Category: Material and Tool Information
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Mosaic Coasters
Our shipment of hardwood bases for making mosaic coaster recently arrived, and I just now added them to our website. We have bases for making square mosaic coasters and round mosaic coasters, and these are great project ideas for someone wanting to make a mosaic miniature. The coaster bases are made in the USA from…
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Mosaic Christmas Tree Ornaments
Please email us pictures of your Christmas tree ornaments made from our mosaic ornament bases. I would really like to receive a picture of one made to look like a globe of the Earth. I think a globe ornament would look spectacular, especially in mosaic, but I haven’t had the time to make one myself due to all…
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Replacement Springs For Mosaic Glass Cutters
We recently received a shipment of mosaic glass cutters and the factory included some replacement springs in the crate. Mosaic glass cutters and tile nippers tend to lose their springs fairly quickly, so we now have these for sale as replacements. Fits All Brands? I’m thinking that the springs fit most all brands of mosaic glass cutters,…
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How To Cut Marble Small
Recently a customer emailed me asking how to cut a piece of marble mosaic tile into very small pieces. He reported that he could easily cut the marble tile into thirds by making straight cuts, but when he attempted smaller pieces or diagonal cuts, the marble would crumble or break into jagged pieces The customer verified…
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Terracotta Flower Pots Mosaic Warning
Terracotta flower pots are highly susceptible to freeze damage because the material is extremely porous. Moisture seeps into the tiny pores, freezes and expands, and then the surface flakes off as shown below. However, it is possible to use terracotta as a mosaic base provided the mosaic is mounted correctly and the artist understands the limitations of the…
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New Recycled Glass Mosaic Tile Assortments
Color family assortments of 12mm recycled glass mosaic tile are now available. The 12mm Elementile brand of tile is some of our most affordable tile. It also cuts into extremely small pieces with minimal glass dust, shards or scrap. Recycled glass mosaic tile by Elementile is now available in 12mm color assortments. It is our…
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Micromosaic
Micromosaic is merely mosaic which is made from small to extremely small pieces of tile. Note that there isn’t a formal definition of how small the pieces need to be in order for a mosaic to be classified as micromosaic, but some of the better Roman examples are small mosaic insets in brooches and rings…
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Mosaic Gazing Spheres
Mosaic gazing spheres are popular outdoor mosaic projects, and they offer a few simple advantages over mosaic-covered concrete lawn ornaments: They are lighter in weight and can be relocated more easily. Also, the mosaic gazing sphere can be adjusted in height easily by changing the height of the display stand used to support them. These…
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Thinset On Plywood Mosaic Backer?
Thinset mortar can be used on a plywood mosaic backer provided the plywood has been sealed with a white PVA adhesive such as Weldbond. Otherwise, the plywood can suck the moisture out of the thinset before it has a chance to harden leaving it soft and crumbly. It is important to seal the plywood at…
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Broken Ceramic Tile Mosaics
People often email me asking where to get 4-inch glazed ceramic tile in a range of colors to break up with a hammer for making a mosaic. The simple answer is nowhere. Colorful bathroom tile has gone the way of the dodo, at least for now. (I explain why in the last section of this…
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Assessing Glass Mosaic Tile Health and Safety Concerns
Recently a customer emailed me asking if there was an ASTM-D4236 certification for one of our glass mosaic tile lines. ASTM-D4236 is the labeling and precautionary standards for chronic health hazards in art materials. There isn’t an ASTM-D4236 certification for any of our products to my knowledge. They are manufactured as building materials and not…
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Outdoor Mosaic Signs
In the last section of one of my previous posts, Custom Shapes For Mosaic Backers, I showed some pictures and instructions for how I used 3/4-inch expanded steel to make a backer for an outdoor mosaic. The expanded metal was welded together in 3 plies, some mounting bolts were welded to this, and then the…