Hobbycraft Mosaic Tray Kit

I love a craft kit! So much so admittedly I have a bag in the loft full of them! As an all round crafter kits are the perfect way to try new crafts and gain more skills without having to fork out on all the equipment for a particular craft.

I bought this Hobbycraft mosaic Tray kit just before Christmas, yes, I know its been sat gathering dust for months! Oopps! But as always, I have a million projects and not enough time to make them. However, lockdown has given us all a bit of free time!

Now kits can be a little hit and miss but I have to say I'm impressed and chuffed to bits with how this turned out.

 

 

 

So, let's get going...

 

 

I've wanted to try mosaic for some time and this kit seemed perfect and practical (Bonus!). Costing £15 it wasn't too pricey and if you're lucky Hobbycraft often have offers on these kits. I was instantly drawn by the pretty blue tile design. So what comes in the box:

• Mosaic Tiles
• Glue
• Grout
• Grout Scraper
• Plain tray 
  

 

You get a good amount of all the supplies, I was a little worried about the amount of grout but it was enough to complete the project. My only slight dismay with the contents was the tray being plain. The picture on the packaging shows it as white, which is a bit misleading! So, you do need to get yourself some acrylic paint and give the tray a couple of coats before you can start. This isn't a big thing of course, but personally, I wish more blanks came in white to save time! 

 

 

Anyhow! Once the tray has been painted the mosaic tiles can be positioned and then glued into place. Now I'm not going to lie this took me hours! I wanted to get as many tiles squeezed in as possible but also keep the colours evenly distributed across the whole tray. I have to say I wish I knew what the glue is in this kit (it comes in a clear bottle with no label) because it's so good! Once the glue has set the tiles in place it's time to grout.

Now I've never grouted before, and it was the part I was most worried about! But it was so easy. I followed the instructions but did find I needed to add more water than it stated to get the grout to a toothpaste consistency. From here it's just a case of filling the gaps between the tiles with the grout. The scraper tool is very good although I found using a clean lollipop stick better for doing the edges and slightly fiddly areas.

 

 

 

After around 15 minutes using a slightly damp cloth clean up the tiles, the grout will come off easily and reveal the beautiful mosaic underneath. 

 

And there you have it! I love it and will definitely try more mosaic projects now I know how easy it is. I would recommend this kit if you want to give mosaic a go. The box doesn't look like much but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was.  You can create some beautiful pieces for the home using mosaic. Go and try it!