Friday, November 29, 2013

Picture Day

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in PA and we all celebrated at my daughter and son-in-law's home. They did a great job with everything and it was wonderful to see our small family all together. It doesn't happen often.

Holiday touches were here and there, making their home warm and inviting.



My Grandson found a spot to play a game while waiting for our meal.


Some of my family eats gluten-free (myself included). Everything was fantastic and very tasty! The star of the show, my daughter's turkey, was one of the best I've ever had.


Served along with cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and corn. Yum. And of course, pumpkin pie!


It was excellent! I hope you had a magnificant Thanksgiving as well. Be grateful for your days, every day, because each one is a gift.

Remember, I'm having a sale! From November 29th-December 2nd, use BLACKFRIDAYBONUS2013 coupon code at checkout and get 15% off any mosaic item (does not include tote bags, mugs, pillow covers or note cards). Don't forget that Saturday is Small Business Saturday! Shop small, shop handmade not just now but for every holiday, every event, every occasion. Art makes a wonderful gift any time of year.


Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

In The Studio

This week and up until Christmas, the studio has been dubbed the "Super Secret Mosaic Lab". The reason? I'm creating gifts for the fam. I'm fairly sure no one in my family ever reads my blog (should I be insulted?) so that means I can share work-in-progress photos of gifts as I get them made and hope they don't see it as I share the blog here, there and every where.

The first thing I decided to work on was a gift for my oldest daughter and her boyfriend. These are the wonderful people who took me into their home and feed me happily, keep me warm and put up with my grumpy ways. I love them all dearly.

We are all big Doctor Who fans and when the news of the 50th Anniversary special was in full swing (for us, it was a big deal) talk of the show, the Doctor and all the fan art came streaming through our daily life. Because of this, I decided to make a Tardis for them in mosaic. Those of you who don't know anything about Doctor Who won't get much from these photos but you can still, I hope, appreciate the steps I took to get from a photo to a mosaic.

Doing a mosaic that is actually of something especially beloved, can be a bit daunting and I was quite sure I wouldn't be able to convey what I saw in my head. I'm so glad I was wrong! I want to share more than a few photos here of the process I used to create the Tardis. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I'm thrilled with the results.

I started by printing a photo I found online that I loved as inspiration and knew I could adapt for my needs. I placed a piece of plastic over it, then applied the mesh on top of that and started adding glass. The result looked like this.

Tardis on mesh
Once the glue was dry on the mesh (it took 24 hours) I had the substrate ready to glue the Tardis down.

Tardis in the sky
The substrate has acrylics and lots of glitter in all kinds of colors and gold micro beads to give the look of movement.

The next step was to add tempered glass.



The sign on the front door and "Police Box" across the top are getting cut out from the photo I used as my guide and glued down where they belong once it's been grouted. I've never done that and have no clue if it'll work, but as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Glitter goodness under glass
It's now waiting for grout. I love it and I know they will love it too!

I have also done some mosaic magic on a glass trivet and candle holder all in blues. Gosh I love this glass. I'm very sad I used just about all of the scraps I had to make these which were gifted to me but that is what stained glass is for and I use every piece I have to create with. Nothing gets tossed out! I call these "blue ice" mosaics.



I also put some holiday themed dish shards on a discarded Starbucks iced coffee bottle. I have the hardest time trying to keep patient while doing round mosaics. It is a talent I no longer possess. What used to work when I had the room to spread out a bit was to do a small section, prop it so it would sit without movement and then put it aside and work on something else. Because I'm in cramped quarters now, I can't really do that, although as I grumpily said just the other day if I had continued with my plans this past Spring to completely clean and organize my space, I'd have the room now. Well, I didn't and I don't so instead I sit and watch glue dry. It's not easy and I often end up with shards that slide a bit and the glue dries before I realize they've slid. Such was the case of this mosaic, however, once grout is applied, it should look fine.

Then I started in on the next gift for my grandson's other grandparents, his Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. Wonderful, spiritual people, peaceful and kind. They are very supportive towards my art and like me, enjoy wine. I thought maybe they'd enjoy a mosaic on an empty wine bottle.

It is rainy today, so the colors aren't coming out too well in these photos but we've got stained glass and china in yellow, amber and a soft moss green with mirror and ball chain on here. A few pieces of dish shards with green, white and yellow are added around the tree of life ceramic charm I placed in the center. Hopefully better photos will be shared next week. The back looks like this so far:

So that's what's happening in the "Super Secret Mosaic Lab". I have more gifts to make so I'll be sharing more photos in the weeks to come.

As a final note here, I'd like to remind those who like to shop after Thanksgiving, I have a BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY coupon code on EarthMotherMosaics for you all to use. From November 29th-December 2nd, use BLACKFRIDAYBONUS2013 coupon code at checkout and get 15% off any mosaic item (does not include tote bags, mugs, pillow covers or note cards).

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Trendy Tuesday

Gosh I love the cool retro, mid-century modern designs from my childhood. I picked some great items from Etsy this week for my Trendy Treasury. "Retro Holidays" has no traditional holiday items in it but instead has items that would be great gifts to give to those who love the designs from the 1960's and 1970's. Check it out!

Retro Holidays
Here's an item from EarthMotherMosaics, my mosaics shop. The photo print shop, CindyWhitePhotoArt doesn't have any retro prints in it ... yet. :)

This flower pot has tons of vintage and retro broken dishes on it. It can be used to hold a self-contained flower or two but it can also be used for pencils, pens, paintbrushes, kitchen accessories, garden accessories and so much more!

Terra Cotta Mosaic Flower Pot
Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,



Monday, November 25, 2013

Promo Blast!

Mosaic Glass Cross // Stained Glass // Wall Art // Wall Hanging // Home Decor // Bright // Colorful // Mosaic Scrap Art // 9 x 6 Inches


Mosaic Scrap Art is one of my favorite ways to create mosaics. Tiny bits and pieces of stained glass and tiles that many think are no longer useful can be combined together to make colorful mosaics. I love recycling. Isn't it wonderful?!


Keyhole on back makes it ready to hang. Sides and back painted. Signed and numbered (#9).
Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Picture Day

I've been feeling a bit sad now that all the leaves are brown and dead on the ground around my tree. Instead of taking photos of it this week, I focused on the mosaics I've made that are in my private collection.

I mentioned the other day that I'd decided to use some photos and make them available on Etsy. I've just started looking through some and am having a hard time of it deciding which ones to use. I love them all.

I also need to make a correction about the mosaic "Expect Miracles" which I thought I made in 2013. Turns out it is a year old! How time flies when you are creative!

Here, I'm sharing some detail shots of "Expect Miracles" one or all will be available for purchase on Etsy probably after the holidays.

 
 

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Featured Shop for November 21, 2013 - All About The Buttons

Zibbet
Barbra's shop, AllAboutTheButtons is the first Zibbet Featured Shop this year in my blog. I'm excited to share her shop with you today!

All About The Buttons on Zibbet is filled with a wondrous eclectic selection of home and personal decor. Those of you who know me, know that's what I like to do in my own shops and what I am drawn to when I do my virtual shopping. I believe we are creative kindred spirits.

Barbra finds items that are no longer useful as they are and creates something new and still useful. This is a girl after my own crafty heart. In her world buttons become art, barrettes, jewelry; beautiful old silk ties become eyeglass holders and all of it is very well made by Barbra with love and a whole lot of talent.

I absolutely love buttons and it's so much fun to see how others use them in their art. Much of her items are embellished with buttons which is what drew me to her shop when I first met her on Zibbet.

Please take a few minutes and look at my favorite items shared below created using bighugelabs.com and give her shop some love. With close to 300 items in her Zibbet shop, there's something for everyone on your gift list and many fun things for yourself too!

I am pleased to introduce you to the many talents of a dedicated Zibbeter, Barbra, and her fantastic shop: AllAboutTheButtons.

AllAboutTheButtons on Zibbet
Places to find AllAboutTheButtons and connect:




Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

In The Studio

Last week, I took the week off to finish up some photo editing for the new shop, CindyWhitePhotoArt on Etsy. I also spent some time thinking about Christmas gifts for the fam which should have been started months ago! Darn and yikes!!


In an attempt to get the mosaic juices flowing again, I picked up a few MDF crosses and got to work.



I also grouted the one I made quite a while ago, as well as the flag.



Now it's time to paint the sides and backs of the crosses and hope the Camera Goddess is still with me long enough to get them listed on Etsy. She's tired - she's been working for months without a break!


This morning while looking for the focal for the cross with pique assiette in yellow with blue and white flowers seen above, I came across some things I want to paint and use soon. The first time I discovered polymer clay, I had molds with suns and moons, plus some molds with faces. I used leftover grout in some of them too. Unfortunately the molds are long gone, but one of the grout faces is still with me. I also found a few pieces of polymer clay I made probably around the same time.


These pieces are going to get painted today. Yay!

I've been taking photos of my favorite mosaics that are in my private collection. The mosaics themselves will stay with me for a long time but that doesn't mean they can't be shared in another way. Once I get them all edited, some of them, if not all of them will be available in the new shop as art prints, tote bags, mugs, pillows, placemats, aprons, clocks, lamps and more! Here's a sneak peak called "Expect Miracles" that might be used for some of those items mentioned. This mosaic is one of favorite ones that I've made this year. It makes me smile.



Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Trendy Tuesday

I love this time of year on Etsy. The shops are brimming with items. Today I've got the holiday decorating bug. What fun it is to search through all the shops looking for just the right item to share. Here's my treasury for the day.

Tis The Season
Here's my contribution to some holiday decor, Mosaic Star Candle Holders.

Mosaic Star Candle Holders

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters this holiday season and all year long. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,