Friday - Odds and Ends

The wrap up for the week is a bit depressing in one area of my business life but I'm moving ahead with some plans for next year anyway. Because I no longer make any sales, I'm not sure I can actually say I have a business. I can say I have a small following and definitely devoted people who love what I do. I thank you all for that!

It's not easy selling art at any time but for me it seems to be a challenge and has been for a few years now. I want to say I'm okay with that and I basically am ... but I did get depressed midweek about things a little bit. The full moon might have been some of what I was feeling. An article I found online through vogue.com (https://www.vogue.com/article/november-5-supermoon-star-signs) gave this moon and it's relationship to the Zodiac signs. I'm a Virgo and this section was my "ah-ha" moment: The energy of this Moon invites you to find wisdom in simplicity. Truth lies not in grand theories, but in being present in the moment. You don’t need to know everything, only to experience. This Moon urges you to trust life, to welcome the new without controlling everything.

Beaver Moon - a Supermoon- taken through my window at 97% on November 6, 2025

 

And so ... I slap some paint on paper, glue something down in a journal, do a little sticker sorting, continue with the mosaic I'm working on, snuggle with an animal, chat with my family. In other words, I continue on the journey and keep that information handy as a reminder when I get a little sad.

:(

 

Without sales, this is a typical month for Google Business. Google Analytics are weird too. Lots of interest Internationally. Why? No clue. In any case, I allow myself to be sad about this kind of thing and then I move on. And I'm wondering if I should close the website because it doesn't get much interest these days. Ah yes ... the times they are a-changin'.

I mentioned buymeacoffee on Wednesday. I actually need $1 more in order to transfer what's in there. I have to again thank the 2 wonderful friends who contributed so far. You are my heroes! I'm hoping 1 or more kind folk will contribute a little more but it's okay if you can't. It never hurts to ask!

Okay ... moving on ...

I did some gluing of painted papers onto sheets of computer paper and then embellished a little bit. These seem like works of art and I suppose they are. I suppose I could frame them all. But I won't. What I will do is find a section I want to add to a journal page, a collage card or a wooden canvas board and cut them all up and use them happily!!

Oh my wow ... these are so much fun.

And so, that's about it for this time. There's more art to do and more papers to paint!

Stay peaceful and find some time to be creative.

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Wednesday - Art Table Fun

 It's been an interesting week for me. Sometimes I do many things throughout the day. Right now I should be tweaking my website and adding things to the buymeacoffee.com site but I'm not. Plain as that.

I have found that with eye strain, working on anything longer than it takes to write this post is too much. I want to use my time creating rather than working on a computer.

Recently I watched another wonderful video by Laurie Richardson Haley on YouTube showing a way to make a little booklet with collage cards. Well, I certainly had to try that because I have many cards I could make into a book.

 

The next one will have all the same colored ribbon or material. I learned after I made it, I really didn't like all the different colors I used. My art is colorful enough, apparently. But it's successful in my eyes, so thank you Laurie! I made a video I'll share on Instagram and Facebook after this post goes live. Check it out if you're interested and use those social media sites.

 

 

Is it perfect? No. Do I love it anyway? YES!

I'm also continuing with getting my stickers and cutouts organized. I came across some odd painted papers, some doodled bits I had cut out. I decided to put them in with the sorting I'm now doing to get them sorted by color.

 

I emptied this white box shown above on the pink table completely. I still have two different sized boxes to sort through and put in the folders by color.

I took a lot of extra, unnecessary steps to get to this point but I guess it's how I had to work it out. I'm positive I can now use this system for all future stickers and cutouts I do.

I put, by color, everything on a piece of computer paper and then file it in the appropriate folder. When I want to use a few of the stickers or the whole page I'll scan it and cut them out. This keeps the originals I've found ready to be used many times which thrills me to no end! Unlimited fodder is a little slice of heaven!

Orange

 

I'm still working on the 30 day art journal. It might take a year but it will be 30 days of art in a book once finished. I used up the rest of my printer ink and scanned and printed out a few of my favorite pages to use in collage.

Turns out, I really do like the first page I did using my favorite word: "Awesome". It grew on me. LOL The flowers will get cut out separately and added here and there in journals and on cards as will the cute little doodle faced folks.

Shown above is a piece of computer paper and I took a lot of the painted papers pieces I didn't put into the color folders on it. This will get cut down and used in some way; probably on cards. I might add a few more embellishments to it with stencils and an ink pad as well as my favorite acrylic circles I like to do. I had tried gluing all the painted papers together making a large sheet, embellishing it (some are used here) then cutting it down but honestly this works for me a little better. I can make these often and file them in a folder and use them at a later time. This works for me. In the end that's all that matters!

 

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Mosaic Monday

I'm very happy to announce I've completed the gluing down on the 5 panels!

Abstract by design, there is a cohesiveness but separateness. I'm happy about that since that was the plan. As I got closer to the end of the last small panel, all the crockery was splintering and breaking. I'm guessing I found the initial breaking point as it hit the floor when it was a vase. But I managed to get enough to cover the panel and while it looks slightly different to my eye, I'm hoping it isn't noticeable to anyone else.

 I'm letting them sit for a few days. Then I'll paint the sides and backs and grout them all. I'm really hoping the person who lost their grandmother's precious vase likes what I've done here.

My theme was: Blue and white wild flowers with vines and a hidden butterfly or two within.

 

Started in September 2025 and should be finished in November 2025 if all goes according to plan.

I'll share photos of them all finished next week (I hope). 

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Friday - Collage Card Using Stickers and Happy Halloween!

On Wednesday I showed the stickers and cutouts I'm putting on computer paper. Yesterday, I scanned one of the pages and started to play with the printout to see how I wanted to use it.

At first I thought I'd cut up the whole page but later decided to only use three. Out of the three, two stayed as cards for embellishments. The third one became an embellishment.

The tarot card is the one I decided to work on.

The small blue one is shown here as I'm cutting out the designs I made on it. I used one of the flowers for the yellow card.

 

I wanted to keep some of the stickers showing but not as the main focus. I liked this placement and so I glued it down and doodled a little bit.

I love this. The edges needed a little trimming but the rest is as perfect as I wanted it to be.

 

"Attitude is Everything" - 5-1/2 x 3 inches

 

 

In the last photo of the finished card, the paper with pink and blue is excess paint which will be used at some point in a future collage or two ... or three! And around it goes!

 

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Wednesday - Art Table Fun

Art Table Fun is slightly different this week as I'm resting from the vaccines I recently received. They've sort of knocked me out for a few days but mostly they took energy away. I felt this was a great time to catch up on stickers and figure out how to organize the boxes of stickers and cutouts I have accumulated. I did manage to figure it out and am now starting the process instead of working at the art table, I'm working at the portable pink table I love so much.

 I started with the words and phrases I've been cutting out of boxes, magazines and catalogs for a few years, shown in the last photo above. I discovered while putting them on computer paper that if I scanned the whole sheet and print when I wanted it, I could either cut out a few words or phrases and still have them available or I could use the sheet to paint on, cut into pieces for cards, and use them for collage. This is rather exciting to me. Not only am I getting a chance to see what I've collected, I'm getting ideas on how to use them.

In the first photo you can see I'm working on Christmas stickers and cutouts. The center photo shows the boxes still to be sorted and looked through. My thought was to gather them by subject; i.e. flowers, animals, foods and if I see a particular theme happening like lots of yellow for instance I can put it all on a computer sheet using color themes.

Seems like a lot of work but I'm thrilled to be able to see a way to get these incorporated into my art journals and my collage cards and small wooden pieces I like to make.

Once these are all situated I can then start in on the magazines I have ready to be ripped, cut and glued down to computer paper as a first step toward collage.

Yes, lots of work. But prep work is 95% of what I do when I create art.

No doubt there will be an example of a collage in Friday's post using some of what I've done here. Hope you're looking forward to it. I know I am!

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Mosaic Monday

Abstract Mosaic Leaf or Lotus Flower Wall Art

Stained Glass

6 inches

$45

 

Bring a burst of color and creativity into your home with our beautiful 6-inch mosaic flower wall art.

This vibrant piece features an abstract red flower or leaf whichever you see playfully peeking up from the side, reaching for the sun, and is beautifully crafted with hand-cut stained glass and Van Gogh glass tiles.

 

This lovely mosaic art is a thoughtful gift that can also serve as a stunning focal point in the home.

Since it’s designed for indoor use, you can keep it close to enjoy its charm every day.

 

Gift this unique mosaic art to a loved one, or treat yourself to a piece that fills your space with warmth and beauty.

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Friday - Layered Collage Technique from Start to Finish

I'm wondering how many of you really wonder about how it's done? If you are just a little curious, you can see the steps from start to finish here.

A few months ago I asked you all to answer a short survey. You said you'd like to see the steps taken to complete a piece of art, why I choose the colors I do and if there's any special meaning to them. Most of that was in relation to mosaics because that is what I am known for but not really what I now do. Instead, here's the way I approach a layered collage. I learned this technique from Jackie Bernardi, a YouTube hero of mine who teaches painted paper techniques and shares how she does them. She's awesome.

Taking painted papers I'm not crazy about and using them for layering is a great way to use every scrap I have. These are pretty darned ugly and would have gotten tossed out if I didn't learn about this technique. These aren't precious at all to me as is but once finished, these pieces of collage art are very special to me.

 As the photo shows above, I'm putting a layer of ripped and/or cut up pieces of painted paper and filling in the 4 inch wooden block with them. I don't care what papers I use. You'll probably never see them again once it's a completed piece. I'm more than okay with that.

Then I paint each block completely with a slightly watered down version of acrylic (not much water because it too will most likely never be seen but it might). 

Most of the time I just use black paint at this point but this time I wanted to use colors. This too might not be seen very much at the end but it can peek through a little.

 

Once the paint is dry, I add another layer of painted papers.

These aren't as ugly and actually I was tempted to leave them as is ... but I didn't.

 Once these papers are dry from using the matte medium, I sand them, scruffing them all up. That starts the grunge look that I am in love with creating. I have a serious crush on this look.

I didn't take a photo of that step. Sorry.

After that I do another coat of matte medium and then add water, black paint, dragonfly glaze and varnish medium together and paint it on each block.

 

Once completely dry I add cut outs from painted papers and quotes.

I was going to use 3 different cut outs but all three peace signs wanted to be on these. And so it is.

 I did finishing touches by painting the wood around it's edges in black and outlining the peace signs with a paint pen before hanging them.

"Live In The Moment"

"Remember the Now"

"Embrace the Journey"

Signed and dated on the side

I think this a great way to take "meh" painted papers and creating something "wow" with them. What do you think?

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com