Easy Christmas Home Decor: Mosaic Christmas Fireplace Screen

This elegant fireplace screen is perfect for the winter holidays. You can give it as a Christmas gift or even make it for your own home. Working with mosaics can sound a little intimidating, but you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it really is!

To make this mosaic Christmas fireplace screen you will need to spread it out over a couple days, so working over the weekend will probably work best. While you won’t be working on the craft project all day long, you do need to allow for time for materials to dry.

By the way, this is a decorative fireplace screen. This means, you should never put it in front of a burning fire. You use this screen to decorate your fireplace reopening when you are not burning a fire. DO NOT USE NEAR OPEN FLAME. Use a metal screen if you have a fire burning.

To Make a Decorative Mosaic Christmas Fireplace Screen You Will Need:

2 sheets of plywood or MDF cut to the same size

1 sheet of plywood or MDF cut to the same height, but twice as wide

2 piano hinges

Grout

Tile Adhesive

Tile, mirror, old plates

Primer

Paint

Paint brushes

The first step is to measure your fireplace or fireplace reopening. Everyone will have a different size, so I can only give you tips on how to know how large to make your decorative mosaic fireplace screen.

Make it slightly taller than the opening on your fireplace. Now, measure how wide the opening is. I like the middle piece of the screen to be this wide. Dive this number by tow an is how wide each side piece should be.

Now, the first step is to primer the front and back of your sheet of MDF or plywood. Let this dry, and then paint on a coat of paint in any color you wish.

The front of the mosaic fireplace screen will be covered in tile, but the back will be visible.

Now, lay all three pieces out on a flat work surface on their back. Lat the large piece in the middle and the two smaller pieces on either side.

Now, use a pencil to draw out your pattern. I personally like to start by tracing out a two inch border around the entire screen. Make sure these liens up on all three pieces.

Now, if you are intimidated by creating a Christmas design in the middle of your mosaic fireplace screen then you can rely on other sources. You can lay out stencils and trace them. You can also blow up designs, old Christmas cards, and almost any image and trace them onto the fireplace screen.

Once you have your pattern established you need to start working on your tiles. You have quite a few options for creating the mosaic tiles on your fireplace screen.

You can buy pre made tiles at the local home imporvemtn store and break them yourself into smaller pieces. Old china and plates can also be broken into small tiles. I find great pre made and pre cut square mosaic tiles at the arts and craft store all of the time. These are pricey though.

Buy some glass snips so you can shape your own tiles if you want. They are sold at home imporvemtn stores, art supply stores, and arts and craft stores.

Now, to start applying your mosaic tiles I recommend working in sections. This means, add some glue to the back of your individual tile and then place it in the correct location on the fire place screen. If you slip on glue and then try to tile, then you will not be able ot see your design on the fire place screen.

Now, once the mosaic tile pieces have dried in place on the fireplace screen you can grout. Be sure to read how long your specific tile adhesive needs to fry before you grout.

You can use pre made grout or mix your own to save money.

Use a trowel to apply the grout liberally over each screen. Let it dry to a haze, then wipe a way with a sponge until clean and clear.

Now, once the grout has dried on your mosaic tiles flip the fire place screen over and lay it face down.

Install a hinge between the middle pays and each of the outer pieces. Install it so the screen door open towards the back.

You are finished. Stand the mosaic tile fireplace screen up in front of a decorative fireplace or even in front of a real fireplace during the day when you are not having a real fire!