Upcycle a wine bottle into a piece of art with mosaic! For this mosaic wine bottle, we mixed seashells from our beach vacation with sea glass colored glass tiles to create a keepsake wine bottle mosaic. You could use shells from your own summer vacation or get shells from the craft store. They have plenty!
We have complete step by step instructions, plus a video tutorial to show you every step. We’ll show you how to lay out your design, adhere your shells and tiles to the glass bottle, and how to grout the mosaic. Follow along with the video then use the how-to below to make your own!
How To Make A Mosaic Wine Bottle
Materials & Tools
Wine bottle (label removed, washed and dried)
Tiles, we used 3/8” to 1/4” square mini tiles in greens, blues, and peaches
Small and medium sized shells
Large scallop shell
Half pearl stickers
White sanded grout
Clear silicone adhesive
Mosaic grout sealer
Disposable container to mix the grout in
Wooden paint stirring stick or putty knife
Gloves
Sponge
Plastic cup for water
Measuring spoon
Paper towels
Steps
1. Gather the tiles and seashells. We recommend using mostly small tiles and shells so they will easily curve around the bottle. We think it’s fun to arrange the tiles on the table before you start bluing. This gives you a chance to be creative, move tiles around, and create a design. Once you have a deisgn you like, use the silicone glue to adhere the tiles and shells to the wine bottle. Try to create consistent spaces between the tiles and shells (called grout lines). Your grout lines should be about 1/8 inch.
2. Follow the instructions on your grout package to mix up your grout. We started with 1 part water to 7 parts grout. Then added more water until the grout was the consistency of natural peanut butter. The grout stays workable for 15 minutes, so once you have it mixed, go ahead and start grouting!
3. Use the putty knife to place a dollop of grout right on the tiles. Don’t fret! You won’t ruin your mosaic. To grout the mosaic, use your gloves fingers to mush the grout into the spaces between the tiles and shells.
The craft stick helps here too. Use it too push the grout into the spaces under the shells. Wipe off excess grout so the grout is mostly between the tiles and not on top of the tiles. (We tried not to get too much grout on the shells as they are harder to clean off than the glass tiles.)
4. The grout will start setting up in 30 minutes. A haze will form on the tiles. Buff the surface of the tiles with a dry paper towel to remove the haze. If the haze reforms, buff again.
5. Let the grout dry for 24 hours. You can seal the mosaic with a thin layer of mosaic sealer. (It won’t be totally waterproof.)
Have you ever done a mosaic? We’d love to hear about your projects or ideas you have. Leave us a comment and we’ll reply. We’d love to hear from you!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
I love you! Thank you for sharing your cool ideas and showing two great ladies working together! Makes me happy.
Thank you for your kind words!! Makes us happy! Jennifer & Kitty
Thank you for the instructions
I just did a window(to the basement) in back of the house… bit off more than I could chew :))
So the clear silicone works well as an adhesive?? i’m having a bit of a time
putting grout on … (not most convenient way) to do it vertically…
Wondering if putting it on glass will be a challenge… almost done
Hi Agnes,
The clear 100% silicone is an excellent adhesive.
Good luck!
J&K
Wow, I just ran across your mosaic wine bottle. It is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a simple project for my wine bottles that was a little different and this is perfect. Thank you for the the instructions. I signed up for your news letter and can’t wait to see what else you do..
So glad you found us!
Jennifer & Kitty