Colored Glass Tile Mosaic “Quilt” #11

Dimensions: Length 20 inches; Width 12 inches; Thickness 3/4 inch; Weight 5 pounds. Do you love stained glass, like I do? Well this is essentially a faux stained-glass window, made from precut squares of glass tile, glued to a pane of glass, with charcoal-colored grout taking the place of lead. In this case, the glass and frame originally were a serving tray. It would add a nice dash of color to your dining room, living room, den or kitchen. Two D-rings are attached to the sides, so you can easily hang it in front of a window where lots of sunlight comes in. Or you can just sit it on the sill and lean it against the window. It is not meant to be used as a tray. Because they are metallic vitreous glass tiles, this piece looks pretty good even when light isn’t shining through from behind; light in front of it will highlight the sparkly gold streaks on the front of each tile. $150. Click here to purchase.

The Story

I paid $8 for this old, beat-up serving tray at the the Arlington [Virginia] Civitan Open Air [Flea] Market. The seller said it dated to the 1920s, and that seemed plausible to me, given the design of the handles and the overall poor condition of the piece. I spent well over an hour hand-sanding to smooth out the two damaged corners and to remove all the original finishes down to clean, raw wood. Then I applied a coat of the dark stain (Minwax “Provincial”) that I like to use on these faux stained-glass projects; the tone better complements and frames out the piece than lighter wood would, in my opinion. After that, I applied two coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic, for a slight bit of shine, like the tray would have had originally. I cleaned the handles with Bar Keepers Friend, which produced a nice, rejuvenated shine (I had no idea they were brass plated!) and reattached them with the original screws. I cleaned the glass and used my computer to plan out a design pattern for the mosaic tiles, then picked the colors for the different segments. I think it’s a nice look and hope you agree.

Related Items: Colored Glass Tile Mosaic “Quilts” #1–4 and #5–10.