Sunny side up

Mark Rayner shows how to make a mosaic sunflower.

You will need: Piece of treated 25mm plywood measuring 400mm x 600mm, pencil, exterior PVA glue, paintbrush, tile cutter and nippers and felt pen. Ceramic tiles in the following colours: bright yellow for the petals, dark brown for the centre of sunflower, pale green stem and leaves and assorted shades of orange, paler yellow, reddish brown, pale brown and mustard for the back ground. A bucket of dark brown exterior grout, latex gloves and rubber squeegee.

To get the look: Mark primed the side, edges and back of the panel with Resene Quick Dry primer undercoat and finished it with two coats of Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Woodburn. The background wall was painted with Resene Rob Roy.

Step one
Use the pencil to draw an outline of the sunflower design. Mix one part PVA glue with five parts water and use this to prime the panel. Allow to dry.

Step two
Cut each bright yellow tile into four even strips with tile cutter, and draw a petal shape on to each with felt pen. Cut out each petal shape with tile nippers to and fix with PVA glue.

Step three
Draw a large leaf shape onto a pale green tile and cut this out in one piece using tile nippers. Divide each leaf shape into random segments. Repeat to create a second leaf and stalk.

Step four
Carefully glue the stalk and leaves into position with PVA glue.

Step five
Cut brown tiles into 12mm strips with tile cutter. Cut into small squares with tile nippers. From the outside edge fill in the centre, gluing with PVA.

Step six
Use the tile cutter to cut the remaining background tiles into 12mm strips, as shown, and use the tile nippers to cut these into smaller sections.

Step seven
Apply a random line of tiles along each edge of the panel, fixing into place with PVA, to gradually build up the background.

Step eight
Once PVA has dried, mix up grout and apply with the squeegee (ensure that you wear gloves). Remove excess with a damp sponge. Let dry and wipe with a dry cloth.

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Resene Paints Ltd – www.resene.com