Need Ideas for Mosaic Art Supplies? Try Creating Mosaic Art Using Mosaic Tiles, Stained Glass Pieces, Beach Glass, Shells, Rocks, Resin Pieces, Broken Jewelry, Small Toys and Other Items. Read on for a definitive guide to mosaic art supplies.
Want to get started with creating mosaic art? The following is a brief list of things you could use in your mosaic creations. This list covers some of the more popular items mosaic artists use for attaching to their project bases. In addition to any of the items listed here, you’d also need adhesive, a good grout, and a base or surface to mosaic.
This list doesn’t cover every last possibility, so feel free to use the list as a springboard for coming up with your own creative ideas.
- Mosaic tiles
- Glass Gems
- Broken china plates
- Broken jewelry
- Small toys
- Cast resin pieces
- Pieces of stained glass
- Beach glass
- Pieces of tumbled glass
- Tumbled rocks; tumbled stones
- Rocks and stones in their natural state
- Shells
Square Glass Mosaic Tiles and Other Commercially Prepared Mosaic Tiles — You can buy mosaic tiles at most craft stores. Depending on the store, the selection might or might not be great. In the past, I’ve purchased both square glass tiles and tiny packaged bits of colorful glass. The quality was great, the purchase was hassle-free, and the only downsides were the high price tags and the small quantity of tiles per package.
Broken China Plates — Broken china plates are my favorite mosaic-making supplies. There’s a never-ending supply of them; every time a plate or dish gets chipped, you have an opportunity to recycle it into something beautiful. It’s satisfying to turn broken dishes into art, especially since the alternative would be to clutter up a landfill with them.
If you would like to get started with using broken plates in mosaic art, be sure to check out my article about how to cut mosaic tiles from vintage plates.
Glass Gems — You can often find glass gems at the dollar store, craft store or pet supply store (look in the section with fish tank and aquarium supplies, because people often use these to decorate the bottoms of their aquariums). You can use them as is, or you can decoupage images to their bottoms to make the designs more interesting.
Broken Jewelry — When your jewelry breaks, don’t toss it in the trash; you can give it new life by incorporating it into mosaic art. Broken jewelry combines well with other artistic bits and pieces such as broken china, shells and beach glass.
Small Toys — Toys could add a fun and whimsical touch to certain mosaic art projects. For example, if you’re creating a project for a child’s room, it might be interesting to include little toys in the mix of supplies you are using. Imagine a child’s mosaic mirror or dresser top studded with a mix of small toys and other baubles.
Cast resin pieces — Cast resin gives you opportunities for creating some of the most interesting little bits and pieces to use in your mosaic work. You can embed all kinds of fun things in your resin; I’ve incorporated beads, pennies, bits of glass mirror, and even some Peruvian “worry dolls” into my cast resin pieces. I used to use cast resin pieces in both my mosaic art and assemblage art; I loved the results, but creating the tiles was a labor-intensive process. It was also expensive. Despite the downsides, I thought it was worth doing for projects where the creative possibilities overcame the downsides.
If you don’t have a source for ready-made cast resin pieces, I invite you to learn how to make your own with our guide to resin crafts.
Glass — You can create stunning mosaics using various types of glass. Mosaic lends itself well to using up bits and pieces of stained glass; mosaic art is also a great outlet for beach glass, AKA sea glass or mermaid’s tears. If you break a glass dish, you can smash up the remains and tumble them in a rock tumbler to get an effect similar to beach glass.
Shells, Rocks and Other Natural Objects — Speaking of a rock tumbler, it’s a good investment for a hardcore mosaic artisan who wants to use natural objects such as rocks and stones. Tumbling can turn the most ordinary-looking rock into an eye-catching treasure. It’s also a fun part of the artistic process; it’s delightful to remove your rocks from a tumbler to see how they turned out!
Rocks aren’t the only natural items you can use for making mosaic art. There’s an entire genre of mosaic art based on a seashell theme. If you do a search for the phrase “sailor’s valentine,” you’re bound to find interesting examples of this type of mosaic art.
Your Ideas for Mosaic Art Supplies — Have an idea that’s not listed here? I’d love to know about it! You’re invited to comment in the comments area below. Thanks for your interest!
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We’ve used the Sailor’s Valentine photo under a creative commons license courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Posted By: Amy Solovay
This page was last updated on 7-11-2023.