Mosaic Tiles 101: Materials, Grout, and Getting Started

Mosaic is one of the most forgiving crafts to start — there's no kiln, no wheel, and no long list of equipment. But a few material choices up front make a real difference in how your first project turns out.

Choosing your tile

Tiles come in a few common forms: flat glass or ceramic tiles for a classic, geometric look, and rounded "smoothie" style tiles with smooth edges, which are a great choice for beginners and younger mosaic artists since there's no sharp edge to work around.

What are you mosaicking onto?

Your tiles need a solid backing — a mosaic base plaque, a piece of bisqueware, wood, or another sturdy surface. If the finished piece will live outdoors, make sure both your backing and adhesive are rated for outdoor use, since moisture and temperature swings can loosen tiles that aren't.

Adhesive and grout

For most indoor mosaic projects, a standard craft or tile adhesive works well to set your pieces in place. Once your tiles are set and fully cured, grout fills the gaps between them and locks everything together — it also protects the edges of your tiles and gives the piece a finished, professional look.

Getting started

A simple first project — a small plaque or coaster — is a great way to learn the basic rhythm: arrange your tiles, adhere, let cure, then grout. From there, more ambitious shapes and patterns are really just the same process at a larger scale.

Shop the basics

Browse our full Mosaic collection for tiles, surfaces, and tools to get started.