A Mosaic Table Top Gift

It's not the first time I've presented my sister-in-law with a handmade gift.

Over our 30+ years of friendship, I've knitted her a cosy hat (modelled here by my husband), a shawl to swathe herself in and some not quite matching fingerless mitts.

I've even made her a lampshade which I presented with the bulb attachment and a bottle of her favourite tipple so she could easily upcycle it into a lamp.

But a milestone birthday demands a special gift - so I decided to make her a table. At our age we should be taking it easy, putting our feet up and enjoying our elevenses at leisure, or sipping an early evening aperitif in the garden in the fading sunlight. A wee table on which to place one's favourite mug and book, or wine glass and nibbles, sounded like just the kind of gift I wanted to give.

When I say 'make a table', I most definitely lack the carpentry skills to start from scratch so I approached my mosaic tutor, Ann, to see if a suitable base might have happened to have come into her possession thanks to the diligent car boot foraging skills of her partner, Will.

Indeed there were many tables on offer which oozed makeover potential.

But all of them were wooden and only suitable therefor for indoor use. I could really see Frances enjoying an outdoor table on which to rest a cocktail adorned with a tiny umbrella or a pretty bone china cup of steaming hot coffee. I'd just have to wait for the perfect base.

As it happened, I didn't have to wait long. A spot of spring cleaning at Ann's studio unearthed two cast iron tables hidden under a multitude of other treasure. I had my pick, then Will cut a base on which I could create a mosaic table-top for the birthday girl.

Ah - the joy of planning the design - laying out pretty pieces and moving them around again and again. Especially enjoyable when you can work outside in the late summer sun.

Delightful though it was to spend endless hours in this way, I was up against the clock. I'd only one session at Ann's studio before the big day so had to finalise my design and glue it into place. The other tasks required to finish the project could be completed by me at home.

The concentric glass cabochons, interspersed with millefiori, I finally settled on bear little resemblance to my original ideas - apart from the rainbow colour scheme.

A cheerful and timeless design classic!

To my dismay, I knocked one of the purple gems off the board as I was removing it from the car only to watch helplessly as it disappeared into the inaccessible seatbelt hole to my cries of 'no, no, no'!! I had no identical replacement at home and no time to visit the mosaic studio again.

The glass gem I found in my bead box is not an exact match but I rather like its mismatched appearance. After I'd attached the beautiful millefiori to the spaces in between the glass nuggets it was time to grout. Full PPE was required!

Uncovering all the detail is part of the joy of grouting. I always refer to a photo on my phone of the mosaic prior to covering it with grout so I can remind myself where all the beautiful beads actually are.

Then you can never polish it too much. Glass sparkles so gratifyingly within a mosaic.

Whilst the grout hardened, I was able to crack on with painting. The cleaned cast iron table base benefited from a new coating and I chose a hammered effect black paint that complimented its aged appearance. Here's a bit of before and after the painting process. The shiny bit is new!