I enjoyed this mosaic kit very much. It was my first try at a mosaic since grade school, where the tiles were construction paper applied with a glue stick.This kit has a hardboard backer with a picture of the mosaic glued on, showing you not only the placement of tiles and colors, but the tiles that need nipping to fit in place. They call the surface magic, as you dip the back of the tile in water and put it in place, and it dries firmly attached. I feel the magic potion used is probably gum Arabic or a transparent type of wallpaper paste or mucilage, but it works well. You can wear it off by repositioning tiles and rewetting them. A drop of any pva glue will hold the tile in place. It holds well enough that I actually pulled up the paper attached to the tile when I tried to remove an already glued tile from their prepared surface.It is quite different from a paint by number kit, despite some similarities. You are responsible for placeing a tile correctly, making sure the tile is correctly shaped if needed, and that the way you place them gives a nice shaped line. There is also a little ambiguity in the colors of some of the tiles, which is why I removed and replaced several. There are multiple blues and some black tiles , and and in some cases I used the one that my eye liked, rather than the tile color on the surface.I ran out of deep blues tiles. I contacted Alea, and they had me send a picture of the mosaic, and a picture of my remaining tiles. They were very polite, and sent a packet of additional tiles. I also thought the gray tiles provided for the dolphin's belly edge were too close in color to the soft blue, and were not the browner gray pictured. They told me there would be enough color differentiation, but sent me tiles in another shade as well, so I could try both. I ended up using both, but more of the tile color sent in the kit. I was very pleased with the customer service.I did learn shaping tiles 'on the job', and my technique and the resulting pieces improved as I progressed.It is important to keep a close spacing between tiles, and make sure the line you make doesn't stagger, or you will have trouble placing full in between tiles in ajoining rows.I strongly recommend that you get a pair of tweezers. The kind with a sort of bird beak shape at the end worked best for me. Also, get actual tile nippers or a wheeled cutter plier to shape pieces. Regular pliers are not satisfactory. They crush the tile, crack it jaggedly, or pop off the glaze. Sometimes all on the same abused tile.The effect of the completed mosaic is very reminiscent of classic Greek or Roman mosaic. It is pleasing to my eye, and gives me a sense of accomplishment that well pays back the time I invested. I have not yet figured out how to display it.I intend to get additional kits from them, and also ordered more packets of their tiles to try an original effort. I ordered this size, and their nano sized tiles.I tried using the nano tiles on a small wooden circle, and designed a dolphin similar to the one in this kit.I've definitely found a new hobby. :)