Mosaic Holiday Ornaments with No Days Groutless

No Days Groutless Upcycled Mosaic Jar Lid Ornaments

It's that time of year when gift giving is sneaking up on us, and everyone is looking for ideas for homemade or handmade gifts to give. It's especially meaningful for the littles to be able to make something to give to their family members. If you're looking for fun, quick, and fairly inexpensive gifts for the kids to make for moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, aunts, uncles...basically everyone on their list; then you'll want to check this out!

Tools & Materials needed:

• No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive
• metal jar lids
• hammer & nail (to pierce jar lids)
• sturdy wire (16 or 18 gauge brass, copper, steel)
• round nose pliers / wire cutter (to cut and shape wire)
• scissors (to cut groutless)
• tweezers (helpful for placing tiles)
• warming device (This can be a griddle, toaster oven, oven, candle warmer, heat gun, or heat embossing tool.)
• tiles for mosaicing (or beads, baubles, sparkles, etc.)
• mosaic nippers to cut tiles
• safety glasses

Not only is this a nifty way to upcycle jar lids and make some beautiful gifts, this is a great project for the kiddos, as well as for working with more advanced mosaics. The process is simple and quick!

To begin with, you'll need to save your lids. Wash them in soap and water. Next, you'll need a way to hang them, so take them to the work shop and get a hammer, some small nails and a block of wood. Hammer the nails through the side of the lid to create 2 holes, like this:

Create a wire hanger with round nose pliers.

 After bending a length of wire into a U shape, fit the ends through the 2 holes in the lid. Then, using the pliers, bend each leg back on itself to secure it in place and prevent it from falling back out of the lid.

Insert the wire and bend it to fit inside the lid.

And here's a video for you visual learners :)

Once you've got the lid prepped, you can cut some No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive to fit the inside of the jar lid. You don't need to cut it exactly, and you can use scraps if you have them, too.

A candle warmer works great for setting the No Days Groutless into the jar lid.

I find that it's easiest to prep the adhesive by heating it and then letting it cool before using. That makes it lay flat against your substrate and turns several pieces into just one. If you need to cover any spaces that go bare after heating, you can spread the groutless around the surface of your lid like the video below shows:

After heating, it's best to let the adhesive cool down again before laying your tiles. I'm using a candle burner / wax warmer that is the perfect size for working with jewelry and small projects that conduct heat (like the metal lids). 

Here, you can see that once you turn the heat on and the heat transfers through the metal to the adhesive and then the tiles, you can move the tiles into place by sliding them or pushing them with tweezers. The tiles in the middle were placed while the adhesive was warm, but that tends to make a mess. If you wait until the adhesive is cooled, lay your tiles and then heat the whole thing, it tends to make less clean up of adhesive that has covered the surface of your tiles.

Below you can see my first attempt (top right) and second attempt (bottom left).  The tiles on the first star were laid while the warmer was on and the adhesive was liquid. The adhesive tends to get on your tool and the top surface of your tiles this way, leaving more clean up. The second star was laid after the adhesive had cooled and then heat set all at once, making much less of a mess to clean up.

No Days Groutless Starmen:
the star on the top right was laid in liquid Groutless, while
the star on the bottom left was laid on solid Groutless and
then heat set after all tiles were laid.

The adhesive that covered some of the surface of the tiles can be scraped at with a sharp tool, like a razor or small screwdriver. 

Close up shot of No Days Groutless Starman

This project works great for children's projects, too. Square tiles can be cut with nippers to fit in the lid in simple designs.

No Days Groutless Mosaic made with nipped squares.

Side note: Pixelated images are perfect for mosaics, and my niece is really into Super Mario Bros. (IT"S BACK!!!!) My brother (her father) and I used to play this game for hours when we were kids. I mostly watched him play. I used to design game levels with pencil and paper, but now you can do that with the new Mario Maker game!!! What?!? So, that's my inspiration for making the Starmen above :)

No Days Mosaic Creations by Mary Anne Maslanka

Mary Anne Maslanka 

Annabelle Art Glass 

Locust Grove, GA 

 I have been using No Days Mosaic Adhesive almost as long as it has been produced. Both Brad and Bart Streuter have always been available and willing to take the time to answer any questions I have ever had...This company is doing everything right!

 Fleur de Lis Glass on Glass (GOG) mosaic made in an 18"X20" picture frame
using No Days Mosaic Adhesive and no grout.

As a stained glass artist and instructor for many years, I had never tried mosaics until Streuter introduced the No Days Mosaic Adhesive. It looked so easy, I had to try it....Then, I realized I could offer my students new projects using the product.

I made this glass on glass hummingbird mosaic
using a stained glass pattern, and No Days Mosaic Adhesive.

Now, every summer at a local senior center, I offer a glass on glass mosaic workshop so the senior members can bring their grandchildren for a fun few hours of using their imaginations and producing a small framed mosaic to take home...

I found this wooden cross at Hobby Lobby,
and I assembled it using No Days Groutless.

I also really like the No Days Bail Bond. I use it on small projects to attach a bail to hang instead of drilling a hole in the glass....works great!

This mosaic rose was created by a teen in one of my mosaic classes using just scrap glass, her imagination, and No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive.

I also use the No Days Glaze sometimes when attaching a zinc frame to my panels. I have even used it on a wooden frame...

This is a little round box with a glass insert in the lid that I bought at a thrift store.
I used No Days Mosaic Adhesive, then grouted it.

A small wooden tray I made using No Days Mosaic Adhesive.

SAMA 2014 ~ Mixing It Up & Making It Great!

Mixing it Up & Making it Great!
Expanding Your Creativity with New Products and Technology

Steve's thorough demonstration on using the Morton
Portable Glass Shop to cut a variety of shapes and tiles

The Society of American Mosaic Artists just hosted the annual American Mosaic Summit in Houston, Texas. For the second year, instructors Susan Gamble, Steve Shupper, and Carrie Strope Sohyda have taught the "Mixing It Up & Making It Great" workshop, in which student's learn about free-form compositions, exact cutting of glass and ceramic tiles and working quickly and spontaneously to finish a mosaic in under four hours.

Arranging Santa Theresa Tileworks theme packs
to guide mosaic composition.

The session began with students getting a walk through overview of the Morton Portable Glass Shop. Steve Shupper demonstrated the basics of glass cutting, followed by using the Morton system to make strips, squares, triangles and diamonds.

Heat setting No Days Groutless to finish off the mosaic without grouting.

Carrie Strope Sohayda demonstrated how she frames her mosaic with geometric shapes and sets everything in place using No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive. After heat setting the border pieces, Susan and Carrie talked about different ways to compose mosaics.

The border is set in place, and then Santa Theresa tiles are
moved around until the composition looks great.

After cutting glass and ceramic tiles and arranging the pieces, students were able to heat set their mosaics. The great thing about using No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive is that as soon as the mosaics cool down, students can be finished. Toni chose not to grout her quilt mosaic (below).

Not only did we skip grouting, we attached a hanger
to the back of the mosaic using No Days Groutless.

Students were given the option of grouting their mosaics to finish, as well. As soon as her tiles were heat set and then cooled for 5-10 minutes, Jennifer finished her mosaic by grouting. We attached hangers to the back of the pieces using the No Days Groutless, as well. That means that they are ready to hang instantly!

Jennifer decided to grout her mosaic, which she was able to do
as soon as the piece cooled.

Below are pictures of the sample mosaics that No Days Artist & Instructor Carrie Strope Sohayda made while demonstrating No Days mosaic adhesives in the vendor marketplace.

Carrie created a No Days Groutless mosaic in a free-form
style, adding and taking away pieces until the composition worked.

The border pieces were repositioned to straighten them out.
Repositioning or removing pieces is as easy as reheating with the heat gun.

See more pictures of the SAMA workshop on Facebook or Google+...

Post by No Days Adhesives.

Mosaic Artist Spotlight ~ Gayle Haynie of Glass by Gayle

Mosaic beach scene made in a wooden tray using No Days Mosaic Adhesive.
By Gayle Haynie

 We love receiving customer feedback and seeing all the creative projects made with No Days Adhesives! Recently, Gayle Haynie of Glass by Gayle shared some of the projects she's been working on.
"I used No Days Groutless Adhesive and No Days Mosaic Adhesive.  I bought the metal tray at a garage sale.  I wish I had more of those type of metal trays. I used the Groutless on that project.  The beach scene is done on a wood tray.  I used the Mosaic Adhesive on that one.   I love using your products.  I recommend your products to my students and anyone who is a crafter."

Mosaic 12" heart metal tray made using No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive.
By Gayle Haynie

If you've got projects you'd like to share with us, feel free to email info@streuter.com.

Q&A Monday ~ No Days Groutless Mosaic Birdbath

Hi~
I wanted to line the bottom of a bird bath with your product (No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive).  Saves grouting.  Will it hold up outside if I bring it in the winter and only use when weather is warm?  I live in Maryland, so we don't get too many really cold days.
~S

---

Hi, S ~

I've started on my sample piece. Worked on it a lot yesterday and plan to finish it today or tomorrow.I've attached the in progress picture of my birdbath on a hypertufa cement base. If you'd like to see pictures of the progress I made yesterday and the order in which I place the tiles, you can see them on our Instagram page: http://instagram.com/nodaysadhesives# or scroll down to the bottom of this post for the photo montage.

No Days Groutless birdbath on hypertufa...in progress

Also, I heard back from Brad. He says,"The adhesive is insoluble in water so it will hold up.    The birdbath is a great example to show on Facebook to illustrate that the adhesive will withstand being installed in an underwater environment.   Being able to withstand water is also applicable to the No Days Mosaic Mesh, No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film, No Days Bailbond, No Days Glaze and HoneyDoo Zuper Glue."

Hope this helps, and let me know if you need any assistance with your birdbath :)

Also, I'd love to see pictures when you've finished!

Cheers,

Carrie 

---

Hi, Carrie ~

I am so thrilled that you would take time out of your busy day to work on the birdbath!!

I sculpted my birdbath with clay and have been thinking (for a few years) how I would like to finish it.  Once I get supplies and get started, I will be back in touch.  I also try to do decorative painting, sew bears for Newborns in Need and some crocheting and beading.  I can't seem to stay with one thing.  I have found that my painting overlaps onto my sculpting and so I am anxious to do the glass.  I got the cutter, glass, etc ready to go, just was hesitant to do the grouting since I had done some stepping stones where the glass moved.

I will keep in touch.
Thank you,
S

---

Good luck, S! Again don't hesitate to ask if you run into questions:)

I am with you as far as multiple techniques are concerned. I love when you can combine all your loves together. You sound well-rounded ;)

Carrie

---

Carrie, new question.  I want to order some products.  How did you line the bird bath?  Did you put down the groutless base?  Did you use the adhesive to glue the tiles on so they don't fall.

No Days Groutless Mosaic Birdbath

What do you suggest I purchase to get started since I have never seen any of the products and should I buy it from the company?  I don't want to waste money in the beginning.  Maybe later I can accumulate more of their products.
Thanks, S

---

Hi, S~

With all of your hobbies, you probably already have a heat gun or embossing heat tool? That's how you heat set the adhesive. I will warn you that working 3D with the adhesive is a little tricky. You have to work in small sections. Here's a video that shows some 3D pieces being worked on with the No Days Mosaic Adhesive:

And here's a video that is an introduction to the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive, which is what I used:

The 3D video shows taping the beginning pieces in place, but I just let them cool down and add more, using gravity to my advantage. After laying down the initial strip (only 5 or 6 tiles) and letting them cool, I turned the stone bowl and added another short segment and then heat set them. After they cooled, I rotated the bowl again and added the next 5 or 6 tiles, until I got back to the beginning. After that first row, I added a few rows of tile at a time. I started on the outside of my bowl because the center was optically off on my homemade bowl. It may be easier to start in the flat bottom area and then slowly work your way up the sides.

Photo collage that shows the steps in building the mosaic birdbath
using No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive on a hypertufa base.

 In some areas, I doubled up the adhesive under the tiles, because my bowl is porous. When, heating the adhesive, it tends to pull together before it spreads out again, so you need to really heat it and "paint" it around with the tiles. My bowl is about 14" or more across, and the last picture I sent was a little less than the whole 12" roll of black Groutless Mosaic Adhesive. There are areas of the tile that are covered with some groutless. You can leave them as is, or the adhesive scrapes off with a razor (or fingernail if it's still slightly warm). ADDITION: I also found out that after the mosaic cools, that the excess adhesive can be washed off with a garden hose and spray nozzle. Quick and easy! I had one tile that popped off, and that was because I didn't heat it long enough to properly adhere to the cement base.

Oh, and I use a pair of long tweezers (~6" or so) that helps to push on the tiles while they're hot.
So, the only materials that you'll need are glass tiles (I cut mine to 3/8" and 5/16" and 1/8" just to have a variety of sizes), Groutless Mosaic Adhesive, heat gun or embossing heat tool, tweezers, and scissors to cut the adhesive. That should be it!

Here are written directions for a micro mosaic project I did with the Groutless: http://nodaysadhesives.blogspot.com/2012/08/micro-mosaic-tutorial-no-days-groutless.html
Good luck!
I'd love to see pictures of your birdbath when you get around to it:)
Carrie

Tips & Tricks for using No Days Mosaic Adhesives from Dan Gamaldi of Cradle of the Sun in San Francisco

   Dan Gamaldi of Cradle of the Sun contacted us to share the installation of his entryway mosaic outside his shop in San Francisco.  He underestimated the amount of time that it would take him to finish the mosaic, as he only worked on it in his "free" time; Dan generally works on commission stained glass windows for homes and offices in the Bay Area.  Over a period of four years, he really got to know the ins and outs of working with No Days Mosaic Adhesive. The approach to creating the "Waterfall City" mosaic was different than I've heard of using before. Instead of building on mesh, Dan used a base of aluminum foil prepped with No Days Mosaic Adhesive film.

Dan lined a plywood base with aluminum foil and then No Days Mosaic Adhesive film

Many of the pieces of glass he used in his design (based on "Waterfall City" by James Gurney) were small, and Dan didn't want to blow them away while heat setting the adhesive with a heat gun. So, he came up with several solutions.

For very small pieces of glass, Dan heat set the adhesive using a soldering iron.

  Among the solutions for heat setting that he came up with were: using a soldering iron for very small pieces of glass (such as millefiori), a regular clothes iron for heating small sections of the mosaic...

For heat setting small areas of the mosaic, he used an iron.

and, finally, the No Days Curing Station to heat set larger areas of the mosaic.  Using the irons and Curing Station allowed Dan to heat set portions of the mosaic without causing the adjacent adhesive to shrivel back on itself (which can happen when using a heat gun).

Dan used Streuter's No Days Curing Station to heat set large areas of the mosaic all at once.

  Visit Dan's website at Cradle of the Sun to see more pictures and read about the whole process. Below is the video of the mosaic being installed in the entryway of his shop.

To see the piece in person, visit Cradle of the Sun in San Francisco:

3848 24th Street

San Francisco, CA 94114

(415) 821-7667

STORE HOURS:

Mon-Tues CLOSED

Wed-Fri 11:00-6:00

Sat 9:30-6 (*Class 'til noon)

Sun 10:30-4:00 (*Class 'til 1)

(*Space limited during classes. Please come after class hours for sheet glass cuts)

Children's Collaborative Oklahoma Mosaic with No Days Groutless

Dear Brad and Streuter crew,

Thought you might enjoy seeing the attached collaboration mosaic piece that was created by 12 budding Oklahoma artists, ages 5-7. This work of art would not have been possible without your "GROUTLess" product, AND, your willingness to work with me on pricing as a teaching artist! Many thanks from Oklahoma!

Mosaic created by 12 young artists in Oklahoma (ages 5-7)
using clear No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive.

Each of the twelve students were given a 7.5" x 8" piece of the map puzzle. Their only instruction was to follow the black lines with black tiles and not to use black anywhere else. They had no idea what they were creating. The excitement in the room grew as I had each student put their piece into place. The clear (Groutless) product was perfect, as they could see their "puzzle piece" through the product as they worked. We recreated the excitement on the final day by revealing this collaboration, installation, performance piece in front of the eyes of their parents.

Annalisa outside her art studio, Brayer & Brush

I have just now had a moment to look through the catalog you sent with the order. If all of your products are as perfect as "GROUTLess", I look forward to testing them in the future.

Many, many abundant thanks again for making this an affordable possibility as I work with students in Oklahoma!

Blessings,

Annalisa
Brayer & Brush on facebook

Annalisa Campbell of Brayer&Brush

Annalisa Campbell, Mixed Media Artist, Teaching Artist and Cheerleader for Oklahoma Arts, invites you in to the Gallery, Happenings, and Creative Learning Experience of Brayer & Brush.

3012 North Lee Avenue, Oklahoma City, 73103
405-204-1120

"As a Teaching Artist, Annalisa Campbell uses media, process and play, to experiment and explore creativity with her students. Learning how to express a moment or thought visually together.
Annalisa is an Oklahoma mixed-media and printmaking artist and expands her commitment to art through encouragement and education of other art explorers. This fuels Annalisa's art experience. She has recently opened her own teaching/working studio and gallery, Brayer&Brush, in the Paseo District. Receiving the 2011 Michi Susan Award and other awards for her art, teaching is still her greatest joy and fuel for her personal works."
"Annalisa is an Oklahoma mixed-media and printmaking artist and expands her commitment to art through encouragement and education of other art explorers. This fuels Annalisa's art experience. She has recently opened her own teaching/working studio and gallery, Brayer&Brush, in the Paseo District. Receiving the 2011 Michi Susan Award and other awards for her art, teaching is still her greatest joy and fuel for her personal works."

Playing with No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive

  Whenever using a new technique or new product,  I always like to start small. This gives me the chance to play around without getting too attached to the outcome and gives me an indication of whether or not my ideas will work in the selected medium. That's why I have a bunch of 1/4" mdf coaster substrates cut to four inches.

Cutting No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive with an exacto razor.

If you're new to using the No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive, I would definitely suggest a play date. Gather your tools and materials and get started:

• coaster substrate (can be mdf or even ceramic tiles from the hardware store)
• some trinkets, beads and glass or ceramic tiles
• glass cutting tools (mosaic nippers, glass scorer, running pliers, safety glasses)
• heat gun or embossing heat tool
• scissors or craft blade
• long heat proof tool to move the pieces around while heating (tweezers, screwdriver, craft blade, etc.)

Placing glass tiles on the coaster substrate.

After cutting the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive to the size of your coaster substrate, you can start adding tiles and bits on top. NOTE: You don't have to be exact on cutting the Groutless. It's okay if it's a little large or a little small. Also, you may want to try layering the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive in areas to see the varying effects it creates. (The Groutess Mosaic Adhesive comes in sheets that are not tacky. You can cut the sheets and stack them on top of each other before laying tiles on top of them.)

Heat the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive to set the pieces.

After you've covered the adhesive, it's time to heat set it. I call the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive a "participatory adhesive" (totally made up technical term). You really need to get in there and work with it as you're heating. As it begins to liquify, some of your pieces may start to shift and move around. It's okay, that's supposed to happen, at first! If your pieces start sliding around and things are getting out of control, then turn off the heat gun and set it aside for a moment. Glass and ceramic are insulators, so they'll hold the heat for awhile allowing you to move them into place. When the pieces are in the right spot, you need to push down on them to make the excess adhesive (causing the tiles to swim) press out from underneath the tiles and rise up around the outside edges of the tiles (to act as the grout). If the tiles stop moving, or the adhesive starts to wrinkle or ripple as you move your tiles, grab that heat gun and start heating again.

Completed sample tile in less than 30 minutes.

Once you've heated, moved and pressed on your tiles, you need to let the mosaic cool down. If you've been a good date and heated the glass or ceramic thoroughly, then it's going to take a bit longer for the mosaic to cool down. Use this time to start another sample and switch things up a bit! See how far you can push your ideas. NOTE: I forgot to mention that sometimes the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive will shrink up while you're heating, exposing the surface underneath. Don't panic! Use your tool to push on the tiles, using them to move the adhesive around and cover up any bald spots.

Create several samples tiles to create a larger mosaic of mosaics!

Once you've created tiles, try building on a glass surface. Keep it small (~4-6") and don't forget to keep your heat gun moving. Larger pieces of glass can thermal shock when heated unevenly. For more on glass on glass mosaics using Groutless Mosaic Adhesive, check out this post.

For those of you who are visual learners and need to see the process, check out the video below:

Q&A Monday ~ Mosaic Jewelry Help!

No Days Instructor and Support Carrie Strope Sohayda

Hi, there! Carrie, here... Not only do I travel the country teaching folks how to use No Days adhesives (and other techniques), but I also answer customer support emails about using No Days. So, if you're having an issue with the adhesives, chances are good that I'll be answering your questions! Since I get so many good questions, I thought it might be a great learning opportunity for people that may be having some of the same issues but haven't thought to email us. Don't worry, I'll keep the emails anonymous! Also, don't forget that we've got a lot of really fabulous videos (I put those together, too...) on our YouTube channel. So for those of you who are visual learners (umm...we're visual artists, right?), you may want to check them out! If you've got questions, feel free to contact us at info@streuter.com.

---

Subject: Re: Customer needs help

Recently a customer contacted us about troubles with using No Days Mosaic Adhesive for micro mosaic jewelry...

Dichroic Dot Mosaic Jewelry using No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive

Hi ~

I’d like to raise my concern about the usage of  NO DAYS Mosaic Adhesive.  I have used the film – the thin one for my mosaic jewelry, and use a Black and Decker heat gun but it doesn’t work well because:

1.  It takes a long time to for the film to be melted (about 5 minutes).

2.  For small pieces, such as 1/8”, the air from the heat gun blows them away!

I haven’t used the thicker one (No Days Groutless) yet, but I think it will not be able to be melted at all because the thin one is already very difficult to use.  Since I only use small pieces for my jewelry, the NO DAYS Mosaic Adhesive seems to not work.

Thanks,

X

Dear X ~

 I followed the link you provided for the heat gun you are using. You should have no problems getting the adhesive to melt with that heat gun, whether it is on low or high. I'm curious to know what kind of pieces you are using in your jewelry. Both glass and ceramics are insulators, so it does take longer to heat them than it does to heat metal (a conductor). However, small pieces shouldn't take 5 minutes to heat. Also, when using small pieces, you'll want to start with the heat gun on low and hold it well above your work (6-8" or more) until you see the pieces shimmy. Let the adhesive melt and then it's safe to move the gun closer.

Micro mosaic shadowbox created with No Days Groutless

I have a video that I'm working on that shows a micro mosaic completed with Groutless Mosaic Adhesive (http://streutertechnologies.blogspot.com/2012/08/micro-mosaic-tutorial-no-days-groutless.html), but it's not quite finished.

Here is a video that shows using the groutless on small pieces. 

I also realized with your inquiry that I haven't made a video specific to jewelry yet. Many times when working with jewelry pieces and groutless (or mosaic adhesive), I'll put my pieces on a hot plate/electric skillet to heat set, avoiding the heat gun altogether. I don't have pictures of this yet, but here's a post that shows the hot plate at work with glass on glass:

Heat setting No Days Mosaic Adhesive with an electric skillet

Let me know if you have further questions.
Hope this helps!
Carrie Strope Sohayda

Hi Carrie,

Thanks so much for replying to my email.  I think that my heat gun is broken because it’s not hot at all!  It’s even less hot than my hair dryer!  So I returned it to Amazon and asked for a replacement.

The jewelry I make is quite small – 1" to 2"; therefore, I put all the tiny pieces (including tiny glass beads) very close together, so close that you barely see a gap between them, and I use the thin adhesive film.  I am waiting for the heat gun replacement and will try again.  If it doesn’t work due to the blowing air from the heat gun, I think I will heat it from the BOTTOM of the jewelry piece which acts similarly to placing the jewelry piece on an electric skillet.

Thanks,

X
 
Great idea, X!!!  What a good suggestion for those of you trying to heat small jewelry trays with a heat gun. Try using the heat gun on the bottom of your trays to heat!

Remember, if you've got any questions about using No Days, contact me at info@streuter.com, and I'm happy to help! Got any more suggestions or questions regarding this post? Please comment below!

The Low Down for Glass on Glass Mosaics with No Days

Streuter Technologies offers several different adhesive solutions for mosaic artists. Each one was developed for a specific use. So how do you know which one you should use? This post will hopefully help you to answer that question, specifically for Glass on Glass mosaics.

No Days Mosaic Adhesive film vs. No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive.

How do you decide which adhesive to use?

Now for the nitty-gritty...and lots of pictures for explanations:

No Days Mosaic Adhesive film

The stained glass looking window above was created using the No Days Mosaic Adhesive film. No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film is dry-to-the-touch and comes in rolls of thin, film sheets that can be cut to size. It comes in "clear," which has a yellowish tint to it.
The base of the mosaic is a clear piece of hammered stained glass. Even though one side is "flat," there is still texture to the flat side, additionally, the stained glass pieces that I cut to shape and laid down on top also have texture to them. What does this mean?

Mosaic Adhesive...film or groutless?

Streuter Technologies offers several different adhesive solutions for mosaic artists. Each one was developed for a specific use. So how do you know which one you should use? This post will hopefully help you to answer that question, specifically for No Days Mosaic Adhesive film vs. No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive.

How do you decide which adhesive to use?

No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film is dry-to-the-touch and comes in rolls of thin, film sheets that can be cut to size. It comes in "clear," which has a yellowish tint to it.
No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive is a thick heat activated colored adhesive sheet designed not only to adhere tiles to a variety of substrates but also to fill in your grout lines between tiles during heating. It comes in "clear," pewter & black.

To help illustrate the questions to consider, I'll be using this glass on glass mosaic held together with No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film:

Various textured stained glass bits on plate glass.

It's a perfect example, because it was built with various textures of stained glass on a perfectly flat plate glass substrate with one sheet of adhesive film. By looking at the backside, you can see the areas of the glass that have adhered to the substrate as well as the areas that are not touching the substrate. ("Substrate" = the base you're building on.)

Looking through the flat glass, you can see where the adhesive is sticking (transparent) and where it's not.

The picture above illustrates what mosaics built with No Days Adhesive Film look like underneath the tiles. The adhesive has turned transparent where it is holding onto the glass (bonded) after heat setting the pieces in place. Now imagine that these glass pieces are on mdf, hardibacker, cement, wedi or other substrate. The surface area of the bond is enough to hold the pieces in place. The piece can be grouted and finished with no fear of pieces popping off (assuming that the mosaic was heat set properly.)

For tiles that have more texture and depth on the backside, No Days Groutless fills in
the gaps to provide more surface area for a secure bond.

 If, however, you are using tiles like the ones above, you may opt to use No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive. This gorgeous dichroic coated, ceramic tile from Coatings by Sandberg has a more textured back surface. That means that if you were using the mosaic adhesive film (which is thinner), that the adhesive wouldn't be as strong because the surface area for the adhesive to grab onto is reduced. But, if you're using the No Days Groutless (thicker), then there's no worry that the adhesive is grabbing onto the tile. The tile in the foreground is a tile that was adhered on wedi board with Groutless in pewter, then reheated and pulled off. You can see where the adhesive grabbed onto the tile.

To grout or not to grout?

The Groutless was developed for a teacher who wanted to skip the grouting process with her elementary school students because, well...it's messy! It's up to you whether or not you want to grout after the tiles are in place. The sunflower piece above has been adhered with pewter on wedi board. I am going to grout this piece, but used the Groutless Mosaic Adhesive because the ceramic tiles I used needed a little more adhesive to grab onto them. 

Glass on glass mosaic using No Days Groutless in black

By the way, you can use the No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive for glass on glass mosaics, and I've got some great secrets to share. But...that's gonna have to wait for another post!

Got any questions for me? Leave a comment so I can answer them :)