Wander Susan Wonder

A few years ago I started collecting plates from every country I visited. I challenge anyone to visit the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and NOT develop a love for plates. Needless to say, the nomadic lifestyle of packing and re-packing can be hard on pottery and not everything survived. I guarantee if my mom is reading this, she is shaking her head and sighing because a couple of the plates happened to be in her suitcase when they broke.

We tried to salvage some of the broken pottery, but being elbow deep in Gorilla Glue will make you think of new ideas for old broken pottery. My granddaddy made a plain serving tray, so I decided to make a mosaic of the broken plates.

Disclaimer: I talk a big crafting game, but I am not a professional or a perfectionist, so just take this craft for what it is, even if it looks like a kindergartner did it. Just think about the deeper meaning of something broken being re-purposed to something better…or whatever.

Here is how most of my projects start….just a pile on the floor, but I had looked at about 5 pinterest photos before I started…so I felt super informed already.

I took the semi-broken plates, put them in a plastic bag, and then took a hammer to them. I had to take a deep breath before I completely shattered these plates connected to so many memories of different markets across the world….but I also got some frustration out…so that’s something.

I grabbed my grout and spreading tools (thanks so much Hobby Lobby) and started putting the pieces together. Now if you like symmetry and things fitting together perfectly (looking at you Brittany), you may hate this, but for the girl who kinda likes to throw things together with no rhyme or reason….this was the craft for me

The surface of the tray turned out to be pretty uneven because the pieces were such different sizes, but it sure did look cool…

So there she is….not completely perfect, but the broken plates are not sitting in a box in the corner of my room anymore. Victory!