cup Mosaic Jewelry Box you will need to spread it out over a couple days, so working over the weekend will probably work best. The kids can also easily help with this simple mosaic craft project. While you won't be working on the vintage craft project all day long, you do need to allow for time for materials to dry.

To Make a Vintage Tea Cup Mosaic Jewelry Box You Will Need:

1 Pre made wood box

Vintage Tea Cups (lots!)

Hammer

Grout

Tile Adhesive

1 inch (or smaller) colored glass tiles (all one color)

Primer

Paint

Paintbrushes

The first step of this easy vintage craft project is to go ahead and break up your vintage tea cups. I like to set mine inside of a pillow case and lightly start tapping them with a hammer. You will end up with all kinds of pieces in a variety of sizes.

You can mix and match the colors of your vintage tea cups, or stick to one pattern. Be sure to save those hands from the tea cups, they look so fun and whimsical sticking out of this jewelry box. You can use one on the front of the lid like a vintage handle!

You can buy great wooden and cardboard boxes at almost any art supply store. I see these all the time at Michael Arts and Crafts. You can buy them for as little as $1.99 all the way up to $9.99. They come in every shape from rectangle to octagon.

Now, you need to establish the pattern or lack of pattern you want to create eon your Vintage Tea Cup jewelry box. I personally like to mix and match all the colors from the different tea cups, but you can decide this step.

Once you have your pattern established, you need to start working on your tiles.

If you want to save money and the Vintage Tea Cups are just too expensive you do have some another options. Chose vintage plates and bowls, they can also be broken into small tiles.

Now, to start applying your Vintage Tea Cup mosaic tiles I recommend working in sections. This means, add some glue to the back of your individual broken tile and then place it in the correct location on the vintage jewelry box. If you slip on glue and then try to tile, then you will not be able to see your design on the jewelry box.

Now, once the Vintage Tea Cup tile pieces have dried in place on the jewelry box you can grout. Be sure to read how long your specific tile adhesive needs to fry before you grout.

You can use pre made grout or mix your own to save money.

Now, I would use colored grout for a colorful or whimsical look. Try to match the grout to your Vintage Tea Cup tiles. You can buy grout in almost any color imaginable.

Use a trowel to apply the grout liberally over each tile. Let it dry to a haze, then wipe a way with a sponge until clean and clear.

Now, once the grout has dried on your Vintage Tea Cup tiles you can line the inside of the jewelry box with some matching felt. Use spray adhesive to adhere the felt and you are finished!