Mosaic Project Ideas for Teens

It is so easy to turn teenagers on to mosaic art. All you have to do is tell them they are making something useful for their room and they will be listening! The great thing about teens is that they can use all sorts of tiles and break them using the wheeled cutters.

Some cool things to make with your teen:

1. Bulletin board - Take a piece of Wedi board and glue a large piece of cork (can be found at your diy store) to the center leaving at least a 2" space all around for the border. Glue assorted tesserae all around the outside border. Try using 3/4" vitreous glass broken into triangles with a dash of metallic glass. The Wedi is great because they can stick the push pins into the cork and it will go into the Wedi with no problems. Use Weldbond for the glue.
2. Picture frame - Buy a cheap wooden picture frame that has a wide frame (at least 1 1/2"). Let your teen glue a string of plastic beads around the outside edge. They can then fill this with colored glass that matches their room. Weldbond works well for the glue.
3. Memory board - Use a large piece of Wedi board and allow your teen to glue a huge variety of memorabilia such as a picture of their fav band, a ribbon from that contest they won, or even a pair of shoes that they always adored but are now too small. Use scrapbooking letters to glue their name and common sayings to the board. In order to cover the entire surface, provide them with ribbon, shoelaces, ect to swirl in and around the objects. You will want to use Liquid Nails for the glue and definately don't grout this one.

These are just a few ideas that can give tons of fun for your teen and their friends. The ones that use the glass tiles can also be grouted using a sanded grout. Just make sure to wait 24 hours before grouting so the glue can dry. Then place a hanger on the back and trim out the sides of the Wedi with ribbon. Now your teen can hang it anywhere they want!

Wheeled Cutters

Wheeled cutters are a major part of using glass tile. This wonderful tool makes cutting glass easy and gives clean cuts with the glass.

When I first starting creating mosaics I used a hammer and sock to break my tiles. I would place the tiles into a sock and whack them with a hammer. Needless to say, I had a lot of glass shards and very little usuable pieces.

I soon found basic nippers. These clawlike breakers work with porcelain or ceramic but are a bear to use with the glass. You have to squeeze very hard and then you usually end up shattering the glass. The crystal glass won't even break using these.

Then I was introduced to the wheeled cutters. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Although they are an investment, it is very worthwhile. You barely squeeze and you get a clean cut on most types of glass. You will never go back to using anything else.

So take the leap and buy the expensive cutters. You won't regret it!

Additions to the Limited Lots

I have just added a bunch of items to the Limited Lots section of my website. These are items that don't sell well and we have decided to discontinue them. Discounts range from 25% to 60% off.

I added the Electric Gems, Glass Shapes, CartGlass Vitreous (not the hot colors), and of course the AfterGlow II Series is still on clearance. There are only a few left of many of these items so grab all that you need at once!

Selling Your Artwork

As a mosaic tile business owner, I see tons of completed works of art from my friends and clients. The question I get the most is "do you think I can sell my work?". Usually the answer is "yes". The next question should be, "where should I try to sell my work?".

There are a lot of bazaars, festivals, and art shows this time of year. Picking the right venue for your work is the difference between selling most of your pieces and selling none.

If your work is mostly bright colors and off the wall stuff, then an art festival is the best place for you. If you work is mostly classical such as religious items, then a craft festival is probably your best place. If you like to go to all sorts of gatherings then make sure to take a huge variety of stuff.

My point is that you need to research the show that you want to set up in before you even register. You don't want to show up at a show with all earthy pots when the show has all art deco stuff. The customers will know what to expect from a particular festival, so should you.

Cleaning Grout

As many of you know, grout can ruin a project or make it beautiful. I have had a lot of clients asking me how to get the grout off of the tiles or how to get grout out of the tiny pores or indentations of the tiles.

First off, many people love the grout being stuck in the pores. So don't think you are weird if you like how it looks. When this happens you get a wonderful natural, earthy overtone to your finished product. This is especially true if you are doing a backsplash with our Art Tile Collection.

If you don't like this look then you will need to act quickly. Quickly means within 24 hours.

There is a wonderful product at Lowe's call Grout Haze Remover. This is a chemical that works very well in cutting into the haze that can stay on the top of your tiles. You must mix it as half chemical and half water. If not then you will leave another weird sticky residue on top of your tiles. Take an old sock or rag and dip it into your mixture. Squeeze it out well and wipe off the haze. It is really that simple.

If you have grout in the pores or striations and want it out then you will need a stiff bristle brush. Often a toothbrush with hard bristles will work fine but sometimes you will need the grout brush from your hardware store (this is if you left the grout on for too long). Dip your brush into the Grout Haze Remover/water mixture and brush off every tile that has the grout stuck in the pores. It really won't take as long as it sounds. After you brush the tile then wipe it off with a clean rag.

These two methods should take care of all of your grout residue issues. If you leave the grout on for longer than 48 hours, you are pretty much stuck with what you have.

Places to Get Ideas

If you are "not creative" or just in a funk about what project to do next, the fix it easy. My very

favorite place to get a design idea is from looking at rugs. Not carpet but rugs. Rugs are made with cool designs and patterns that range from very simple to very elegant and difficult. I don't copy these but instead use them as a muse.




A great website with thousands of rugs is http://www.homedecorators.com/Rugs/. Here you can choose to see designs with different styles, colors, etc. The designs are beautiful.

When I opened my showroom in Shawnee, I did a mosaic rug in the showroom floor. I based it off of this rug from this website. Anyone that was able to come to my showroom then knows that my final creation was pretty cool. Here is what I ended up with. It is a lot different but then again similar.




So next time you are in a slump and need an idea boost check out the website http://www.homedecorators.com/Rugs/ and see what will inspire you!

Teaching Young Children the Art of Mosaics

I have been in one of our local schools for two weeks teaching the entire school how to create mosaics. These students are from Kindergarten to 5th graders. They were so much fun!

This was my first attempt at teaching elementary kids. I have taught middle school students and knew what to expect but the elementary students were so different. I took in 4" ceramic tiles as the base and the Art Tile Minis for the tesserae. We used Weldbond for the glue.

I went in with the plan to show them examples of a mosaic and discuss what makes something a mosaic. I was then going to talk to them about the history of mosaic art and finally show them how math is so closely related. I did this with the first class and quickly ran out of time. I never realized that the 4th graders would take so long to glue on all of their tiles. Instead of the planned hour, it took 1 1/2 hours and that is with all of the adults pushing these kids along.

I learned to leave out all talk of history and math and just focus on how to make the mosaic. The students all had a design drawn beforehand onto a grid paper. The paper had 10 squares going across and down and the kids were supposed to replicate the design using the tiny tiles. This worked pretty well after they got the first row and column set up. They didn't understand the concept of grout joints either but didn't get too frustrated when I made them move their tiles to give that little space.

I had one fifth grade class come in to grout and that was a huge mistake. They were a little rough and kept popping off the tiles. It was a nightmare. So I am going in every morning this week to work on the grouting. The projects are turning out beautiful and should be ready by Mother's Day!