Mosaic Art: How to Cut Mosaic Tiles from Vintage Plates

When I first began creating mosaic art, I started by buying expensive glass tiles at the craft store. I soon discovered a more creative, and less expensive, option: cutting my own mosaic tiles out of vintage plates and other dishes.

It took me some trial and error, and much shed blood, before I discovered the methods that work best for this. I am hoping I can save you some time, not to mention physical pain, by sharing what I've learned about how to cut your own mosaic tiles.

Cut Mosaic Tiles With a Wet Tile Saw

There are two methods I know of that work well for cutting mosaic tiles. The first is to use a wet tile saw. I haven't tried this method, but I wish I could have. I know of several mosaic artists who cut plates with a wet tile saw, and their tiles turn out amazingly perfect. Their finished mosaic art looks professional and polished.

If you are serious about mosaic art and you plan to devote a significant amount of time to it, I think it would be worth it for you to research wet tile saws, and to consider buying one.

Cut Mosaic Tiles Using Tile Nippers

If you are just dabbling with mosaic tile work and you aren't yet ready to commit to such a large purchase, the other method is a great place to get started. This is the method I have much more experience with: using tile nippers to hand-cut your mosaic tiles. This method is low-tech, but it can also give satisfying results.

Tools and Supplies You'll Need

Tile Nippers: You can get 'em at most hardware stores.

Protective Goggles: Don't even think about cutting mosaic tiles without wearing eye protection.

Thick gloves: I use gardening gloves with leather palms. Please do not skimp on the gloves; they need to fit you well, and they need to offer heavy-duty protection. Otherwise your fingers will be a bloody mess by the time you're finished cutting your tiles.

Vintage Plates or Dishes: I buy mine at thrift stores and garage sales. Some mosaic artists buy dishes and plates on ebay, but I have not had any success with buying these items on ebay, personally. Your mileage may vary.

Paper Grocery Bags: Double or triple them for best results.

Broom and Dustpan: For cleaning up your work area when you are finished. If you are anything like me, your workspace will be a complete mess after you've cut your tiles.

Containers for Storing Your Tiles: If you aren't going to use your tiles in a project right away, you'll need to figure out something to use for storing them. Don't use plastic baggies for anything more than short-term storage, as the tiles will cut holes in them and fall out. Disposable plastic food storage containers would work better for this purpose.

Tile-Cutting Instructions:

Put on your goggles and gloves.

Pick a plate that you want to cut. Start with an ordinary plate; a plain white one is a good starter plate if you've never done this before. This is also a good method to use with plates that have white centers and patterned outer edges, or plates that have the same pattern all over.

If your plates have beautiful focal designs in the center I'd hold off on cutting those until you've cut dozens of less-fabulous plates. The method I'm about to describe isn't necessarily the method you'd want to use with those; you'd want to cut into them differently, taking care not to harm the design in the center.

After you've selected a plate, put it upside down inside your paper bag, so that the "foot" of the plate is facing up. Fold the opening of the paper bag so that the plate is sealed inside. I put my dishes inside bags like this to avoid having pieces of china flying everywhere. I am sure there must be a better way to do this, and if you can think of a better way, please do it your way. (And please also leave a comment so that the rest of us can try your method too!)

Whack the plate hard with your hammer. You'll be whacking through several layers of paper bag, so be aggressive about it. I usually prefer to whack the "foot" of the plate; depending on the plate, that is usually what has yielded the most usable tiles for me in the past. Each plate is a bit different, and as time goes on you will get good at analyzing which way to smash any given dish to get the most tile out of it.

For most plates that are white in the center and have patterning around the outer edge, I try for one good whack that breaks the plate into two pieces. If you end up with more than two pieces, that's fine.

Open up the bag and pull out the usable pieces of china. Take your tile nippers and use them to cut tiles out of those pieces. Voila! - You now have hand cut tiles.

Transfer your tiles to your storage containers, or use them in the mosaic art project of your choice.

When you are finished, be sure to sweep your workspace thoroughly. I recommend sweeping it at least twice at the end of each session.