Mosaic Fun

I've been having fun this morning gathering up everything I want to do today.

It is grout day, hooray! If I don't get too tired, I plan to grout quite a few things, including the Buddha. I've changed my mind again about what color to use. Once he's grouted I'll share photos. He's staying with me, by the way. I like him too much to sell or give away. He's my gift to myself.

It's a grouting day!

I'm also finishing up the 6th cross along the sides with tiles. I've changed my mind about this too, thinking I'd paint the sides instead of adding glass tiles. Letting things sit for a few days is always a good thing for me. It makes my final decision a good one, almost always.

Green glass tiles getting glued to the sides of cross #6

I used some resin on the unglazed ceramic tiles I painted. I'm still not sure if I'm a resin fan, but I know many who are. It is extremely messy to work with. It does, however, give a nice shine to jewelry and protects it as well which is why it is so widely used, I believe. I do think I'll use it again. I have a tendency to change the color of grout on pendants after a few years, so using resin on everything I make probably won't happen. However, using it instead of grout, for instance, is something I'll do again.

Messy work - resin will need to be scrapped off the backs - yuck

Random question answered: Every so often someone asks a question on one of my favorite social media spots about how to do something relating to a crafty project. Quite often, I have the answer mostly because I've experimented with it myself to figure out how to do it.

The latest question was how to get a hanger on a small styrofoam ball being covered with a mosaic if a wire won't work. Well, I have the answer to that one!

If you are interested in making small mosaic ornaments to give or keep during the holiday season and want them to hang securely, glue ribbon or jute on the ball, making a loop for hanging, BEFORE you add any tess to it. Once the ribbon, jute, string, what have you, is dried onto the ball securely, start filling it up with whatever you'd prefer to use as your tess for the mosaic. Once grouted, the string is definitely secure on the ball and can hang quite nicely.

The other alternative if string or ribbon isn't available is to skip the string altogether and make 3-5 small balls placing them in a nice wooden or glass bowl on a table as a display. Someone offered up placing them on a mirrored tray when they made them. Nice! I gifted many of these through the years but unfortunately don't have a photo to share.

If you are going to try something new when it comes to a mosaic craft and you need a question answered, send me an email. I may be able to answer your question and if I can't, I am positive I'll know someone who can! I'd like to share questions/answers from others here on my blog because once in a while having a reference to something you want to try in the future is a great thing.

Stay peaceful,
Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics