Learn to cut china for mosaics. We’ll show you how to turn thrift store china into mosaic tiles using wheel cutters and tile nippers. We love broken china mosaics! Because we do so many mosaics with china, we’ve learned a lot about how to cut china for mosaics. Here are our best tips and tricks, including some little videos to show you how to cut your own mosaic tiles from china.
First, go shopping at the thrift store for pretty china pieces to cut. We look for plates with roses in the center and on the edge. The parts with the patterns need to be flat to cut them into tiles, so teacups aren’t ideal (except for the handles which can be cute added to a mosaic!), but the saucers work great!
How To Cut China For Mosaics
Tools & Materials
China plates
Tile nippers or wheel cutters for tile
Large Ziploc bags
Protective leather gloves
Safety glasses
Steps
1. To get started cutting the china, put on safety glasses and protective gloves. Place the china plate inside a large clear bag or on a cardboard box lid to catch the shards. Grasp the edge of the plate with the tile nipper blades placing the blades perpendicular to the edge of the plate. The tile nippers only need to bite one-quarter to one-half inch into the plate. You’ll want to hold onto the china plate with one hand and then press or bend the plate against the tile nippers as you squeeze the blades onto the china.
The tile nipper blades will create a crack that will break the china into two large pieces. Cut one of the pieces again, using the same technique. And then repeat to cut larger pieces into smaller tiles.
The tile nippers work great for big cuts, but we like to use the wheel cutters for more precise cutting like cutting out roses. We use both types of cutters, but you can buy either one and it will work for fine.
Here’s a video we made showing how to use the wheel cutters and the tile nippers to cut china for mosaics:
Sometimes we find a plate with a pretty rose in the center or some other nice image that we want to recreate in the mosaic.
To keep the image together while cutting it into smaller tiles, you can place clear packing tape over the image. It usually holds the image pieces together even though the china breaks into tiles.
Have you ever made your own broken china mosaic? Here’s a birdhouse we made that turned out great.
Click to see the whole project! And remember if you need any help or info, just leave us a comment and we’ll reply!
Cheers,
Jennifer & Kitty
We love getting Pinned!
If you score it first, you can control where it breaks better and can even get straight lines.
Here is a one-minute video:
Thanks Bill! We use a scoring tool when we cut glass for mosaic. We’ll try it on the china! Jennifer & Kitty
I tried to mosaic a small table and the mosaicing came out great! However, I left the grout on to long and now I have grout all over my small glass tiles I used! Can you recommend something to clean up the grout off the tiles? I did this month’s ago! I would love to finish it up and seal it and put it in the room!! Help!
Kathy
moedog89@yahoo.com
Oh so sorry that happened! We haven’t tried it ourselves, but there is a product called grout haze remover. Usually available with the grouting and tiling supplies at hardware stores. If you try it, we’d love to hear your results so we can share with others! J&K
Muriatic acid will do the trick – I’ve used it on tile grout and it works great!
Hi Jewels,
Thanks for the tip!
J&K
Thanks, really useful I had not tried this, i have smashed with a hammer. Not very subtle
Great to hear Tania!
Thanks, real good information
Hi…and thank you, thank you, so much for your page…I have been yearning to do Mosaic for years..but I havn’t been confident enough….hope practice will make it better. But I just didn’t know How, what Products to buy etc..so you have given me a Push..I just Luuve Mosaics, and it will be a great hobby to do in winter.
Hi Marie,
We love mosaics! We have lots of mosaic projects here on the blog. Remember if you have any questions, we’re here to help.
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
Thank you for the great information!
I want to cut tea cups in half to make little planters within a mosaic wall hanging. Is there a way to cut out one side to make it sit flat against the board? I’m afraid to experiment as these cups are grandma’s and great-grandma’s.
Hi Sherri,
To get a nice neat clean cut you would need to use a Dremel tool and a cutting blade suitable for china. The nippers just aren’t precise at all and we would hate for you to wreck your heirloom pieces. Here’s a video we found showing how it’s done:
https://youtu.be/qcTjyaEcHIA
Hope that helps,
Jennifer & Kitty
This is wonderful thanks. Now I can use my plates in a professional style.
Wonderful!
Love this can’t wait to learn
So glad you found us!
J&K
I am interested in learning more about mosaics.
We have lots of mosaic projects and videos! Here’s a selection:
http://runningwithsisters.com/category/mosaics/
Happy Crafting,
J&K
This site takes me back to my mosaic days fifteen years ago. I had a company, 5,000 sq ft’ retail store and mfgr space combined in New York. I taught classes, did craft shows throughout the east coast, bought old furniture and covered them with mosaics and often times did custom jobs. I was accepted into the New York Gift show and sold $60K of my work before noon the first day….You can see a few pieces of my work on Ryan-Arts.com.
I kept several pieces to remember that chapter in my life. I rode the mosaic craze in the early 90’s until mosaics were made offshore and sold inexpensively.
Since then I’ve been painting and selling my art winning ribbons..
Recently I moved back to my home state of California and belong to several Painting societies. Your site, and others on Pintrest, have inspired me to perhaps think about creating mosaics again, maybe.
I have so many irons in the fire. WIshed I’d kept all my glass and tools etc.
My company name is “Mosaic Designs” which I will work under again if I have time and decide to jump back into the fray. You can see a few pieces on my multi-art website.
Good Luck to you both!
Thanks so much for sharing your story. And your web site. Your drawings and paintings are gorgeous! And love the mosaic! How fun that you teach!
Best to you!
Jennifer & Kitty
can you please show me how to break china cups? Like maybe cutting in half ? keeping the handle intact? thank you I love your video, very helpful.
Hi Denise,
To cut a china cup in half neatly you would need to use a Dremel tool and a cutting blade suitable for china. Here’s a video we found showing how it’s done:
https://youtu.be/qcTjyaEcHIA
Hope that helps,
Jennifer & Kitty
How do I cut a China tea cup in half.
Thank you
To cut a tea cup, you’ll need a Dremel tool. Look for a YouTube video to show you how it’s done. very cool!
J&K
Can’t wait to get started making beautiful pieces with china pieces please send the how to information to Ruth.dieter&comcast.net
Hi Ruth,
All the steps are right here in the blog post and video. You can also search our site for mosaic projects made with china. We have a cute heart project and a birdhouse!
J&K
Can i make grout at home??
You can buy dry grout and mix it up at home. Is that what you mean? Yes!
Hope that helps!
J&K
Hi I love your videos.
I want to mosaic a patio plastic table can I mosaic a plastic table?
We think that should work. Just test your glue to make sure it adheres to the plastic.
J&K
I love your site! Very clear instructions. I started a small mosaic with laying out the design, then I wasn’t comfortable proceeding without doing some research in how to glue and grout such a small project. So glad my search on Pinterest lead me to your site. Now I am jazzed to finish my project. Thank you so much!
Yay! So glad you found us and so glad we could help!
J&K
Love your tutorial. Want to make so many mosaics but I can’t seem to figure out the right consistency of the grout. Can you help me?
So sorry you are having trouble with your grout. We mix it up and if it feels dry and crumbly, we add more water. It should be the consistency of natural peanut butter. Start with less water than you think you’ll need, then add a little more and stir until you have the right consistency. We find it doesn’t have to be perfect. A little dry or a little runny won’t make a big difference.
Hope that helps,
J&K
Hi I’m interested in starting to do mosaics using old China and glass. I’m just wondering how hard it is to use the wheel nippers? I have arthritis in my hands so don’t have as much strength as I used to. How much force does it take to press down on the wheel nippers?
Jane
Hi Jane, Making mosaics with old China and glass is really fun! But the wheel cutters and tile nippers do require some strength to squeeze them onto the china. We recommend squeezing as far back (as far away from the cutters) on the handles as you can for more leverage. That requires less force. Bone China is easier to cut than regular dishes. It is finer, thinner, and more brittle.
Another option is to break a dish in a Ziploc bag with a hammer or use a nail and a hammer for a more precise cut. But this is much less precise than wheel cutters. See step 5 in this mosaic table: https://runningwithsisters.com/smashing-tile-table/
One more idea is to buy broken china already cut on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/search/craft-supplies-and-tools?q=broken+china+mosaic&explicit=1&ship_to=US
Glass mosaic is different because you cut it by scoring the glass sheet with a steel wheel glass cutter. There’s a video showing how in this glass mosaic candle holder: https://runningwithsisters.com/party-pretty-glass-mosaic-candleholder/ It requires much less hand strength.
Hope that helps!
Good luck,
Jennifer & Kitty
Just wondering what to do when the plate pieces don’t lay flat? Especially on the pieces that come attached to the thick base of a plate. Thanks
Great question Cate! We recommend only using pieces that are about the same height and lay flat so when you grout the mosaic it creates one level surface. We usually discard the pieces that have the thick base of the plate on the back.
Hope that helps,
Jennifer & Kitty
Thanks so much! Makes perfect sense