Make a Roman-inspired paper mosaic

Roman-inspired paper mosaic

You will need:

  • Paper or cardboard
  • Scissors
  • Pencil
  • Scraps of coloured paper e.g. old magazines or leaflets
  • Glue

  

1. Start by having a think about your design and roughly sketch it onto the paper.

Sketched outline of a Roman urn

 

2. Look through the coloured paper and collect rough sections that are the colours you need for your design.

3. Cut each section into lots of small coloured squares, keeping each colour separated for simplicity.

Coloured paper squares for mosaic

 

4. Roughly lay out some of the coloured squares to get an idea of how your mosaic will look. Adjust any colours or design elements if you think it's needed.

Roughly laid out mosaic tiles

 

5. Choose one area of your design to begin. Fill the section with as many complete squares as will fit, leaving a small gap between each one. Add some glue to the back of each square before laying it down.

First coloured paper tiles added to mosaic design

 

6. To complete the area, you may need to trim some more coloured squares so that they fit.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with each area of your design in turn. Don't worry if any squares overhang the edge.

Completed paper mosaic design

 

8. Finally, trim off any paper that is overhanging the edges to neaten the final picture.