Lucky you to have a stash already at hand. My favorite is "Mosaics - Inspiration and Original Projects for Interiors and Exteriors" by Kaffe Fassett and Candace Bahouth. Got it used off Amazon. com. LOVE it - LOTS of inspiration.

What worked for me when I first started out was - I checked out practically every mosaic book that the library had! Not all at once, of course :) - and then I purchased the ones that I liked the most. I refer back to them quite a bit.

These are the mosaic books I have:

The Mosaic Idea Book by Rosalind Wates
The Encyclopedia of Mosaic Techniques by Emma Biggs
Beginner's Guide to Mosaics by Alison Hepburn
Mosaic Techniques & Traditions by Sonia King

Of course, there's a world of inspiration right here on this site....I haven't done any stepping stones, but there are pics of plenty of beautiful ones by the very talented people here...most recently - squirrellycanadian posted pictures of some absolutely gorgeous ones.

And if you want some "scrolly" inspiration - check out anything by SLOWMEDOWN....she's the queen of beautiful scrolls!

If your are looking for inspiration not technique I suggest Mosaic Art and Style by JoAnn Locktov.

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Well thanks for that, LYNDALU, very kind - I was gonna suggest the websites on mosaics too. The Yahoo group has tons of ideas. I literally spend hours every day searching for inspiration, and it was FREE. Just Google mosaics, mosaic artists, whatever, and you'll be overwhelmed at what you'll find.

I second the Sonia King book - she's amazing. She frequents another list I'm on and she's a nice person, too!

Don't neglect online references as well (sometimes nicer than books because you can download inspirational pieces to look at later).

Try some of these:
Passiflora

Kessler Studios

Mattson Studios

Rivenworks

Gila Mosaics

Theresa desJardin Studios

I love the Mosaic Idea Book for inspiration but no instructional information in it.
For instructional techniques and ideas, I like:
The Pattern Companion Mosaics by Dierks, DuVal, Jacobsen,MacKay, & Sheerin
Creative Garden Mosaics by MacKay
And I love to look at websites to study techniques and get ideas.
Let us know if you find any other great resources.

Pea! I just got that book and drooled over it and was so inspired that I had to let Klinger take it to get her juices going!!! Jane

Oh, I just love the Mattson Studio work. I found that site a while back. They had a teacup and teapot "thingy" that I just loved-I collect teacups and teapots- so I set out to find the items I needed. Found them, got them glued, but haven't mosaiced it yet. Here is a pic of what I have so far--{{!gwi}}

Found it-{{!gwi}}

I just love this thing!!!

OH OH OH OH GASP Breath deeply, Betty, now CONTROL yourself!!! COPPER!!! I'd seen this site waaaaaaaaa back, enjoyed it, but never focused on the makeup of the pieces. You just brought it into focus. WHEN YOU GONNA START??????? Oh, here's another thing I wish I hadn't looked at!!!! Waaaaaaaaaah. Wanna do it ALL!!!