There are some tile pros on the board, so hopefully they'll chime in. In the meantime I have tiled a few areas of my own home and have a few thoughts:

It would be worth a trip to your local library to check out books on tiling. There are a lot of not-so-obvious things about it that would be covered in the book -- some that come to mind are the mathematical calculations you'll want to do before starting, where to start, the use of and reasons for using a "beater bar", making cuts for outlets -- the placement of these may factor into your original mathematical calculations. It will also cover issues such as ensuring your tile goes up in a straight line, and the even grouting lines questions will be answered in there, too. To get even grout lines I us spacers, but some tile have them built in, and there are also some techniques to learn about spacers that will be discussed in the books -- the first time I tiled, I actually got part way through the job before I figured out I was using the wrong part of the spacer (I used the handle which was not uniform thickness) to space my tiles and they had to be pulled off and redone.

I would also strongly urge you to have your first section be on the very least visible part of your kitchen, there will definitely be a learning curve, and you want the most prominent area to showcase you're best work.

I'm assuming your tile is average thickness -- if you're using a heavy tile then I have a few more tips for you -- my last project (also my back spash) was a thick, heavy porcelain tile and I found out (the hard way that there are other techniques for heavy tile that I should have used.... so be aware, the weight matters, too.

Do NOT start with your backsplash as your first project! Get a garage sale find, maybe one of the many iron coffee tables out there and cut a plywood top for it and begin learning on that instead. Even if it's just a scrap piece of ply to learn on, you need experience before you tackle the backsplash. Your tile is too expensive to mess up your first time out. You will need to get a feel for how to use the notched trowel, the wet saw, and a grout float. Your backsplash isn't the place to practice. Find something you won't worry about messing up first.

I found John Bridge's book, Tile Your World, to be the best resource when I was teaching myself. Lots of very solid advice with many years of experience to back it up. Best $20 I spent on the while project.

Also, consider getting some Tile Spikes or tile wedges. I've done about 4 projects now and these little babies are the best tool I've discovered for keeping your groutlines straight while the mortar is setting. Also, if you're going to need to backbutter the accent tiles, you might consider using regular mortar instead of the pre-mixed mastic. It's thicker and I find it a lot easier to work with. It comes in relatively small bags that you mix with water.

Thanks for the advice-know I'm a novice as I'm not sure what backbuttering is-though the descriptive term brings forth images of applying mastic to the back of the tile. krisma and circuspeanut I will go the library and check what they have if not Barnes and Nobles is fairly close by. I'm mixing my own grout-one of the things I'm most concerned about. Twentyone years ago when I was young and fearless I tiled my entryway right after I bought my current home. It came out fairly well-but I notice-nobody else seems to-small air holes. I want to avoid this on the splash. Practicing with cheap tiles is a great idea and one I was toying with. Most likely I can pick up free tile someone is throwing out-through free cycle or a tile vendor. There's a nesting table that would be cute painted and tiled in my garage! Thanks so much for all suggestions. I'm nervous about it but think if I take my time, do my research ahead of time and practice before the big project I'll be OK. My goal is to have this kitchen finished before Thanksgiving as I'm hosting. I work full time and the floor is going in the weekend before Thanksgiving so time is now of the essence.

Best tip I ever got: mix the mortar the exact consistency of chocolate frosting. :-) And make sure to let it sit ("slake") for a few minutes after mixing. Make small batches so you don't feel rushed, and stir up more at a time once you're feeling more confident.

You can do this! Post photos for any layout questions, too, if we can help that way. Cheers.

Went to the library got my books and picked up some graph paper. Unfortunately the tiles aren't in yet.

Measuring my area I noticed that my outlets are out of whack on two walls. On each wall one is higher than the other. Yikes. Wish I had a friend who was an electrician to even them out. They are fairly close together-about 8 inches. I'm going to graph it tomorrow when I am not so tired with meticulous measurements and try to figure something out to make it less obvious.

Love the idea of frosting as an image for the grout. I always make a butter cream vanilla icing-might be a bit thicker than chocolate! If you have ideas about the outlet let me know.

I'll have to move my stove out too. Plan on continuing the backsplash behind it as I'm looking for a range and do not know how high the back will go. DH very unhappy about moving the stove-but I don't see any other options if I want it to look right.

I moved some of my outlets so that they would fit into my subway scheme. It's quite easy to learn how, but I say this with total caveat of: check your local code first, and always rely on professional advice rather than strangers on the internet. :-)

If it's just a few inches up or down, it might not be terribly hard to open up the drywall and see if you can just move the box. If so all you'll need is a screwdriver to unscrew it from the stud it's on and then reposition it. But if you have complicated wiring going on it's a whole different story. Make a hole smaller than a tile and get in there to see. You can patch it with one of those metal drywall patches and tile right over it.

Yes! Buttercream works as imagery too. It needs to be thick and luscious, spreadable with a butterknife and able to hold peaks.

Moving the stove is a true pain, but must be done. It's a great chance to be horrified at the amount of stuff that collects under there over the years. Bleh.