Mosaic art has been around for centuries.  The best thing about mosaics is that they last and last.  If done correctly they can become family heirlooms passed from generation to generation.  Although mosaics can look complicated the techniques can be simple and easy to learn. 

Material you will need:

Tesserae - Tiles, stained glass, broken china, vintage jewelry

Surfaces - Wood, cement, metal, -almost any solid surface.

Adhesives - Tile Adhesive, silicone, expoxy, white glue, indoor-outdoor clue, mortar

Grout - Sanded or unsanded

Tools - Glass or tile nippers rubber gloves, rubber mallet, shop towels, sponges, grout float

Sealer - Grout sealer

Gather the tesserae, surface adhesive,grout and tools you wish to work with.  Breaking the tesserae is simply done, by using the tile nippers to nip away at vintage china plates, stained glass, etc.  You can use a rubber mallet to break chuncky pieces like terra cotta pots.  After you have your tesserae broken you begin to apply it to the surface you have selected with the adhesive.  This can be a pattern or random placement.  Work on small areas at a time.  Apply the adhesive with a putty knife or a flat wooden craft  stick to each piece of tesserae - or apply the adhesive to the surface in small areas and lay the tesserae on the adhesive.  24 hours after the adhesive has dried, mix grout according to the package directions and apply with your hands wearing rubber gloves, or with a tile float.  Wait about 5 minutes and then remove the excess grout with a damp sponge or blue shop towel.  Rinse and wring out the sponge often until all the excess grout is removed.  Let the grout dry for 24 hours, buff with a dry shop towel  and then apply grout sealer according to package instructions. You now have a wonderful piece of art that can become a family heirloom.