How to Make a Mosaic with Your Old Plastic
January 8th, 2009 in other crafts, patterns & designs, restyle, home decoratingThe beginning of a new year is a time for regrouping and reorganizing. So far, my husband and I have cleaned out the refrigerator, under the sink, and then I conquered the big doozy: my overstuffed wallet and bag. After I collected the loose change from the bottom of my bag and filed away the receipts, I noticed that I had an awful lot of old credit cards and expired insurance cards in there.
As I was cutting them up, I had a burst of creative inspiration: All these colorful squares of plastic would make lovely mosaic! I added a few old MetroCards, used gift cards (after the holidays we sure have a lot of those!), and even those fake credit cards that come in the mail. If you don't have enough on your own, ask around: I'm sure lots of people you know have old plastic cards they don't need anymore, but just don't get tempted to use them!
What you'll need:
- Wood frame or mirror (I used a cheap Ikea mirror I bought a while back)
- Paint and brush (you can use acrylic craft paint or even house paint)
- Plastic cards in assorted colors (for a 10x10 frame, I used 12 cards)
- Craft glue for wood and plastic such as Beacon Multi-Grip
- Sharp household scissors
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A few of the old cards I used. That one on top is fake, so don't try to use it! |
1. Gather your collection of plastic. You can use old credit cards, gift cards, Starbucks cards, MetroCards (and other transportation cards), and expired health insurance cards.
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I used some old house paint I had lying around to paint the frame. |
2. Paint the wood frame in a color you like. Repeat with two more coats and allow to dry.
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Cut the cards up into different-sized pieces for the mosaic. There's something oddly liberating about cutting up your old credit cards! |
3. Cut cards into strips and then again into squares and rectangles. You don't have to make them into perfect squares or rectangles; it makes the mosaic look more interesting.
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Mix up colors and textures and don't forget to look at the backs of the cards! Sometimes they are even cooler than the front! |
4. To start making the mosaic, I laid out a section of card pieces in the upper left-hand corner. The pieces should fit into each other with just a little bit of space in between each piece as shown in the photo. If you need to, trim the pieces slightly. Vary colors and shapes. You can use the backs of the cards, too! Sometimes they have interesting type and colors!
5. Turn each piece over, add glue to the back, turn back over again, then adhere to the frame.
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Leave a small amount of space in between each piece. If you need really small pieces, cut up your cards to fill up the spaces. |
6. When you have finished gluing down all the pieces in the section, start another section below the first. Continue until the whole frame has been filled. Trim pieces if you need to fit into the mosaic.
After you make this project, show off your work to other members!
Post your project in the gallery





















Comments (23)
Just wanted to let you know I featured this tutorial in a post all about upcycle crafting. Thanks!
Emily
The Handmade Experiment
http://emilyflippinmaruna.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/must-make-monday-upcycled/
Posted: 4:57 am on July 13th
Posted: 10:10 pm on June 24th
Thanks so very much for sharing!
Posted: 5:44 am on April 22nd
Also, many stores have colorful gift cards which you can just take. (They are worthless until you pay to load them -- well, worthless to anyone who's not a crafter!)
Posted: 1:58 am on March 24th
Posted: 2:19 pm on February 1st
Posted: 1:40 pm on January 29th
Posted: 2:32 pm on January 28th
Posted: 10:37 am on January 28th
Posted: 11:37 am on January 22nd
that!
Posted: 9:05 pm on January 12th
Thanks.
Posted: 9:47 am on January 12th
Kayte Terry, I started making glass mosaics this week too. I LOVE this project!!!!!!!!
Posted: 5:08 pm on January 10th
Posted: 12:43 pm on January 10th
Posted: 11:10 am on January 10th
Posted: 10:58 am on January 10th
Posted: 10:05 am on January 10th
Posted: 9:29 am on January 10th
VEry cute project!
Posted: 9:10 am on January 10th
Posted: 8:20 pm on January 9th
Posted: 1:18 pm on January 9th
Posted: 3:51 pm on January 8th
Posted: 2:30 pm on January 8th
Posted: 1:57 pm on January 8th