Mosaic Tile Runner~~part 2

Okay, so it's time for part 2 of how I did my mosaic tile runner.  I promised.  Time to deliver!  In case you missed it, part 1 is here.

Really this whole part is quite easy.  After cutting or breaking all the pieces, I hauled them inside and plopped everything as close to my area as possible.  I really intended to sit down on the job and work around myself.  That was a no-go: my legs and feet were just in the way.  I can't kneel, so that left me with squatting and bending.  Whew!  Was I sore!  Toward the end I couldn't squat or bend for more than a few seconds, so having everything very close really made the difference.

I had three sheets of 1 inch by 1 inch tiles.  I cut two sheets into strips one tile wide to make a border and began on one short edge by laying down the strips from corner to corner.  Then I added another strip on each side almost touching the first strips I laid down.  

From there it was really very simple: fill in the center with the rest of the tiles.  Like fitting the pieces of a puzzle, I just put down pieces of tile trying to keep the spacing at about 1/4 inch.  When I couldn't get the pieces to fit tight enough, I just found another tile in a slightly larger size.  

If things got too tight, I picked a slightly smaller size.  It helped to use the extra one inch tiles for big open spaces when I just couldn't find something to work.  Notice in the lower left corner that I have a very small rectangular piece and a one inch square next to each other.  

Originally the one inch squares were meant to add contrasting color and dots of texture, but they worked well for filling in, also.

 In the photo above I've finished putting in the tiles.  The cement glue had to cure overnight before we could add the grout.  Since we did everything on a Sunday afternoon, I wasn't home for the grout party.  I probably couldn't have bent over anyway.  

And the finished product with grout and sealer.  We got a spray sealer that could be applied right after the grout was put in.  The only thing that is left is the mopping.  

Yep, lots of mopping to get all the sand and dust off the floor, but it feels so good and the entire living area looks huge now.  I love it! And I especially love my own little mosaic rug!

If you're interested in making your own little mosaic, know that you absolutely can!  Just think carefully about how much bending and kneeling you can do before you decide how large an area you want to tile in pieces as small as 1 X 1 and no larger than 3 X 4.