1. Prepare your surface. We put too much time and love into a project to not do everything we can to ensure that it is beautiful for many years to come. You can glue tiles to any surface that doesn't flex/bend. If unfinished wood, you need to paint with a primer or the wood will suck the moisture out of the glue and grout and your tiles will pop and grout will crack. If painted or stained wood, sand the surface to give your tiles some "tooth" for holding. If metal or glass, wash well with degreaser dish detergent and dry thoroughly. Being a scardy cat, I like to sand everything (even metal) to rough up the surface just to be sure that I did everything possible to make sure, but it is probably not necessary. Just make sure your primer/paint is completely dry before you start gluing. I buy a great product called Gripper at Home Depot and prime everything with that. You can also seal wood with a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part Weldbond.

2. Gluing. Most mosaicists use Weldbond, which I carry in my store. If you are using tiles of different heights and you want them level, you can use tile mastic gotten at Home Depot or Lowe's. It is stiff and holds it's shape, so you can raise a tile with it if needed but does not dry clear. You can also glue a piece of popsicle stick to the bottom of the tile to raise it if too thin. After gluing, check your project every few minutes for about 30 min. to see if any tiles have drifted together and re-adjust them as necessary. Try to keep your tiles spaced closely; 1/8" - 1/4" between tiles is good. Also, make sure that you didn’t use too much glue that it filled the spaces between the tiles. Take a toothpick and scrape out the excess if that is the case, otherwise you won’t have room for your grout. Wait at least 48 hours before you grout. Your glue MUST be completely dry. You will know when Weldbond is dry because it will be clear. If gluing on a curved surface, work one area at a time and make sure it is set up before turning it or your tiles will drift together.

3.Grouting. See separate page for grouting instructions.

4.Project design: Start by deciding your main focal or design. Choice of fillers whether plain china pieces, stained glass, etc. Always make sure your piece has some kind of an edge of tiles, whether it be rim china pieces, my 3/8” ceramic minis, leaves, glass gems, etc. , grout in. I like to lay out my design before gluing. Once you have your main elements where you want them to be, work from 1 point of the piece and progress thru it keeping your spacing from 1/8th to 1/4". Try to stay in one area at a time to help maintain continuity. With mosaicing you can really use your imagination. Almost anything goes. If you have pearls or jewelry or objects you want to glue on then after the piece is finished use Weldbond and go for it. Most of my pieces are never finished until I have glued something on them!! As you do more you will find yourself experimenting with cup halves and curves and all sorts of fun pretty stuff!

I hope this helped. Please email me if you have any other questions. And most importantly…HAVE FUN CREATING!