Second, it’s also a good idea, to wear long sleeves, not just shirt wise, but pant wise as well. If you are making your own materials, for instance breaking your own glass or tile (which may not be a such good idea in the first place), wear long sleeves, so that if while you are in the process of making your materials, there is no possiblity of shrapnel, or debris cutting you in anywhere, or in any way. Also, if you decide to break your own glass or tile, it’s a good idea to wear safety glasses, at least while you are breaking stuff, so that you do not have anything get into your eyes. Last, be sure to place your mosaic or mosaic materials, in a place where no one can hurt themselves by stepping on them. Let’s just say that it’s not exactly fun to step on broken glass.

There are many different types of glass you can use to create your masterpiece. They can range anywhere from metallic glass mini tiles to premium swirled gems. Millefiori assortments make great accents and the colors and patterns are absolutely dazzling. When applying, thumb tweezers and pick up tools will come in handy.

You may have to use a tile nipper or cutter when assembling your mosaic tile art. If it’s necessary to cut the glass tiles you’ll want to make sure you are wearing safety glasses to prevent any kind of damage to your eyes.

Glue is very important when constructing your artwork. Without the correct glue you could have spent hours creating a piece of art and then have it ruined when your pieces fall off. Welbond mosaic art glue is said to be the best. It’s easier to work with than concrete or construction adhesives.

Most likely you’ll need a mounting grid to assemble the glass, glue, and grout. Grouting is the very last step to creating glass mosaic tile art. You’ll want to make sure it is done outdoors so that you can hose down the mess and the dust created. You should always wear a dust mask to prevent breathing in the dust. Also it would be a good idea to wear some sort of gloves such as dishwashing gloves to apply the wet grout.

Mosaic work can be very fun, although sometimes a little tedious. With a little care it will be done safely and easily. Have fun!

With this in mind, some of the most common types of materials used are crockery, household tiles, glass, shells and random objects people find. Crockery is one of the cheapest materials to use and is abundant to find. However, it is not easy to get a flat surface and the material does not stand up well to outdoor conditions.

Household tiles will allow for a flat surface and will hold up well indoors. However, it is not the type of material to use in an outdoor mosaic. They do hold up well to being walked on if the mosaic will be placed underfoot.

Glass comes in different types. For one, there is vitreous glass which is very expensive. It will have to be cut, which is hard to master. However, it allows for a very flat surface and is outdoor friendly. You can also use stained glass or mirror glass which have the same benefits.

Shells and other random objects will not allow for a smooth surface. however, they do add personal touches to any mosaic since they are often objects that have high sentimental value. Whether they will do well outdoors, depends on what objects you add.

One of the best side-affects of becoming mad about mosaics is a sudden ability to no longer cry over broken dishes. The next time someone accidentally breaks a favorite coffee mug, a piece of heirloom china, or even that lovely cobalt blue candy dish that used to grace the coffee table, instead of being sad – as the ‘non-initiated-into-the-joys-of making-mosaics’ individual might feel, those of us who have been bit by the mosaic bug, may feel a momentary sadness – but not for long. The broken pieces call to the mosaic artist, foretelling a new beginning as part of a future mosaic work of art. The mosaic artist sees opportunity behind the calamity and salvages the usable pieces. All is not lost, hope springs eternal, and the mosaic artist knows that the broken pieces will soon live again.

Some mosaic artists even go so far as to remind their friends not to ‘throw away’ their broken dishes; chipped figurines; or even leftover tiles from home renovation projects. Breathing new life into no longer useful items is the mosaic artists calling.  

Others offer to create ‘memory pieces’ for their friends loved ones who have passed away. An urn covered in mosaic fashion with bits and pieces from the deceased persons’ life can feel more real to the survivors and offer more comfort that some machine tooled wooden container or mass produced ceramic urn.

Collecting boxes and containers filled with these busted, found, donated and salvaged bits and pieces to be held in storage for a future mosaic project – also known as collecting Tessarrae – is one of the greatest joys of the mosaic artists.  Just having multiple materials to choose from can set the creative mind of the mosaic artist off and running. We love having lots of colors, textures, and materials to choose from when we sit down to design our next work of art.

Even expensive collectors china can sometimes be found at a flea markets, thrift stores, or garage sales, selling for a fraction of its intact price because of a minor chip or crack. The mosaic artist doesn’t care about the cracks, because the dish will soon undergo a far greater state of destruction, and these ‘finds’ can add real oomph to a mosaic project.

So, the old expression that there is no use crying over spilt milk, can be altered to there is no use crying over chipped china – so long as you are a mosaic artist or know someone who is.

Always wear safety goggles when you are cutting your tiles to the shape or size that you want them. This will prevent you from potentially getting a piece of glass or ceramic tile in your eye, which will likely have to be surgically removed. When cutting tiles, lay a wet washcloth over the top of the clippers and your hand so that the tile will just fall to your workspace when it breaks. Because the cloth is wet, it is heavy and will not allow the tile pieces to fly all over the place.

Use a heavy tile glue instead of super glue to glue your tiles where you want them. This will make them stick longer while you are trying to maneuver the cement around them to hold them in place forever. If you wipe your tiles off immediately, you won’t have to worry about the cement ruining the glass tiles or having to chip it off later.

Use glass tiles instead of ceramic whenever you can. Glass tiles are more durable and easier to clean later on than ceramic ones. The smaller the tiles you use, the better you will be able to design with them because they can make more intricate designs.

Glass Mosaics are mosaics which use real glass, instead of the standard ceramic tiles or china fragments often found in more traditional mosaic works. Mosaic artists love the variety of glass colors, the affordability of glass and even the versatility of glass. If you ever visit a stained glass store, you’ll find a rainbow of color choices, textures, and designs – and usually there’s a scrap box where you can get some already broken peices for a steal. When thinking about using glass for your mosaic, it’s important to remember that most glass is somewhat transparent, so if you are going to put a piece of mostly clear glass onto an object, and the adhesive or the underlying base isn’t something you want the viewer to see through the transparent glass – then you either need to alter the base, or choose a glass that is opaque. If you choose to paint clear glass to make it opaque, just be sure to attached the painted side to your object, and leave the unscratchable clear side exposed. In other cases – you want the see-through affect. If you have, say painted the object underneath a bright blue, and then apply clear or mostly clear light colored glass pieces on top using an adhesive that dries clear, then you can create an visually striking look, with some depth, as the eye travels through the glass to the surface below.

Glass on glass is another great idea. For example, you could buy a 2×2′ pain of clear glass and have it cut into 1×2′ rectangles. Then you could use an adhesive that works with glass on glass and dries clear and put a design made of different colored but mostly transparent glass pieces on one side, drill a small hole near the top, and then hang them as sun catchers in your window. Because the light will go through your window glass, the rectangle glass and the glued on colored glass design, imagine how beautiful the reflection will be when it catches the sun light. Another super easy glass on glass project involes any old juice glass you might have in your cabinet and pick up for .50 cents at a garage sale. Again, using silicon glue, you can apply transparent pieces to the outside of the glass, then grout with a dark color. Then put a candle inside and the candle light will shine through the transparent glass parts, but not through the opaque grouted portions, casting delightful plays of light and shadow in your room. Or you can paint your glass or buy opaque glass that doesn’t let light through, and then you can use these pieces as you would other opaque materials. Mirror glass comes in many colors and has an amazing ability to create some magic in your mosaic design. Some mosaic objects are made entirely of broken mirror and when located near water or in sunlight have a breath taking impact. Oddly enough, one common mosaic material known as vitreous ‘glass’ tiles, which you may be familiar with if you’ve ever been to the mosaic section of an arts and crafts store, really isn’t a material used in glass mosaics. Instead, we picture real glass, such as window glass, broken bottles, pieces of mirrored glass, grandma’s depression glass punch bowl, and especially the whole stable of stained glass as the primary tessarae for a glass mosaic. If you have an old, broken mirror, instead of throwing it away, it may be a good idea to consider making a unique glass mosaic out of it instead. Just be sure to be careful when handling broken glass, and have enough material, or at least of pretty good idea of the size of your project.

It is always a good idea, when making a glass mosaic, or any kind of mosaic for that matter, to draw out your idea before you start your project, this way you will know how much glass, or material will be needed before you start your project. Also, you should have a pretty good concept of how glass breaks before you start. Visit your stained glass store and invest in a quality glass cutter. Breaking glass without first scoring a line to show where the break should occur, will greatly frustate you. One of the great things about using glass is the cutting versatility. It’s a good idea to get some instructions and a little practice while you are in the store, and then practice, practice, practice your cuts on scrap pieces of glass – before you try your skills on the expensive pieces.

Just remember a few safety tips when cutting glass. Always wear safety glasses. Always work in an area where animals and children aren’t likely to walk and pick up tiny shards. Always be careful when picking up your glass pieces. Wear long sleeves to protect your arms from pieces of glass. Clean up your workspace carefully and frequently, and avoid eating or drinking in your workspace (glass doesn’t do a body good!)

Here’s a simple project.

Purchase some standard 4×4 white bathroom tiles.
On the rough side (not the shiny side) draw a design of some kind with a sharpie maker. Simple center design with border works well.

Using existing vitreous glass tiles or other thin flat tessarae, begin first by laying down your border – (you can use tile mastic for this) and then cut out your pieces to lay down the central design. Use a popsicle stick to butter the pieces or lay the mastic with a light hand directly into the area where you’re going to place the pieces. Keep a moist hand towell near by and keep your hands clean so you don’t get mastic residue all over your pieces you’re going to be attaching.

Don’t put any mastic on an area until you are ready to add your piece. Best to start with the border. Then build your main central design. Then fill the background using randomly cut shapes and sizes to help the primary design pop out. Best the use a background color that varies from the primary design or border.

This technique works great if you are using opaque stained glass windows. The main thing to remember is that you are creating a Trivet – so you want it to be pretty flat on top. If you have a large piece of heavy wood, you might try pressing down onto the piece after 30 minutes or so, to try and level the pieces – but, you run the risk of having some pieces come up. Using care, try to remove any excess tile mastic from between the peices, or try to remove any that’s drying on top of the pieces – all without dislodging your work if possible.

Once you are satisfied that there’s no ugly mastic drying on your shiny tile or glass pieces, and there’s enough room between the pieces to hold some grout – set your trivet aside overnight to dry.

The next day, you can grout your piece, using colored grout if warranted. Often black grout looks good with these types of smaller pieces as the dark background makes the colors pop.

Here’s a video from eHow with Tips on Grouting

How to Grout Mosaic Tiles — powered by eHow.com

With practice, you could turn out 10 of these in a week-end, each with a slightly different design and get lots of your gift giving done all at once, or start selling your work at the local craft co-op.

Let’s take a look the end product, the actual creation steps taken by the maker of this mosaic and then let’s put our heads together to see if we can diagnose – what went wrong.

Materials:  Terra Cotta Tray – 6 inches, Assorted pebbles, glass tile

Step one: -  Bottom of Terra Cotta Tray sealed with water/white glue. (Top of tray, where mosaic goes – not sealed.)
Step two: – Pebbles & Glass Tile pieces attached with Silicon Glue along rim, and then inside the tray in a more or less random design.

Step three: – Allowed to dry overnight

Step four: – Grout made and applied, excess wiped off after 30 minutes with soft cloth

That’s all that was done. This object is kept outside in the garden, and only looks good when it’s got water in it.

Here is a list of the Problems with this Mosaic Project Gone Wrong: 
- Pebbles on edge are coming off
- Glue showing in some places
- Some pebbles and some tile pieces are barely visible under the grout
- The grout is cracking around the pebbles on the rim
- The grout always looks “powdery”
- The visible glass tile pieces and pebbles always look dull (unless water is in the bowl)

You are invited to be the mosaic detective. What’s your diagnoses? Please make your comments below.

Direct Method

The first method is the direct method. The direct method involves directly placing the individual pieces of tile, called tesserae, directly onto the surface where your mosaic will be. This method is nice when doing small projects such as flower pots, or for surfaces having a three-dimensional look, such as walls. You will have a dimensional look if your pieces of tesserae are not all the same thickness.

Another nice thing about this method is that you see your mosaic take life, and as it takes life you can make little adjustments. However this method is not suited for large projects and for mosaics needing an even surface such as a floor mosaic.

Indirect Method

The next possible method you can use is the indirect method. This method involves gluing your tesserae face down on a paper backing. Once it is completed you can then transfer the mosaic sheets into your mortar where it will permanently reside. Once the mortar has dried you then wash away the paper to reveal your art work.

This method is used for large projects because it allows you to work away from the site and gives you more time. You can also divide your mosaic into smaller sheets of one or two square feet. This method will also give your mosaic an even surface since it is the face of your tesserae that is glued to the paper.

The only disadvantage of this method is that you do not see your mosaic come to life since you are gluing all your pieces face down onto an opaque paper. Your mosaic will become visible only when you wash away the paper.

Double Direct Method

The double direct method is a modern version of the direct method. It is sort of a combination of the indirect and direct methods. This method involves gluing your individual pieces of tile onto a fiberglass mesh.

You can use this method for large projects, and it is a very good method when you are making mosaic borders. You also have the leisure of working where you want, like you would with the indirect method, and seeing your mosaic evolve as you are adding pieces, like you would with the direct method.

This is the method I prefer, I really cannot see any big disadvantage using this method, it is a bit longer to create your mosaic but you can really see your mosaic come to life and make little adjustments along the way.

So the method you decide to use to make your mosaic might depend on your project but you have the final word, use the method you think will work for you. As a beginner I recommend you make small projects using the direct method. As you become experienced and want to make larger mosaics go towards the double direct method. Once you are at ease with this try your hand at the indirect method.