Nail Care Tips & Advice

Making wonderful glass mosaic tile art is easy!  Let me show you how.

Tesserae are the pieces arranged and adhered to the base material to create your mosaic design.  They can be of any material and shape.  Don’t limit yourself to the common tessera types.  Use your imagination.  Try buttons and other fun or unusual material.  For example, I once saw a family picture collage with a mosaic frame that included one baby tooth from each grandchild.  Be creative!

“Tesserae” is the plural of tessera (Latin).  In the context of mosaics, tessera means, “a cube; a piece of mosaic paving.”  “Tesserae” is pronounced TESS-uh-ree, and “tessera” is pronounced TESS-er-uh.

Plan your mosaic before jumping in.  Don’t go off willy-nilly getting a bunch of tessera material without considering the basics.  Where will you display the mosaic (e.g., indoors or outdoors, which will determine if you need weatherproof tesserae)?  Are you making wall art or a stepping stone (which will determine if you can use sharp or pointy tesserae)?  Think about how much tessera material you need to complete the job.  Plan your work.  Know what you need before buying, collecting, or making your material.

The various types of vitreous glass, stained glass, and smalti are probably the most common tessera materials, especially for mosaic wall art.  However, artists have managed to create beautiful mosaic works using just about anything.  The following list should give you ideas on what you can use to create your mosaic masterpieces.  Have fun and let your imagination run wild.  Here are some tessera materials to consider using for your next project: millefiori, ceramic tile (use intact or broken pieces), crockery (use broken pieces), marbles and glass gems, buttons, shells (intact or broken pieces), keys, beads, coins, stones and pebbles, plastic doodads, metal shapes, costume jewelry, and hardware (screws, nails, nuts, bolts).

Some of these materials may seem odd, but you never know what a creative artist can do with them.  For example, I suspect that someone somewhere can turn a pile of rusty nails into a beautiful mosaic that would be a great gift for a building contractor.  Don’t let anything inhibit your imagination.  Nothing is too crazy.  Sometimes the best ideas are the craziest.

Remember, making mosaic art is easy. You can do it.  Yes, you can!

Making wonderful glass mosaic tile art is easy!  Let me show you how.

You’re so anxious to hang your first masterpiece that it seems like the frame store is taking forever finish the frame.  Finally, they call to tell you it’s ready for pickup.  Wow, they did a great job and the frame makes your mosaic look even better.  You can’t wait to hang it on the wall and show it off.

It weighs a ton and you’re nervous wondering whether a 10-penny nail in flimsy drywall can hold all that weight.  You wisely decide that the nail must instead go into a wall stud.  The last thing you want is your heavy mosaic crashing down, popping off tesserae, breaking the custom frame, and cracking the ceramic floor tile.  You find the exact spot for the nail and poke around hoping to find a stud somewhere close to that spot.  Oh, no!  The nearest stud is six inches to the left.  If you install the nail in that stud, the mosaic won’t be centered on the wall and will look terrible.  Good grief, now what?  Relax.  This is easy.  In my eBook, we walk step-by-step through the process of adding a solid support system in the wall that’s plenty strong enough to hold your heavy magnum opus.  This isn’t rocket science so don’t panic.  You can do it.  Yes, you can!

If your masterpiece has any size to it, it’s going to be heavy.  For example, one of my projects is only 27”x32” but it weighs a whopping 24-pounds.  Always be safety conscious.  Never create a safety hazard.  You must always ensure the support system is adequately strong enough to bear the load of your heavy mosaic.

Some artists don’t hang their pieces because they don’t want to risk a falling hazard that can harm people or damage the piece.  They commonly use free standing easels made of sturdy wood, low to the floor, and well-balanced to minimize the risk of tipping.  Typically, these easels are used in galleries, but some people use them in their homes.  Personally, I’d rather see my mosaics on the wall.  To me, they look better and make the home feel cozier.  Besides, who has room for several free-standing easels throughout the house?

The complexity of the support system depends on several factors, such as the mosaic’s weight, location of the lag bolt with respect to a wall stud, and safety concerns for your children.  For example, if you find that the lag bolt location is just to the side of a wall stud, you may not need an elaborate support system like the one we install in the eBook.  Instead, a small piece of 2×4 attached to the side of the stud may be sufficient.

What we install in the eBook is probably the most complex support system you’ll ever need for a hanging mosaic, so once you learn that method, you should be able to install any simpler support system that you might dream up.  Remember, this is easy!  You can do it.  The eBook walks you through each step of the process as if I’m right there in your living room with you.  Relax!  Don’t worry about cutting a big hole in your drywall.  You’ll learn how easy it is to measure, cut the drywall, install a 2×4 support system to the existing studs, replace the drywall, patch it, and paint it–like a pro!  It’s easy.  You can do it.  Yes, you can!  Let me show you how.

Remember, making mosaic art is easy. You can do it.  Yes, you can!

Custom and screen moldings may not look like much on commercial shelves. But when applied to plain walls and cabinets, they give lots of personality. In addition, they relatively cost little and demand small effort on your part. You can improve a room’s appearance just by adapting different molding styles to your own wall decor.

A long and tall wall can be divided using both vertical and horizontal strips of molding. Consider the height of your ceiling, the length of the wall and other architectural features. Spacing of your moldings will depend on these factors.

Using a level and lead pencil, start drawing the horizontal line on the wall. You can apply wallpaper or paint below this line and a different approach above the line or vice versa. Nail the horizontal custom molding through the studs. Studs are posts in the framework of the wall.

You can recognize these posts by tapping along the wall with a hammer and listening for solid thuds. If you are having a hard time distinguishing these sounds, do not worry. Commercial stud-finding devices are readily available. Once you hit the first stud, measure the intervals and you are on your way to finding subsequent studs for nailing.

Flat cabinets can be given a lift with a little trim, wallpaper and imagination. Apply a new coat of paint, then measure in from the edge for wallpaper placement. The wallpaper pattern and door size will show you how wide the painted outer edge of the molding wall art should be.

After cutting the flat screen molding and painting it to match the wallpaper, glue and nail it in place. Make sure the wood strips will cover the edge of the wallpaper. The glue will secure the molding to the cabinet door while keeping it flat. Fill the nail holes with glue, sand them lightly and finish with paint. Add wooden knobs painted to match the trim of the molding.

Custom framing a wall is easy to do when similar frames show a series of artwork. Most home improvement centers will rip boards for you at a minimal fee. The measured rip boards will be used to build the frames.

For a DIY, you can shape the outer edge of the frame with any commercially available power tool with a shaped cutter for cutting grooves. Measure the outside half of the moldings, then cut from the inside edge to the outside edge. Make a measured cut or groove on the inner back edge to hold the artwork, mat and backing.

Glue the edges and attach corner fasteners by holding them in place, right sides up, in a framing clamp. Paint the frame and put together the artwork, mat, glass and backing in the frame. You can hang them from a hook, or nail them to the wall to prevent movement. Molding wall art makes it easy to wake up your wall. It is just one of the myriad ways to make your home look like a masterpiece.

Homes are our precious property – to have a home for oneself is a goal many people aim for in life, even from childhood. After making a home for oneself and the family, it needs to be kept clean and well maintained. Most people don’t pay much attention to their roof until rain or melting snow starts to leak through it-then it needs some Improvement action. But if you periodically inspect the roof carefully, you can correct minor problems before they become serious enough to cause damage.

Be familiar with the structure of the roof is the first step toward diagnosing possible problem. A typical roof begins with a framework of rafters which supports a roof deck consisting of sheathing and underlayment. The roof deck, in turn, provides a nailing base for the roof surface material. Though the type of roof deck used can vary depending on the roof surface material, most decks have both sheathing and underlayment. The surface of the roof is often broken by angles and protruisions,all of which require weatherproo- fing-usually provided by the flashing. Made from malleable metal or plastic, flash-ing appears as the drip edge along the eaves and rakes of a roof, the collars around ventilation and plumbing pipes, the valleys between two roof planes,and the “steps” along a chimney or domer.

The second step is to inspect your roof periodically. Begin an inspection in the attic, using a strong flashlight, a thin screwdriver, a knife, and a piece of chalk to examine the ridge beam, rafters, and sheathing. Look for water stains, dark-colored areas of wet wood, moisture, and soft spots that may indicate dry rot. Mark the wet spots with chalk so you can find them easily later on.When you examine the roof from outdoors,evaluate the condition of the roof structure, surface material, flashings, eaves, and gutters.To check the roof structure,stand back from the house and look at the lines of the ridge and rafters. The ridge line should be perfectly horizontal, and  the line of the rafters, which you can assess by looking along the planeof each roof section,should be straight. If either sags, call in a professional contractor-you may have a structural problem. 

Making wonderful glass mosaic tile art is easy!  Let me show you how.

Always plan your mosaic project before buying, cutting, or gluing anything.  Don’t try to be spontaneous (your mosaic will suffer if you do).  Start by answering a few general questions: Why am I creating this particular piece, what’s its purpose?  Is there ample room to display it and can the wall safely support a heavy mosaic?  What kind of light will shine on it?  What theme is your focal point?  What feelings do you hope to evoke with the piece?  What art style (e.g., traditional, abstract, cubism, etc.) do you want and will it complement the style of the room in which it is displayed?

Now that you know the general requirements for your mosaic, you must answer some detailed questions, such as the following (suppose you’re creating a flowered kitchen backsplash): How many flowers do you want in your mosaic?  For example, one flower with lots of leaves or three flowers with just a few leaves?  Will the flower hang in mid air, or will it “grow” out from the bottom or side border, or from a pot?

If you find it difficult to visualize your finished work, these questions can be hard to answer without help.  Inspiration for ideas is all around you, so look for it.  Do you have a flower garden in the backyard?  Are magazines lying around?  Do you have flowered wallpaper in the house?  What about your bedspreads, sofa, and other fabric?  Sources for ideas are everywhere.  Just open your eyes to see them.

When searching for ideas, don’t judge the entire image; instead, look for specific features within it.  For example, if I need the perfect sunflower head, I scan many sunflower pictures looking only at the flower heads.  I don’t care about the leaves, backgrounds, foregrounds, or anything else in the pictures.  I look only for the flower head that fits my planned mosaic design.

My favorite trick is to browse the Internet for photographs of what I want and then print the ones I plan to use.  Search the keyword “images” and you’ll get lots of hits that provide comprehensive databases of pictures on just about any subject.  Suppose you select “Google Image Search” from your search results.  Once in Google Image Search, enter the keyword “light switch.”  Believe it or not, hundreds of light switch pictures appear on screen.  Try searching for pictures of a “rusty nail.”  Sure enough, hundreds of rusty nail pictures appear.  I think it’s amazing that you can find so many pictures of the oddest things so quickly using the Internet.  If computers are foreign to you, ask your kids for help.  Within 10 seconds of clicking and typing, they’ll have hundreds of sunflower pictures ready for you to browse, from which you’ll undoubtedly find something you like.

Remember, making mosaic art is easy. You can do it.  Yes, you can!