Crafting art and how to make a mosaic teapot tray

As an admirer of all things vintage, I have always found an afternoon tea to be a delightful experience. It captures both the charm and elegance of a bygone era. Afternoon tea is steeped in tradition, dating back to the 19th century. Participating in this ritual can make you feel connected to history and the genteel practices of the past. The setting of a vintage afternoon tea often includes fine china, silverware, and beautifully arranged tea tables. This creates a cozy and charming ambiance that’s hard to resist. Surely there must be a simple way to replicate this and create a mosaic teapot and teacups?

Mosaic teapot and teacups inspiration

A few years back, I completed a 30 day drawing challenge. To find objects to draw, I searched my house for items and assessed their suitability as drawing subjects. To my delight, my china tea cabinet provided lots of drawing inspiration! A quick search uncovered teapots, sugar bowl, teacups with multiple flower designs, milk jugs, decorative tea strainer and many spoons. Who knew I had collected so much!

For one of my drawings, I chose my favourite teapot. I liked its curved shape, the decorative flowers and best of all, it was good at pouring tea.    

Once I had finished my drawing challenge, I turned each drawing into a simple mosaic design template. Maybe future mosaic inspiration? The teapot design was printed, cut, and traced onto a silver tray purchased from a goodwill store.

Selecting materials to create the mosaic teapot and teacups

When creating a mosaic, there is the option to use artistic license and create artwork according to available materials. For the teapot I wanted to keep the original flower decoration, however not quite so detailed!

I had a few different shades of blue plates that worked well together. The colour variations amplified the different shades and tones of the teapot. For the flowers, I used small roses in silver jewelry, rather recreating the flower in mosaics. Earthy red and orange colours for the teapot base and lid provided an interesting contrast to the blue tones.

A cream coloured plate with a lace inspired design provided the perfect background colour.

I had purchased the teacups design from mosaic classes I had previously attended. Decorated at home, I used a combination of brightly coloured plates, pre cut tiles (leaves, flower centres), and coloured glass.

Turning the finished mosaics into other products

I was happy with the finished mosaic teapot and teacups, listing the mosaic teapot on Etsy.

Then I started the Bonnie Christine course in learning how to use Adobe Illustrator to create surface pattern designs. Mmm, maybe this would be an opportunity to blend mosaics and surface pattern design to create my first pattern collection. Surely I could create a mosaic teapot and teacups pattern?