Mosaic Art Supplies: Bits and Pieces You Can Use for Creating Mosaic Art

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
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.

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

I used to use cast resin pieces in my mosaic art; I loved the results, but creating the tiles was a labor-intensive process. It was also expensive.

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.

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!