Otherwise you will hear comments like this: 'Oh I wish I had known that you were into mosaics! I just gave away sacks and sacks of my great aunt's old costume jewelry to Goodwill!' 'Oh, no! I just bought new dishes and I threw away my old set! It was a gorgeous pattern but some of the plates were chipped!' Word of mouth is amazing-you can be in the most unlikely place and suddenly be given a box of vintage stained glass or a brand new glass grinder or box of tools. When you get started in mosaic, let all your friends and relatives know. Garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, Craigslist, stained glass shops, online from eBay and Etsy, hobby and craft stores such as Michaels and Hobby Lobby, and even the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes. Where Can Find Tesserae?įirst, the obvious places. I have published an article which discusses the complete mosaic process, choosing a substrate, an adhesive, grouting, sealing, etc. I hope you find an idea in this article that fires your imagination.

I like to mix it up when I create a mosaic, and I might include jewelry, ceramic tile, stained glass, broken china, mushroom coral, drapery glass, and figural pieces all in one piece of work.

This plate, which sold for 99 cents at a thrift shop, is in perfect condition and might sell for around $20 on eBay, so a decision must be made whether to nip into pieces, or list it on eBay. I would carefully nip the square plate with roses, using Lepponit wheeled nippers, preserving each beautiful flower if possible. The plates pictured illustrate this concept. Tile nippers and wheeled tile nippers will give you much more control over the shape and condition of your tesserae. I don’t think you will be happy with the results. Many people think that a mosaic is created from shards made by smashing plates with a hammer. You might begin your collection of mosaic tiles from plates by discarding the white centers and focusing only on the colorful rims, but I suggest that you set aside the white centers of nice porcelain plates and save them for awhile because you might need white as a background or you might want to do a piece entirely in white – using white tile, porcelain, pearls, crystals, and mushroom coral, for example. It is possible to come across a plate or bowl worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars at a thrift shop. You might consider selling undamaged pieces on an online auction site. That’s why the best finds, in my opinion, are beautiful plates that have a little damage on the rim. I cannot bring myself to break a treasure such as this even if I only paid 99 cents for it! I sold the two plates on eBay for $50 each. Herend is a porcelain manufacturer in Hungary that specializes in luxury hand painted porcelain. I did a little research on Google and eBay and found that they were Herend and worth much more than I paid for them. As I held them toward the light at an angle, I saw that they were both in pristine condition. They featured lovely hand-painted insects, delicate moths and butterflies. Here’s an example: I bought two beautiful plates for 99 cents each at a thrift shop. Over time, you will learn the trademarks on the back and what they mean. With our wonderful resources today, you can jump on the internet and do some research. However, you might come across a beautiful old plate with a stunning design rimmed in gold and your instinct will tell you that it might have some significant worth. An ideal plate might have a small chip in the edge. Another might have butterflies or flowers that work into your design. The porcelain is strong yet thin and easy to nip. The ideal plate might be a porcelain plate from Europe that has a gorgeous rim design with deep colors such as fuchsia or royal blue rimmed with 24K gold, and a beautiful design in the center. You may begin to look for plates that have a design on both the rim AND the center. The edge of the plate is usually thinner than the rest of the plate. You note the curvature of the plate and whether it will work for you. You learn to take note of where the design is positioned with regard to the footer on the back. I have learned to steer clear of the extra thick, heavy pieces that are difficult to nip. For example, I do not use pieces made in China. You will learn which pieces will work best for you. As you progress, you will develop favorites and begin to collect a variety of broken china. Outer space mosaic, contains an iron pyrite flower, glass globs, stained glass, glass cabochons, broken pottery, ceramic tile, costume jewelry, crystals, amethyst, pearlsīroken china (pique assiette) -Colors and design are limitless and can add wonderful texture and contrast to mosaic work.

Tessera tiles