Stop crying over broken pottery or porcelain. Instead, recycle the shards of a plate or vase to create these unique garden art accents. Before you begin, seek out your raw materials at flea markets or garage sales. You'll find chipped and cracked pieces are dirt cheap, but perfect for your purposes. To keep things looking good, stick to a simple color scheme like this common blue-and-white look. Or, if you are a bit braver, create your own color scheme.

The instructions below explain how to create these eye-catching pieces.

continue reading below Try to leave fairly even gaps between the mosaic pieces.

Wear protective eyewear while creating your mosaic pieces. Break plates or fragments by covering with a thick cloth and hitting with hammer. Use a tile nipper to trim pieces to size. Apply china repair adhesive to the back of each piece; press against the pot. Allow glue to dry overnight.

Applying the grout.

Apply premixed grout from a hardware store or home center to the entire surface of the clean, dry pot. Make sure you completely fill between the shards of pottery for a unified look. If you prefer, leave the rim exposed for decorative contrast.

Smoothing the grout.

Use a tile float to smooth and even out the grout. Allow the pot to dry for several hours. A hazy film of dried grout will appear on the tile. Carefully wipe away this film with a damp sponge. Rinse out sponge as needed.

Wipe grout film off tile surfaces with a damp sponge.

Allow the pot to dry for a week. When you are sure the grout is completely dry, seal with a grout sealer. In addition to their service as homes for blooming plants, these pots are ideal for silverware and napkins for parties, or as potting shed accessories to hold pens or hand tools.