mosaics: How hard are they to do?

Question

Going to be creating a mural for a wall.... have NEVER done any mosaic work before ....... how difficult is it to do? and any tips/suggestions

Answer 1

buy some graph paper and colored pencils. do your mural first on the paper so you can see how many squares you will need and what colors and where your cuts will be if you need to cut them. Try to simplify the design and colors. Make a similar graph only bigger on your wall
Buy a pair of tile nippers to snap the tiles. Have sand paper handy so smooth rough edges. see if a local tile shop has tile sold in sheets that can be cut apart with a knife. You will know what colors you need after doing the graph. Your tile store will be cheaper than craft tiles from Michale's or Hobby Lobby. Measure how large a surface the wall is you are covering so you can estimate how much it will cost before you start. Keep the mural up higher to save costs as much below your knee height you wont see it anyway, or consider doing larger bathroom ceramic tiles as a boarder to save money and add a finished look.

Answer 2

Mosaics are a lot of fun. Cutting glass or tiles can be quite exhausting when done at a stretch, but when doing large murals, you will have a lot of freedom with regard to shapes. If you are interested in lessening the amount of work with regard to cutting, you can buy small mosaic tiles available at craft stores like Michaels or available in tile stores. Glue the pieces onto a clean surface using the appropriate adhesive. You could also incorporate additional materials like marbles, mirror pieces and pebbles in your design. The grouting process at the end is a little time consuming. The removal of the excess grout with a wet sponge takes a lot of effort, but when well done adds to the overall beauty of the mural. The grout can be obtained in various shades at hardware stores or craft stores, so you could choose a color that complements your overall design.

Answer 3

,Mosaics are a blast- you can use any number of mediums from paper to glass
May I suggest that you start out with paper -plan one out that way!
creating mosaics with glass or tile is fun but oh so messy be ready and able to spend some time on the grouting process so that you don't have to stop before you are ready.

Answer 4

Well i have done stepping stones, but i never did a wall one. But i have seen people do it on t.v. before. I think they usually tape the glass pieces up and then then putty in the batter. And then they wait for how many hours and then they either slightly get some of the batter residue off the glass pieces that gather around the glass pieces, I don't know if they sand it or not. I hope that was help to you. Good luck!