Sun Box - Work-In-Progress

Today I should be working on the mosaic for my grandson. I'm having a bit of trouble finding the energy to work on it although I had a late night placing china and stained glass on the sun box, I couldn't seem to switch gears and start on the gift. I couldn't stop working on the sun until the inside of the box was finished. The muse insisted on it. That's all there was to it.

Wish me luck! As a reminder, this gift is due in 3 days. No pressure. I'll share the finished project here but there won't be a work-in-progress photo, I don't think. I do believe I won't have time to take many pictures between now and then!

Meanwhile, because I got a burst of energy on the sunshine box and was up late getting the inside completed, I can now put it aside.

Now ... for the outside ... the colors will be different but the wave pattern will continue. And the finial on the top will be painted but not with dots. I don't think ...

Have a great weekend - it's the last one of the summer - make it count!

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Solar Flare - Sunshine In A Box

The other day when I shared a photo of the latest work-in-progress mosaic on Facebook, one of my online buddies called it Solar Flare. I was calling it Sunshine In A Box but hers is much better! That's a keeper.

It's coming along but not exactly as I thought it would. Often when I start something I don't have an exact idea as to how I want it to see it once it is finished but I do have certain thoughts. I have no problem with going with the flow or changing direction and because I ripped up some of the tess on this earlier, it feels like my original vision isn't exactly what it should end up with. That's okay with me, the muse rules me and I know it, but I am a little unsure as to what to do. I lost a little confidence with it. When that happens, sometimes it is best to put it aside for a day or two and think about it.

The photos show the progress so far. I'm using more blue and white china than I thought I'd use. I like it here and will put it at the bottom wave and top wave but the outer edges will get something different. I think ...

Meanwhile, my grandson's 6th year on earth is arriving next week! I decided to put this awesome box of sun aside and work on something for my own little ray of light.

I am not sure what I'm using as a substrate, but I'm going to make him a SpongeBob mosaic. No photos to show yet and until I know what I'm putting it on, there won't be. But, it shouldn't take very long to do. He normally is very interested in my mosaics and has, in the past, requested I make him some (which of course I have!) and he's made some of his own as well. Because I'm not selling it, I feel okay about using a patented trademark like Mr. SquarePants as my inspiration.

I'll be figuring out what to do and how to do it with all of that this afternoon. The next post should have something to show.

I listed a few things this morning. Love the pillow covers so much. I've been having fun making up collections too both in gift ideas and home decor.

I love making these collections! I'm positive next week I'll share a few more.

Meanwhile ... it's time to figure out what to put the SpongeBob mosaic on ...

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Wild Wednesday

Well, perhaps "wild" is a bit of an exaggeration but it has been a bit of a crazy day for me.

Be that as it may, I do have a few things to share but not much. I'm shocked that I have some "play time" available on the computer at all right now. I am making the most of it!

More collections have been made from my Etsy shop. LOVE the fact that as I'm gathering these together, they can also be used as featured items on the shop's page as well. Bonus!

All items can be purchased from my shop at Etsy. Woo-hoo! Notice there's note cards added now. It's pretty cool to see some of the fine art photography as note cards and pillows. I like it! You will be seeing more of both pillows and cards as the weeks continue. And of course new mosaics as they are made. Always and forever, there will be mosaics to share no matter how many times I change my shop's appearance - mosaics will be listed. :)

Yesterday was spent fixing what I took apart with this mosaic. I also added the small screw eyes you see in this photo. Once the mosaic is completed I am going to add charms and beads onto the screw eyes. They are so very small. You need to see this photo to realize how small they are.

It took me about 2 hours to get 20 screws into this box. Jewelry pliers and patience were needed. They are 8 mm as you might be able to tell from the photo, extremely small. I had thought I'd use these for the small MDF crosses I've made so far but they are way too small. They won't hold the heaviness of a mosaic. Using them here in this project seemed like a good idea.

I haven't yet started working on the mosaic today but I'll get to it soon. It's fun to take something that is no longer useful as it is and create something artistic with it. Recycling at its finest!

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Fun With Home Decor

Last night while looking through my Etsy shop, I discovered some of my home decor items would look really great placed together and was trying to figure out a way to share them. Remembering the awesome site bighugelabs.com I made up a few small "mosaics" as they are called. I've got 4 made up so far and really like how these look.

I used to do something like this when I was much younger, way before computers and photo editing software. I'd cut out photos I liked from home decorating magazines and group things together in this way. I loved finding similar colors in decor and putting them together. I still do! What's the most awesome thing about these, for me anyway, is that I made and photographed everything you see in these little groupings. I even impressed myself!

Pretty cool, huh?! I'm going to do more as time goes on. It's a fun way to see my crafty work in a new way.

Speaking of crafty work, the newest mosaic has slowed a little bit. Yesterday I did rip up all the glass I didn't like around the sun and in turn a few pieces I didn't want to come off, came with it. This means I'm back pedaling a bit but whenever I pull tesserae up from the surface I'm working with, that is always the risk.

It looks a bit rough right now but as time goes on, while working on it, the roughness will get replaced with thoughts of how groovy it's looking. And now I can add the ball chain and replace the pieces of tess that came off and continue on with it.

I've some new listings to share too! It's been a busy few days.

Terra Cotta Mosaic Flower Pot, Broken Dish Mosaic Art, Retro, Home Decor, Broken China Mosaic, Pique Assiette Mosaic Flower Pot

Hand Painted Bottle, Dot Painting, Bohemian Art, Hippie Decor, Incense Holder, Bud Vase, Handmade, Recycled, Repurposed, Reused

The grandkidlets are under their Dad's care today, which gives me extra time to "play" in my studio. I find so many things to be grateful for each and every day. Today my daughter went to work earlier than usual and I anticipated a hard day wrangling the kids but instead, I have the day to do whatever I need to do without much concern that kids will be under foot while their Dad, bless his heart, works from home and watches them. This is why each day is called the "present". What a gift today is!

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

It's A Brand New Week

It's a brand new week and that means all new projects! Woo-hoo!

First, let me share the newest additions to my Etsy shop.

Mosaic Pitcher, Flowers, Retro, Hippie Decor, Flower Power, Home Decor, Recycled, Reused, Stained Glass Mosaic, Upcycled, Vase

Decorative Pillow Cover, Throw Pillow, Home Decor, Fall, Autumn, Leaves, Nature, Tree, Photo Pillow Cover, Made To Order, September, October

The dot painted bottle is finished and will get listed this week, along with a few flower pots and more pillows too.

"Black Night" will be listed soon

Yesterday I started working on a recycling mosaic project that I think is going fairly well. The most fun I have, in all honesty, is when I pull out the tempered glass, glitter and acrylics!

What do those who don't mosaic see, I wonder, when they look at this photo?

tempered or crash glass

I see mosaic heaven! So many possibilities! Yeah buddy!

I am assuming this will look like a shrine when I'm finished with it because that is what I had in mind. It started its first life as a small wooden jewelry box. A few drawers are missing but I'm going to use them too for some mosaic goodness at some point separate from this.

I've already done a bit of reworking around the sun which has paint that gets glittered up and tempered glass placed over it. I used an iridescent glass as the outline but it just didn't do much for me. I am taking the glass off now and adding ball chain around it. I'll share photos of it as I go.

On a final note: there may be a few days this week and perhaps next week as well, where I will be missing a few posts. School is starting soon and although I'm just the Nana now, I live with the kids and kidlets and as their schedule changes, so will mine. I may discover I have more time to do my crafts once the routine gets established, but this year all 3 grandchildren will be in school, my daughter has changed her work schedule so she will be here when they get home, and I'll have the responsibility of getting them on the bus each day. It will take some adjusting for me as well as for them. Some things, like blog posts, FB visits and marketing in general may get set aside.


Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Another Fun Week Ends

It's been a great week here in my studio. I love the productive days when the muse keeps me motivated and creative.

The purple glass is on the vase and I love it!

When I finished this up yesterday, I thought for sure I'd want to use black grout. As a matter of fact I was positive. And this morning, after looking at the colors and how bright and cheery the flowers are even without grout, I knew I'd have to go with white. I'm happy with that decision. I should grout either later this afternoon or tomorrow, so look for photos over on my Facebook page or shared here on Monday.

One more pendant went "live" this morning on Etsy. This pretty mosaic heart art pendant has been added to the Jewelry section.

Mosaic Heart Pendant, Art Pendant, Stained Glass, Hippie, Bohemian, Wearable Art, Bronze, Yellow, Red

I'm still dot painting the large bottle I showed yesterday. I really do enjoy making them, although some think I'm being sarcastic when I say they are fun. I honestly do think they are fun to do!

Dot painting with toothpicks

There's no sun today to help show the progress on the bottle. I'll wait until it's finished and perhaps the sun will be out long enough to get some good photos.

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Flower Power Mosaic Flowers Are Finished

The finishing touches on the flowers were done yesterday. The background will start getting filled in today. Exciting stuff in my world! How groovy they look. I know I've said it before, but I gotta say it again: I LOVE this design!

If you're tired of seeing these designs you might want to take a vaca from my blog for a while, I'm way into making them and already have the next few items ready to go with the same design! That doesn't mean I'll do them all right now, however. Something tells me I may be heading towards finishing the painted bottle I started a while back very soon.

I also have a new listing on Etsy for today. I'm happy with my newest art pendants. They've been fun to make.

Mosaic Pendant, Art Pendant, Mini Ceramic Tiles, Earth Tone, Autumn, Fall, Winter, Geometric, Copper Pendant, Blue, Brown, Orange

Here's a few photos of the dot painted bottle I started in May.

I might finish this up and then do a few more flowers. Or, I might head back towards a cross. I never know where the muse will want to go. That's part of the fun, of course!

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Mosaic Flower Power Vase - Work-in-Progress

The vase is getting completed a bit slowly. I'm using DAP adhesive for this one and while I could literally mosaic for hours and hours without a break, it is best to give the room a chance to air out and keep the window open for ventilation while working with it. It is a sneaky one, doesn't have a really strong aroma until it's been used for a while. I used to wear a mask when I worked with it but have given away all the masks I had to others who needed them. I think it's time to replace them so I can work for longer periods of time with my favorite adhesives.

Be that as it may, the vase is coming along nicely. I have only a few more flowers to fill in.

I was undecided about filling in the background until this morning. I know what glass I want to use to fill in around the flowers and am pleased that I made the decision. Although I do love leaving the flowers as they are with grout (of course) for this vase, the glass I picked to go around it will be perfect and finish it beautifully.

There are many ways to do these flowers. Typically, I use glass and mirror but I'm looking at my dish shards with a different eye these days and I do believe I'll have to try making a flower power mosaic using broken dishes, stained glass and mirror. That should be fun!

I listed 2 new things this morning on Etsy. Another pendant and another painted bottle. The bottle's name is "Stormbringer". It was made when we were having a lot of storms in our area and it is a song title by Deep Purple, a group popular in the 1960's and responsible for much of my enjoyment when I am at the crafts table now.

Mosaic Pendant, Retro Broken Dish Pendant, Art Pendant, Stripes, Gray, Black, White, Hippie, Bohemian, Wearable Art, Copper

Hand Painted Bottle, Dot Painting, Bohemian Art, Hippie Decor, Incense Holder, Bud Vase, Handmade, Recycled, Repurposed, Reused

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics