How to Make a Mosaic Bird Bath

Start with a terracotta saucer from any garden centre. If you live somewhere that freezes, ask for one rated for outdoor use - an indoor saucer will crack over winter.

Spread your tiles out where you can see them. Pre-cut 1cm squares, larger 2cm squares and ready-made ceramic shapes all work, and mixing sizes is what gives the finished bath its rings.

Terracotta is thirsty. If you skip this, it pulls the water straight out of your adhesive and the bond suffers.

Mix PVA glue and water roughly half and half in an old yogurt pot - one spoon of glue is plenty - and paint it over the inside of the saucer. Let it dry before you move on, though a little dampness will not hurt anything.

Any outdoor-rated tile adhesive will do. Brand matters far less than making sure the tub says it suits exterior use.

Add water a little at a time until you have a thick paste that holds its shape on the spoon. Too runny and it squeezes up between the tiles when you press them down.

Butter the back of each piece with a little adhesive and press it into place. Helen builds a small flower in the middle from ready-made ceramic petals.

Lay the motif out dry first so you know where everything goes. Once these pieces are down you can nudge them slightly, but you cannot make real adjustments.

Jump out to the perimeter next rather than working straight out from the middle. Running the outer ring early gives you a clean, deliberate edge around the rim of the saucer.

Keep the adhesive off the sides of the saucer while you go - anything that squeezes out there will set hard and spoil the edge.

Switch to the bigger 2cm squares for the next ring inward. The size contrast against the small pieces is what makes the bath look designed rather than random.

Spacing will not be perfect - that is the trade-off with no-cut mosaic, since you cannot shape pieces to the curve. Nudge the whole ring along to spread any wide gap out.

Fill what is left between the motif and the rings with lighter pieces. Keeping this band paler separates the three parts of the design so the flower still reads from a distance.

Then leave the whole thing overnight. The adhesive needs to go off properly before grout goes anywhere near it.

Mix up a mid-grey grout and work it across the whole surface, pushing it down into every gap between the tiles.

Do the edges too, filling the gap between the outer tiles and the saucer rim. A mid-grey suits almost any tile colour, which is why it is the safe pick for a first mosaic.

Give the grout a few minutes to firm up, then rub the surface back with a damp sponge until the tiles come up clean.

Get the excess off the inner rim while it is still damp - it lifts easily now and fights you once it cures. Then leave it to set fully before you fill it and put it out.