Mosaics today are used in so many different ways, both in the home and in garden designs and outdoor projects. In other words, they are back in fashion even though they date back to Roman times.
Do I need many tools for this? Well, you will need your subject to decorate, PVA or a water soluble glue, grout, mosaic tiles, brown paper, sponge, squeegee, pencil, chalk, goggles, face mask, nippers or a hammer and hardie.
What other items can be used? The answer to that is plenty really! You can paint your own tiling with porcelain paint or, as an example, how about trying anything from the following list. Marbles, shells, glass nuggets or even beads, ice crackle glass mosaic tiles, pebbles off the beach, mirrored glass, or even old crocks, if you smash them up!
The tiles themselves come complete with a brown paper backing. So, how do you get this off? Quite simply really! Soak them in warm water, continue by giving the tiles a rinsing and just let them dry. With the indirect method you can use the tiles straight from the paper.
So, to do it this way, you glue your tiles upside down onto a sheet of brown paper with your water soluble adhesive creating an even, smooth, surface.
Use a tile cement on your item, it needs to be a quick drying one though, then you can position your tiling on to the cement, which is wet. Just leave the brown paper where it is for now. Later on, douse the paper with your wet sponge, to remove this once it has dried out.
This is basically the same principal you employ when tiling a bathroom or kitchen. But you will need all your little cracks filled in. It is easy to use your squeegee for this. Use a wet sponge to clean up all grouting. Once it is dry, continue and finish the surface and polish it up.
Now for your designs. When you first start, it is often easier to do something like geometric patterning. With more experience you can move on to designs with circles and curving's etc. The tiles may need shaping to fit your design, so for this you need the direct method. This can be achieved in two ways.
Do I need many tools for this? Well, you will need your subject to decorate, PVA or a water soluble glue, grout, mosaic tiles, brown paper, sponge, squeegee, pencil, chalk, goggles, face mask, nippers or a hammer and hardie.
What other items can be used? The answer to that is plenty really! You can paint your own tiling with porcelain paint or, as an example, how about trying anything from the following list. Marbles, shells, glass nuggets or even beads, ice crackle glass mosaic tiles, pebbles off the beach, mirrored glass, or even old crocks, if you smash them up!
The tiles themselves come complete with a brown paper backing. So, how do you get this off? Quite simply really! Soak them in warm water, continue by giving the tiles a rinsing and just let them dry. With the indirect method you can use the tiles straight from the paper.
So, to do it this way, you glue your tiles upside down onto a sheet of brown paper with your water soluble adhesive creating an even, smooth, surface.
Use a tile cement on your item, it needs to be a quick drying one though, then you can position your tiling on to the cement, which is wet. Just leave the brown paper where it is for now. Later on, douse the paper with your wet sponge, to remove this once it has dried out.
This is basically the same principal you employ when tiling a bathroom or kitchen. But you will need all your little cracks filled in. It is easy to use your squeegee for this. Use a wet sponge to clean up all grouting. Once it is dry, continue and finish the surface and polish it up.
Now for your designs. When you first start, it is often easier to do something like geometric patterning. With more experience you can move on to designs with circles and curving's etc. The tiles may need shaping to fit your design, so for this you need the direct method. This can be achieved in two ways.
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