A paper mosaic hot-air balloon with stripes that follow its bulgePaper squares in three colors on card. Lay each stripe from top to basket so the rows bend with the shape.
A snail whose shell is one spiral row of paper squares from the middle outPaper squares on card. Pencil the spiral, lay it from the center and change color once on the way.
A fish with every scale a paper square turned on its cornerPaper squares on blue card. Start the diamonds at the tail and overlap each row toward the head.
A fish with every scale a paper square turned on its cornerPaper squares on blue card. Start the diamonds at the tail and overlap each row toward the head.
A house with a different patterned paper for each wall, the roof and the doorSquares cut from magazines on card. Sort by pattern first. Lay the roof rows on a slant.
A night sky of navy paper squares round a yellow crescentPaper squares on card. Lay the crescent first. Fill the sky in rows and leave a few gaps as stars.
A paper mosaic hot-air balloon with stripes that follow its bulgePaper squares in three colors on card. Lay each stripe from top to basket so the rows bend with the shape.
A paper-square apple with one bite of white squares taken out of its sideRed, green and white paper squares on card. Outline the apple first, then fill in rows that follow its curve.
A paper-square butterfly laid one piece at a time, left wing then rightPaper squares on card folded down the middle. Every piece on the left gets a twin on the right.
A rainbow arc with one row of paper squares to each colorColored paper squares on card. Lay the outer red row first; each row inside it takes fewer pieces.
A snail whose shell is one spiral row of paper squares from the middle outPaper squares on card. Pencil the spiral, lay it from the center and change color once on the way.
A sunflower with long yellow paper petals and brown squares packed in its middlePaper rectangles and squares on card. Middle first, packed tight; petals after, pointing out.
A tree whose crown is torn paper in every green from one magazineTorn paper pieces on card. Tear, do not cut. Lay the trunk in upright rows and the crown in a crowd.
A two-color heart built box by box on a printed gridPaper squares on squared paper. One square to each box. Count the boxes on one side and mirror them.
Your initial in dark paper squares on a field of pale onesTwo piles of paper squares on card. Lay the letter first, then fill round it, keeping a thin gap between pieces.
Tile on a tray, pot or stepping stone 12
A coaster with a nine-tile checker in two bluesBought craft tiles on a cork or wooden coaster. Corner tile first; alternate from there. An adult grouts.
A flowerpot banded with three rows of tile like a striped sockBought craft tiles on a clay pot. Lay the top row along the rim and keep the gaps even. An adult grouts.
A flowerpot with a wave of blue tile that rises and falls round itBought craft tiles on a clay pot. Lay the wave line first and fill above and below it. An adult grouts.
A goldfish curving round a stepping stone in orange and white tileBought craft tiles on a stepping-stone base. Lay the fish's outline first; rows follow its curve. An adult grouts.
A plant saucer with a spiral of tile from its rim to its centerBought craft tiles on a clay saucer. Lay one long row inward and change color every turn. An adult grouts.
A stepping stone with a four-point compass star and a tile for northBought craft tiles on a stepping-stone base. Lay the star from its center out; the ground goes on last. An adult grouts.
A stepping stone with your own traced footprint filled in tileBought craft tiles on a stepping-stone base. Trace the foot, lay its outline, then fill heel to toes. An adult grouts.
A stepping-stone ladybug with red tile wings, black tile spots and a line down its backBought craft tiles on a round base. Spots and line first, red after. An adult grouts.
A stepping-stone turtle seen from above with a shell of tile clustersBought craft tiles on a round base. One tile per shell plate, ringed by a darker row. An adult grouts.
A tray sunrise: half a sun on one edge with tile rays to the far sideBought craft tiles on a wooden tray. Lay the sun in curved rows and each ray as one straight row. An adult grouts.
A tray with a border in two alternating tile colors and a plain middleBought craft tiles on a wooden tray. Border first, corners before sides. An adult grouts.
A tray with one large leaf whose veins are a paler green tileBought craft tiles on a wooden tray. Veins first, then the leaf in rows slanting away from them. An adult grouts.
Seeds, beans and pasta 12
A butterfly whose wings hold four kinds of bean in mirror orderFour kinds of dried bean on card, white glue. Fill one wing section, then its twin, before moving on.
A fish with pumpkin-seed scales overlapped like roof tilesPumpkin seeds on blue card, white glue. Start at the tail, points backward, each row half covering the last.
A hedgehog with sunflower-seed spines that all point backSunflower seeds and lentils on card, white glue. Start the spines at the tail and overlap toward the head.
A landscape in bands: a rice sky, lentil hills and black-bean soilRice, lentils and beans on card, white glue. Spread glue one band at a time and pour, then press.
A rooster with a red-lentil comb and a tail of mixed beansDried lentils and beans on thick card, white glue. Glue the outline in one dark bean first, then fill.
A round pattern with a different seed in each ring from the middle outFive kinds of seed or bean on a card circle, white glue. Lay one ring at a time and let it grip.
A sunflower head with real sunflower seeds in its middle and corn-kernel petalsSeeds and dried corn on card, white glue. Pack the seeds on end in rings from the center.
A tree with pasta-spiral leaves and a trunk of long pasta strandsDried pasta on card, white glue. Lay the strands side by side for the trunk, then crowd spirals above.
A turtle whose shell is kidney beans ringed with green peasDried beans and peas on card, white glue. One bean to each plate of the shell, peas between them.
An ear of corn made of real kernels in rows with a split-pea huskDried corn and green split peas on card, white glue. Straight rows of kernels; the husk curves round them.
An initial outlined in black beans and filled with riceBlack beans and rice on card, white glue. Beans first, touching. Brush glue inside and pour the rice in.
An owl with pasta-wheel eyes and split-pea feathersDried pasta and split peas on card, white glue. Eyes first. Lay the peas in rows curving down the chest.
Eggshell and found pieces 12
A birch wood: white eggshell trunks with pen marks on gray cardWashed eggshell on gray card. Lay each trunk as an upright column of pieces. Ink the bark marks when dry.
A cracked-earth desert of plain eggshell with one painted cactusWashed plain eggshell on tan card. Press each piece flat so it cracks in place. The gaps are the cracks.
A craft-foam rocket with an exhaust trail of foil scrapsFoam squares and foil scraps on dark card. Lay the rocket in neat rows and the trail loose and scattered.
A fish built from rings cut off drinking straws and stood on endStraw rings on card, tacky glue. Outline in one color of ring, then pack the inside like bubbles.
A flower of paint-sample chips whose petals shade from dark to lightPaint-sample cards cut into petals, on card. Darkest chips in the middle ring, lightest at the tips.
A full moon of plain eggshell on black card with craters left bareWashed eggshell on black card, white glue. Draw three craters and lay the shell everywhere else.
A giant decorated egg filled with eggshell pieces painted in three colorsWashed eggshell, painted and broken up, on card. Lay one color band at a time across the oval.
A giraffe's coat of brown eggshell patches with pale gaps left as the linesPainted eggshell on cream card. One piece to each patch. The even gaps between them are the pattern.
A parrot of craft-foam squares in red, yellow and blueCraft-foam squares on card, tacky glue. Lay the wing in three color bands, each row following the wing's edge.
A snowy owl in plain eggshell with two painted-shell eyesWashed eggshell on gray card, white glue. Lay the feathers as rows of small pieces curving down from the eyes.
A sunset laid in bands of short crayon piecesOld crayon ends on thick card, tacky glue. Lay them side by side like logs, warm colors low and dark ones high.
A swan filled with white eggshell on dark blue cardWashed white eggshell on dark card, white glue. Outline the neck with small pieces; larger ones fill the body.
Borders and patterns 12
A checkerboard border two squares deep round a blank middlePaper squares in two colors on card. Lay the four corners first and work toward the middle of each side.
A fan pattern of arcs stacked like roof tilesSmall squares on card. Lay each fan's curved top edge first and fill below it in shrinking arcs.
A pattern of stacked cubes made from diamonds in three shadesDiamond pieces in light, mid and dark on card. Every cube is three diamonds; keep the light one on top.
A sampler of five bands, each laid in a different flow: straight, brick, wave, fan and spiralSquares in one color on card. Only the laying changes from band to band.
A sawtooth edging of half-square pieces with every point aimed at the middleSquares cut in half corner to corner, on card. Lay the long sides along the edge, points in.
A square-spiral key border in one dark color on whiteSquares in two colors on card. Lay the dark path first, turning the same way at every corner.
A sunburst roundel of rings and rays in two colorsSquares and long wedges on a card circle. Lay the center, then a ring, then rays, alternating colors.
A twisted-ribbon border with a shadow piece at each crossingSquares in two colors and one dark on a card frame. Lay one ribbon all the way round before the second.
A wave-crest border that curls the same way all round the frameSquares in two colors on a card frame. Lay the curl of each wave first, then the fill between crests.
A zigzag border in three colors where each row shifts one squareSquares in three colors on card. Lay row one, then start the next row one piece along.
An all-over trellis of diamonds with a contrasting piece set where the lines crossSquares in three colors on card. Lay the crossing dots on a pencil grid first, then the lines between them.
An eight-point star in a square, repeated four timesSquares and half-squares in two colors on card. Lay each star from its center. The four meet at one point.
Animals and faces 12
A cat's face with green square eyes and whiskers left as gapsSquares in gray, pink and green on card. Lay the eyes first. Leave thin bare lines for the whiskers.
A chameleon whose pieces change color from head to tailSquares in five colors on card. Lay the back's curve first. Change to the next color every few rows.
A coin-style side-view head in two colors of square on a card circleSquares in two colors on a card circle. Lay the profile's edge as one row, then fill behind it.
A lion's face with a mane of long pieces fanning outwardSquares and long rectangles on card. Face first, in rows round the nose; then the mane, every piece pointing out.
A mosaic bee whose stripes are double rows of yellow and black squaresYellow, black and white squares on card. Lay each band as two rows.
A mosaic elephant in pale, mid and dark squares, its ear rows fanning from the edgeGray and white squares on card. Lay the ear's edge first and let the rows fan out from it.
A mosaic frog viewed from overhead, squatting on a leaf laid in a second greenSquares in two greens on card. Outline frog and leaf in the darker green, then fill each in its own direction.
A mosaic octopus, each arm one curling row of squares on blue cardSquares in one bright color on blue card. Lay the head, then each arm as one long row.
A self-portrait in five skin-tone papers on one bright backgroundPaper squares on card. Lay eyes, nose and mouth first; the cheeks go in rows curving round them.
A sleeping fox mosaic in which each row of squares follows the animal's curlOrange, white and brown squares on card. Lay the spine's curve first, nose to tail tip, and fill inward.
A tiger's face seen head-on with stripes laid as single dark rowsOrange, black and white squares on card. Lay the stripes first; fill between them in rows that follow them.
A zebra's head in which black and white rows are the stripesBlack and white squares on card. No outline: lay stripe after stripe from the nose back.
How it works
A mosaic is a picture made of small pieces. Each of these 72 mosaic art ideas gives the piece, the base and the rule for laying it. The page opens on Paper squares, the easiest group.
Read the full guide
Easy mosaic art ideas in paper squares
Paper squares needs colored paper, scissors and a glue stick: an apple with a bite out of it, a snail on one spiral row, a two-color heart built box by box on a grid. The whole group carries the Easy mark.
Outline first, then rows that follow it
Many hints give the same rule: lay one line or shape first, then fill in rows that bend with it. The flow of the pieces has a name, andamento, and a single piece is a tessera.
No broken glass or china here. The tile group uses bought craft tiles, and grouting is an adult's job.
Questions and answers
What can I use for a mosaic besides tile?
Paper squares, dried beans, lentils, rice and pasta, washed eggshell, craft foam, rings cut from drinking straws, paint-sample chips and old crayon ends are all used here, each on a card base.
What is a tessera?
A tessera, plural tesserae, is an individual tile used in making a mosaic, usually square. Early mosaics were made from natural colored pebbles.
What are mosaic ideas for a stepping stone?
Five here: a goldfish curving round the stone, a four-point compass star, a ladybug with tile spots, a turtle seen from above, and your own traced footprint. Each uses bought craft tiles, and an adult grouts.
How do you make a paper mosaic?
Cut colored paper into small squares, draw the picture on card, glue the outline first and fill in rows that follow the shape, leaving a thin gap between pieces. Paper squares holds 12 to start from.