Category: Step by Step Instructions

  • Using Contact Paper to Transfer A Mosaic Design

    Using Contact Paper to Transfer A Mosaic Design

    Choice of Pattern This method for transferring a mosaic design with contact paper works whether you are improvising on a quickly sketched cartoon or carefully following a detailed pattern for each piece of tile. This method reverses the mosaic from left to right in a mirror effect because the tile is laid upside down onto the sticky pattern and…

  • How To Transfer Mosaic Patterns Quickly By Tracing

    How To Transfer Mosaic Patterns Quickly By Tracing

    This article explains how to use a charcoal pencil (or graphite pencil) to color the back side of a paper pattern and then trace over the pattern firmly to transfer it to a plywood mosaic backer board. I have written a separate article explaining why tracing borrowed images is better than drawing for making patterns for small mosaics  -even…

  • How To Make Mosaic Patterns Without Drawing

    How To Make Mosaic Patterns Without Drawing

    You can and should spend more time “drawing” with tile than drawing with a pencil when most of the details in the mosaic are about the size the smallest piece of tile that can be cut. If the smallest details of your design are larger than multiple tiles, then you should draw a detailed pattern, but most mosaic plaques…

  • Choosing Mosaic Colors Based On Contrast

    Choosing Mosaic Colors Based On Contrast

    Recently artist Jill Miller emailed me wanting some advice about choosing colors for a mosaic table top she was making, and the design she was a chickadee bird with holly leaves and berries. From her photos and a description of the colors she wanted to use for the border of the round table top, it was…

  • Mosaic Pizza Oven

    Mosaic Pizza Oven

    Mosaic Fireplace and Oven Surrounds: The Basics A couple of years ago, I wrote a page explaining how glass, ceramic, and stone tiles can be used for mosaic fireplace surrounds and how the tiles should be mounted with thinset mortar or white PVA (polyvinyl acetate) adhesives such as Weldbond. But we are talking about the SURROUNDS, not…

  • Mosaic Guitar

    Mosaic Guitar

    Artist MC Holt-Evans of Nashville recently made a mosaic sculpture very much in keeping with spirit of The Music City, and her mosaic guitar is worth taking a look at, especially if you are considering making a mosaic on an improvised base such as a musical instrument or a piece of furniture. The instructions below…

  • Small Glass Mosaic Instructions

    These instructions explain how to set up and make a small mosaic from glass mosaic tile. I use our new hardwood mosaic coaster bases with 12mm Elementile recycled glass mosaic tile as an example, and I show how to set up your studio work space in ways that control dust and sharp splinters of glass.…

  • Mosaic Transfer Instructions

    Yesterday I wrote up some recommendations and instructions for Outdoor School Mosaics that focused on a project where each child made a mosaic stepping stone on a paver to be arranged in a crazy quilt design. I forgot to clarify that those instructions were written for younger students and beginners needing to play around with tile…

  • 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…

  • Mosaic Stepping Stone Instructions

    Mosaic stepping stones are great first projects, but they don’t have to be cheap and cheesy or dangerous. Keep in mind that if you totally cover the surface of the stone with large pieces of stained glass, it is likely to be slippery when wet. If you leave sharp edges of glass exposed, or allow…

  • Mounting A Mosaic On Clear Adhesive Film

    Mounting A Mosaic On Clear Adhesive Film

    Clear contact paper can be used to temporarily mount a design of mosaic tile, but it really isn’t sticky enough to be as useful as it should be, and it is better to use the clear mosaic mounting tapes (films) that are specifically designed for that purpose. I have used clear contact paper for small…

  • Mosaic Backsplash Instructions

    There is ample information online about how to go get sheets of tile from a building material store and mount them over your sink and grout them, which is merely basic tiling. This article is more about how to make an original mosaic design and about some basic questions not covered in most of the instructions…