Stuff I Use

The whole purpose of this blog post is just to keep a consolidated list of all the things I use to make mosaics. These things are listed here in order to make my reorders easier.  You are welcome to ask questions or make suggestions.

Frames - For more details checkout my frames post.

Frame Lumber

• 2x2 - Lowes
• 1/4 inch birch plywood - Lowes
• Wood Glue - various 

Mosaic Tiles - This is probably the single biggest expense for each mosaic project other than the labor.  I generally make either 1'x1' mosaics or 2'x1' mosaics.  Mosaic of this size require approximately 1.5 lbs or 3 lbs of tiles respectively.  I use the chart below to determine how many tiles to order.

Tile Quantity Cheat Sheet

Note: There are about 140 3/4" tiles in 1 pound.  There are about 600 3/8" tiles in 1 pound.

Tile Vendors

Hakatai - 

6 Jul 2014 - I am trying out a Hakatai as a new vendor since Opus Mosaics apparently went out of business. I purchased 12 lbs of Venetian tile at cost of $31.32 + $25.08 shipping via UPS.  The total cost was $56.40 or $4.70 per lbs.  That works out to approximately $0.034 per tile including shipping.

Jennifer Mosaics - Nice tiles, but Jennifer does not distribute directly. I've purchased tiles from Jennifer Mosaics from Amazon.  The price is about $10 per pound.  Luckily shipping is free if you have amazon prime.  That works out to $0.071 per tile.

Maryland Mosaics - Only sells vitreous tiles on sheets. (No loose tiles).  Current price is between $7.50 and $14.95 per sheet of 225 tiles.  That works out to $0.033 to $0.064 per tile not including shipping.

Monster Mosaics - I haven't tried them.  2 lbs (280 Tiles) would cost $11.50 + $13.59 (UPS ground) shipping for a total of $25.09.  This works out to $0.09 per tile.

Mosaic Mercantile - I've purchased several order of tiles from them.  Lately, they always seem to be out of the tile colors that I need.  Shipping is a flat $9.00. Buying two pounds would cost 17.00 + 9.00 = $26.00. This works out to $0.09 per tile including shipping. The cost would go down slightly on bulk orders.

Tessera Glass - I haven't tried them.  The also sell tiles on sheets of 225.  2 lb of tile is $7.00 + $12.35 flat rate shipping for total of $19.25.  This works out to $0.043 per tile including shipping.

Other various supplies

Mosaic Tile Glue - I mostly use Weldbond.