The Art of Mosaics - Tips and Techniques

Changing from Tile Shack to Glass Tile of Oklahoma

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:51:00 +0000

We are making a huge change this week. We will be closing Tile Shack and reopening as Glass Tile of Oklahoma. We are now a glass tile liquidation company. You will receive the same great service and products but through a different website.

www.okglasstile.com

We have a new shipment arriving Tuesday, April 28. This will contain restocks on most of our Art Tile Collection, some Brushstrokes, and a few Art Tile Minis. We are also adding a few new items.

Once we get our new shipment, pricing will go up slightly. We have made our new and restocked items available for pre-order on our www.okglasstile.com website. These are available at the old price and will only be priced this low for a limited time. All pre-orders will ship out by Thursday, April 30.

We will no longer be offering Artist or Trade accounts. The pricing will be so low on our tile that you won't need it! However, we will be offering special discounts on very large quantity orders. More info will come soon for this.

Liquidation Event Still in Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:09:00 +0000

We are making some amazing changes that will be announced soon. In the meantime, you will find that our Liquidation Event is still going strong. We are out of a lot of colors but still have many items still in stock.

We have marked all our AfterGlow Series down to 50% off. All full sheets are now $5.95 each!

Using Both Sides of the Tile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Many people get very annoyed by the bumpy, ridged side of vitreous glass tiles. When cutting this tile, these bumps can be very aggravating. They cause your wheels to slip into the grooves and can make cutting difficult.

A friend of mine recently decided not to let the ridges bother her. Instead, she is now using them to her advantage.

Let's start off with cutting. The grooves are not there as a guide for where to cut. You are better off to just forget they are there. However, some tiles seem to cut better across the grain while others cut better with it. You will have to test a couple to tell for sure which tile needs to be cut in which direction. To get the best cut, you will need to hold the tile securely in one hand while cutting with the other. If you let the tile slip then your cut will be bad.

My friend that I spoke about wanted to create a deer using the vitreous glass. She selected all her colors in the tiny tiles. She did this so she could get as much detail without cutting so much. She cut all her tiles in half to make slivers to represent the growth of hair on the deer. But when she tried to glue these slivers to her board they kept falling over. Out of frustration, she turned all of the tiny shards over and glued them all upside down.

After she grouted it, the effect was amazing. Her deer turned out great. Each tile looked just like the flow of the deer's fur. She could not have achieved this if she would have placed all of the tiles face up.

Sometimes it pays to have those bumps!

Still Running Out Of Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:46:00 +0000

We are selling out quickly. Luckily we had tons of inventory to start with! Here is our updated Out Of Stock list.

Avocado
Ebony
Chocolate
Halo
Iris Minis
Espresso
Falu Red
Sienna
Stainless Steel

There are a few more showing out of stock on our website but we actually have 1 or 2 sheets left. I will be adding those in the next few days.

Snowed Out Again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Unfortunately we are not able to make it into the office again today. There are many layers of ice, sleet, and now covering our roads. We are hoping to make it in tomorrow morning. Please send us an email if you have any questions.

tileshack@gmail.com

Winter Weather - CLOSED

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Just a quick note to let you know that we received a lot of ice through the night and more is on the way for today so we are closed. No orders will ship out today. I am hopeful that I can get to the office tomorrow although we are also in a deep freeze and there is no place for the ice to go.

I will be checking my email constantly throughout the day. If you have any questions, please email me at tileshack@gmail.com.

Out of Stocks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:37:00 +0000

Colors are going fast around here! We are now out of stock on:

Avocado
Ebony
Feather
Paisley

Iris Minis

Sienna
Soapstone
Stainless Steel

We found a few sheets of Black Walnut that are still available and we are getting low on many other colors. To see which ones, just click on the Quick Order link in each category.

Back Ordered Items

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:03:00 +0000

We are trying very hard to keep up with constantly changing inventory but has proven difficult. We are running out of colors daily it seems and I am working to keep the website up to date.

If we run out of an item that you ordered, we will simply remove it from the invoice and mark it out of stock. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but it seems to be the quickest way to keep orders going out the door. We won't be calling or emailing to let you know. If the color you are ordering vital, the inventory looks low, and you would like to be notified if it is out of stock then make me a note on your order form. I will then call or email you.

Thanks for your understanding in our time of chaos!

Shipping Prices

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:01:00 +0000

Shipping costs are always a concern for clients and they should be. I have had a couple of people wondering why the shipping is so high on their order. I promise that we are not adding anything on to the shipping rates. These are taken directly from UPS and USPS websites. We do add the $1 for handling but that can be seen during checkout.

Shipping rates are based on where you live and how much your package weighs. We figure shipping based on the packing weight. The Art Tile Collection and Brushstrokes weigh 1.65 lbs per sheet and the AfterGlow weighs 1.9 lbs per sheet. You can add up the weight on your order and plug it into ups.com to see what the rate should be.

With orders pouring in and clients saving 40% on most products, the shipping looks high. Think about this way...a $200 order that has shipping of $45 may weigh 139 lbs and contain 84 sheets of glass. Of course this is based on purchases of the Art Tile at $2.40 per sheet. So 139 lbs at $45 is not high for shipping. And if you had to pay regular retail, the cost for the tile would have been $336. Wow, that makes that shipping charge pretty low!

If you are ever unsure about the shipping that pops up, feel free to contact us and we can verify it for you. 99% of the time, the shipping that shows up on our site is correct.

Liquidation of Tile Shack

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Yes, it is true...I have decided to close the doors at Tile Shack. It has been 6 years of a lot of fun and I have made many friends along the way.

We started off with $400 worth of inventory and a dream. I still remember the day when I had to make the decision to give up teaching because Tile Shack had grown too large for me to do both. We can now boast a warehouse full of tile and record sales for 2008. We beat our sales goals for this year over and over.

So now why would I be ready to close the doors??? As much as I have enjoyed working with all of you over the years, I have also found a new career that I love. My new company is Online Marketing Services, www.marketingowasso.com. I have been helping Tulsa area small businesses to improve their online presence for awhile now and have a strong passion for this. My client base has grown to the point where I now have to make that familiar decision of which business I want to continue doing.

There are several companies looking into purchasing Tile Shack but for now I am going to liquidate all the inventory and assets as quickly as possible. So until someone else takes over...enjoy the huge savings!

Are we just giving it away???

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:50:00 +0000

Tile Shack is having a huge 30% off sale right now and we have free shipping on most orders until December 31, 2008! It seems we are just giving it all away. This sale is valid for our Artist members too.

Enjoy 30% off of all our glass tile (excluding Limited Lots), grout, most bases (excludes Wedi), and glass tile blends. We need to move some inventory before it is time to count it all for the tax man.

Don't forget to use the Discount Code: holidayship during checkout! Click here for restrictions.

Holiday Shipping

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:54:00 +0000

PLAN AHEAD! PLAN AHEAD! PLAN AHEAD!

To get your package by December 24, you will need to plan ahead. Our packaging times are now 1 day but your shipping times will vary depending upon where your package is being shipped.

Use our shipping map to see how long it will take your package to arrive. These shipping times start once the order is shipped not from when the order was placed and shipping times are not guaranteed unless you choose UPS 2nd Day Air.

Please don't depend upon the shipping times quoted. This time of year UPS and the postal system get backed up so plan an extra day for shipment. I have seen many packages not make it in time because the shipping companies are just too swamped.

Looking for Large Quantities of Tile?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Visit www.okglasstile.com, our sister site, to find huge savings when you buy our glass tile by the carton. You will find the AfterGlow Series, Art Tile Collection, and Brushstrokes Metallics at 40% off just by purchasing by the carton.

The AfterGlow Series comes with 10 sheets per case and is posted at $71.34.

Art Tile Collection contains 20 sheets per case and is priced from $48 to $120.

Brushstrokes Metallics has 20 sheets per case and is a steal at $179.88.

Christmas Ornament Mosaic

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:16:00 +0000

This was a post made last December but I thought I would post it again. These mosaic Christmas ornaments are easy to create and make great gifts.

Christmas ornaments make great Christmas presents especially when they are handmade. Mosaic ornaments are beautiful when done with glass tiles. They reflect light and really twinkle.

Materials Needed:
1 plastic ornament
Glass tiles
Wheeled Cutters
Liquid Nails or silicone adhesive
Grout kit

The plastic ornament can be found at various dollar stores. They are usually covered in a ribbon like material. This can be pulled off easily.

You can choose to use Art Tile Minis or any other tiles. If you use larger tiles they will have to be cut down to smaller sizes to fit around the curves of the ornament.

The adhesive you use depends a lot on the tiles. If the tiles you use are translucent then use silicone. If they are completely opaque then use Liquid Nails. Don't use too much so you don't have glue squishing up around your tiles.

Attach the tiles in whatever design you choose. You will find it easiest to lay the ornament on a towel so it won't roll while working. You will probably have to attach one side of tiles and let these set up before turning the ornament over to do the other side. Always check back to make sure your first tiles didn't slide down.

After the glue has completely set, you will grout as normal. You will need to clean off the hanger part well when clearing the grout. Use cotton swabs or something similar to get it out of the grooves.

These ornaments are heavy but still hang on a tree nicely with no worries of falling off. Whoever receives this as a gift will love and cherish it forever.

Orange - The Color of Warmth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:46:00 +0000

With fall here, the color orange pops to mind. Orange leaves, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, etc. bring warm feelings to most people. Orange is made from combining yellow and red. Yellow is a happy color while red is a firery color. Put the two together and you get the rich orange that is neither boring nor high strung.

Orange is versatile and should be used in mosaic art. Use it to create amazing flowers, autumn trees, and of course holiday gifts. You can also use it to show the setting sun over a field or heat radiating from the sun.

Since orange is created by mixing red and yellow, you can do just that and mix the two other colors with the orange glass tiles to give the illusion of varying shades of orange. You can use orange as a shading color for yellow or red areas too.

The orange tile can help create and define your mosaic pieces. This color is perfect for the start of the holiday season.

Featured Artist - Judy Mayberry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:30:00 +0000

If you haven't visited our Featured Artist section, you really should. There is a ton of inspiration around every corner.

Judith Mayberry creates some amazing work. She actually made my favorite mosaic piece ever. It is Mums Vase shown on her artist page.

Judy Mayberry lives on Lake Pennessewasee in Norway, Maine with her husband Don (who is a Congregational Minister) and two daughters who are in college. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and considered herself a fiber artist (weaving and needlework) before taking up Mosaics about six years ago. Both forms of art are very tactile which is why it was such an easy transition.

In her Mosaics she uses mostly vitreous glass and her favorite mosaics to make are rural scene murals. She makes small objects like trivets and plant pots, but tends to gravitate towards kitchen and bathroom back splashes, shower surrounds, mirrors, small murals and tables. Making "permanent" artwork in homes has been a new adventure but a hard way to show off her work! Most of Judy's artwork is by commission, but she usually has a variety of mosaics available for sale from her studio located in her home.

Judy is so talented and I am thrilled that she uses our products in many of her custom works of art.

Mosaic Murals - Ken Pirtle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:57:00 +0000

Ken Pirtle is a genius! He created his own system to take an image and turn it into a mosaic. Not just any mosaic though...his are huge! His last one covered an exterior wall at Amarillo College.

Ken takes a scenic image and uses 3/4" vitreous glass tile to pixelate the image. He then hand selects the best color matches for the glass tile. He uses the 3/4" tiles since there are so many color options available. Using tile grids and mounting paper, he then meticulously lays out the mosaic by his computer diagram.

You can see his work in progress here. He shows the steps they took to install it. This is fascinating. The cool thing about this type of mosaic installation is that it doesn't look like much when you are right up on it but from afar the image is clear.

His latest project is another scenic landscape that will soon be installed at the Amarillo Botanical Gardens. It will be 9ft x 22ft. This equals over 38,700 vitreous tiles! I can't wait to see finished pictures!

http://web.me.com/kenneth.pirtle/Ken_Pirtles_site/Welcome.html

The Color Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:25:00 +0000

Blue...what a great color to mosaic with. We have more tiles in blue shades than any other. There is cobalt blue, aqua blue, denim blue, metallic blue, iridescent blue, and on and on.

So why so many blues? Blue is one of the most popular colors in our culture. It is very calming while reminding us of sky and water. It is so soothing that blue makes a great color for bedrooms (to help you sleep). However it is not recommended for kitchens as it supposedly decreases appetites.

So what can you do with blue in a mosaic...anything. There are so many shades of aqua that you can create a gorgeous watery scene that shows all of the waves and unrest of an ocean or lake. Then there is the sky. Using the rich cobalt blues will create an evening sky scene that will take your breath away.

The great thing about the aquas is that you can blend them with blues and greens to give your image some movement. The cobalts blend very well with purples for a majestic tone. While the denim blues move towards gray so they can be used together to give some umph to your gray scenes.

Whether it is the Art Tile Collection, AfterGlow, or Brushstrokes, you will certainly find enough shades of blue to make your next project breath taking.

Grout Colorant

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Grout colorant is a concentrated cement dye. It can be used to tint your grout and thinset. It is very strong so a little goes a long, long way. If you are going to tint a cup of grout, you can get a strong color by using as little as a teaspoon of colorant!

Since these are tints, you can mix them to make unusual shades. I love to mix one colorant into a particular color of grout to make subtle changes. For instance, the terra cotta grout is a too orange for me so I soften it by adding the brown colorant. It makes it much more earthy.

I always add the colorant to white grout or thinset but I have friends that always add it to gray grout and thinset. The colors aren't as pastel looking and less vivid.

The only drawback to using the grout colorant is that you have a huge chance of never matching up the grout if you have to mix a second batch. If you have a large area to grout and you are going to need to mix your grout several times to get the job done, make sure to measure the colorant carefully and write down how the ratio of grout to colorant. This way you can mix it the same every time and hopefully your grout will match with each new mixture.

Showroom By Appointment Only

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:57:00 +0000

When we set our new showroom hours 2 weeks ago, we said it was experimental. We have now decided to make our showroom by appointment only. There are many reasons behind this but we feel this will be best for our business relationships across the Tulsa area.

Our office hours will be 9 to 5 CST. You can reach us by phone during this time.

If you want to go shop around and see some great mosaic supplies in Tulsa, we recommend Tulsa Stained Glass at 41st and Memorial. They have great hours and are even open on Saturdays. They also carry most of our products.

If you are not in Tulsa, we have other distributors across the nation. Email us to find out where. And, of course, you can also buy from us online.

I hope this doesn't inconvenience anyone too much. Feel free to give us some feedback on this.

Mosaic with Seed Beads

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:02:00 +0000

Using only glass tile can get difficult. What if you want vibrant hot pink flowers or a lime green lizard? You will have trouble finding glass tile in these wild colors. However you can usually find them in glass beads. Beads come in a large variety of colors and sizes. The larger the bead the harder it will be for you to make your image "appear". So you need to use the smaller beads for a better effect. Seed beads can give you that look without breaking it up.

The thought of placing seed beads in your mosaic may make you cringe. Try gluing in all of those tiny little pieces one at a time...DON'T. Most artists will put a large glob of glue and press the beads into the glue. No way should you ever try doing them one at a time. They are just too small.

One of my clients, Sherry Elmore, brought in a piece yesterday that I fell in love with. She loves the glass tiles, especially the Art Tile Minis. However she wanted a gold for the focal point of this piece. The Seville Gold wasn't what she was looking for and she didn't want to do jewelry. So she came up with seed beads.

Now you can see by the finished piece that she had a definate design to follow. We spent some time figuring out the best way to keep the pattern and grout before laying the beads. You do not want to try to grout and clean seed beads! Sherry bought some thin craft foam from Hobby Lobby and cut it to make the ribbon design. She glued this onto her Wedi board and then laid the black background tiles cutting them to go around the foam. She then grouted the entire thing. After cleaning out the foam areas she filled the void with Weldbond then smashed in the seed beads.

After finishing the entire piece she sprayed it with an adhesive spray and framed it. This was a wonderful gift for her parent's anniversary. Great job Sherry!

New Showroom Hours

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:05:00 +0000

The new school year has began in Oklahoma. With this comes lots of schools wanting mosaic education. So we have decided to close our showroom one day a week to work with the local schools. Our warehouse and shipping department will still be running on schedule.

The magic day is Wednesday. This seems to fit the needs of our schools the best. Since we won't be in the schools every week, we will be available on Wednesdays by appointment. Just give us a call and we will schedule you to come in.

Our new hours will begin September 1, 2008. This all on a trial basis and will let you know if we decide to make any changes.

Wheeled Cutter Coupon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:27:00 +0000

Wheeled cutters are the only tool that we recommend for use with our glass tile. They cut the glass rather than crush it and are vital when doing any installation or glass tile project.

It does take some practice to get a really good cut and often times you won't get it perfect. Glass just has a mind of its own. Here is a link to a walk through of how to cut the tiles. You can also read an article that we wrote about how to cut efficiently.

Since these are so important, we are offering a one time, one use coupon that will give you 50% off one pair of cutters. The code is blogger08022008.

Shipment Has Arrived!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Our shipment has arrived in our warehouse. This means that we are back in stock on many items such as Antiquity, Ebony Minis, Clover Minis, and the 3/8" tile grids.

We also received many new Brushstrokes colors and one new AfterGlow color. We are working on pictures of these and will have them posted tomorrow.

I am sorry to say that our Tomato Minis didn't come in. Instead we received Sunset Minis. We are working to get a shipment of red mini tiles in as quickly as we can.

Vitreous Glass Tile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:06:00 +0000

There has been an ongoing debate about vitreous tile. Some people are adamant that Italian brands are the only vitreous to use while others love the Asian brands. So what is the difference? Allow me to explain from my point of view.

Let me start by saying that I have used every brand of vitreous that I know of. This includes the Italian and the Asian. I love some but hate others.

A lot of the Asian tiles come from the same factory but US companies brand them differently. All Italian tile is now made in China and India. So basically, it is all Asian tile. What matters is the process.

The main characteristic of vitreous is the speckling of the glass. It is no secret that the fewer the speckles the better quality the tile. This is also a common sense deal. Glass has fracture points and tends to break along those fracture lines. This is why cutting glass tile can take practice, you have to learn how to manipulate the fracture points. So take those natural fracture lines and add in this speckling and now you have even more places that the glass wants to break. So few specks better cutting. Of course if you are using them whole then you don't have to worry about anything but the color.

The speckling is the quartz that didn't get melted during fabrication. "Italian" tile is created using higher temperatures and heating the glass mixture longer so that the quartz can dissolve. There are many of the "Asian" brands that are just like the "Italian" brands when it comes to speckling though. I will admit there are a couple of lines of vitreous out there that completely crumble with even the thought of cutting them. You will learn on your own which ones I am talking about.

Also remember that occasionally a dyelot will come in that is not very good. Every tile seems to break too easily or crumble when you cut it. This happens with all brands. Just let the seller know so they can contact their factory. Glass is unpredictable sometimes. One tile may cut fine while the next 5 may break wrong.

So now that we know about the speckling let's talk price. The "Italian" tile is about double the price of the "Asian" tile. This is because they do heat the glass longer and this will cost more in manufacturing costs but you are also paying for the brand name. Keep in mind that the higher the price of the glass tile doesn't mean that it is better quality. I have many designers that are amazed that some of my glass is identical to the popular Italian tile but at half the price. Also be aware that the lower the price doesn't necessarily mean bad tile. Like many other companies, we keep our prices low because we import directly.

I heard someone say recently during a vitreous glass debate that you really shouldn't worry about where the tile is made but rather find a line that you really like and can afford. Who cares where the factory is, as long as it has the colors you want at a good price.

Now for my shameless advertisement:

I love the Art Tile Collection (MatrixColor) because it is a reasonable price and cuts very well. I have only had one complaint since I started carrying this line of tile. Everyone I work with loves the look of it and agrees that it cuts well. Of course this is the line that I sell so obviously I love it!