Mosaic Monday

Happy Labor Day Weekend! As the four day weekend is a goof-off and relax time for us here (my Grandson's birthday is tomorrow!), I haven't been in the Purple Palace to continue working on anything mosaic. However, there are always things to share on the website (which has been updated and is finally ready for viewing!). This is one of my favorite mosaics I've made. I love the way I did it (acrylic paint, dish tiles, tempered and stained glass) and the colors too. So much love went into this bird mosaic. A true celebration of nature and love. Way cool. 😁 So here we go.

 

Bird and Sun Stained Glass Mosaic Art

Stained and Tempered Glass

8 inches

$45.50 USD

(this link sends you directly to PayPal to purchase or you can go to the website link above and purchase from there)

 

 

Illuminate your space with our enchanting "A Bird In The Sun" mosaic art! This stunning piece brings a burst of color and warmth to any room, expertly crafted to be a captivating focal point in your home.

At the heart of this mosaic is a beautifully detailed bird, delicately perched amidst a radiant sun. The sun itself is crafted in vibrant hues of orange, iridescent white, and rich yellow, creating a mesmerizing display that dances with light. The bird, fashioned from a finely detailed dish adorned with graceful vines, adds a touch of nature's elegance.

 

What truly sets this piece apart is the charming heart incorporated into the bird’s design—a symbol of love and connection that draws the eye and the heart. Surrounding this radiant sun are layers of shimmering acrylic in bold yellows and glistening gold glitter, all protected beneath a sleek sheet of tempered glass for durability and a polished finish.

Each creation is lovingly signed with my signature peace sign and dated on the back, ensuring your artwork is unique and infused with a personal touch.

 

Designed for indoor use, this 8-inch beauty is ready to hang, making it the perfect addition to your living room, bedroom, or any space that longs for a splash of joy and creativity.

Transform your home with this vibrant piece that celebrates nature and love—order today and bring the warmth of the sun into your life!

 

 

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

Fabulous Friday - Mosaic Coasters

Mosaic Coasters

 

Beautiful mosaic two coaster set made using an unusual assortment of tempered or crash glass, acrylic paint and glitter. The grout is white and gives these coasters a truly magical appearance.

The photos show the work-in-progress creating these coasters, starting with the paint, glitter, adding tempered glass and finally the finished product after grouting.

These coasters could also be used as individual candle holders or displayed in a sunny window so that the light shines spreading rays of light throughout any room.

Each coaster is 4 in. x 4 in. Do not submerge in water.

The bottom of the coasters have small felt pads to keep your furniture from scratching.

Can be used outdoors but do not leave in weather; rain or temperature changes. They are not weather-proof. 

 

$45.00 USD - FREE SHIPPING (USA ONLY)

To see additional photos of this listing and/or to purchase, click on the link at the top of this post. To head on over to my Etsy shop to look around at many more items great for any occasion, click here. This will take you directly to my shop.

Enjoy!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

 

Tesserae Tuesday - Tempered Glass

 I have used tempered or crash glass for about 10 years. Maybe a little longer. It is my "go to" when I want to paint and use glitter and glass and grout to create something. I've made coasters, wall art, mixed media art and home decor using tempered glass that was once part of a car's windshield, an outdoor table top or someone's shower door.

Really, if you can find it, tempered glass is great to use in mosaics. There is a warning here, however, it splinters and HURTS when it gets under your skin. But the fun part is getting a large sheet and tapping it just right in the corner. Then sit back and listen to what sounds like the candy "Pop Rocks" crackling all the way through the sheet. Some use tape to keep it together, I've known others to use a glue and water wash to just keep it temporarily in one large piece. I take the pieces and put them in a box. When it's time to use it, most often there are still large enough pieces for me to use in my mosaics.

Here are a few examples, shown in photos. 

 

If you have any questions on how to use tempered glass, please send me a message. I might be able to help you.

 

 Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

In The Studio - Wednesday

Things are slowing down a bit, as is always expected after a flurry of activity here In The Studio. I am still working on something however and can share it.

Using the word "flurry" above was not by accident. I'm thinking winter themed items right now. Although no one likes the cold, including me, I do love snow.

Here is "Let It Snow" still a WIP or work-in-progress.

The best part about this is as I work on it, with nothing really set in stone, I start to imagine how to continue with it. I only knew when I started that I wanted these 3 things on the mosaic.

The glue is still wet in the center where the words are but I put glitter and tempered glass on that part. Fun!!

I have noticed a few large sections in the center that need more tempered glass added to it as the glue dries. But the snowman is perfect and is really cool looking!

Once I continue with this, I'll work on the tree, then do some vines and flowers, maybe around the whole thing. There is another piece of glass that will go behind this one inside the frame. What I'm doing with that piece is not yet clear but I have a few ideas. The end result should give it a layered effect, I hope. If it works out, or even if it doesn't, I'll definitely share here!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

 

In The Studio - Wednesday

On Friday I shared all the pretty glass I nipped up to attach to a vase. I love working on glass-on-glass projects but the fact that they are circular means I must be patient!

Literally waiting for glue to dry so I can turn it and continue working. It is really cool looking. Groovy!

And it is now in the "to be grouted" pile.

Black grout will make this awesome vase pop!

After I worked on the above vase, I picked up a green flower pot and started adding trees to it.

I really love the color of the vase, so I smashed up the last shelf I had in tempered glass for it.

I put clear tape on one side before breaking it to try to keep the bigger pieces together. I've used glue to try that and it never worked. I'd get tiny pieces anyway. This time, I thought clear tape would keep some of the pieces together. We like to use "islands" of it because when it crackles apart some of the pieces are very small. However, the tape didn't work either. As you can see, as awesome as this looks, every single crack is an individual piece of glass. Next time I have the chance to break a shelf or large piece of tempered glass, I'll use painters tape on it and see how it works. I'm still learning even after all these years of mosaic making!

Meanwhile, here's the vase with much wet glue on it holding the tempered glass in place.

Once dry it will be clear and the green color of the vase will come through.

On Friday, I'll share the way it looks with glue slightly dryer. And maybe a new mosaic piece or two.

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

 

How To Make 4 Inch Mosaic Coasters Using Various Tesserae - Part Two

This weekly post will be dedicated to learning how to make basic mosaics. Come along with me as I show you how easy and fun it can be.

Not all the basics will be done using coasters. I have 3 good examples and easy ways to learn how to get used to the different kinds of tess. Making coasters is the most cost-efficient and gives you all a "taste" of how fun mosaics can be.

In this post I've shared the way to make two 4 inch coasters from start to finish using acrylics paint, glitter and tempered or crash glass. Please refer to the previous post to see how to grout: mosaic-coasters-part-one

For this project you will need:

1st part:

• Tempered glass (often called TG)
• PVA glue or MAC Glue
• Paint brush 
• Acrylic paint
• Glitter 
• Tweezers
• 2 MDF or wooden coasters

2nd part:

• Sanded grout
• Gloves
• Dust mask
• Wooden craft stick
• Newspaper or plastic
• Clean, dry rags
• Painters tape (optional)
• Felt pads (optional)
• String or ribbon (optional)

This project is recommended for older children 8 years of age and up due to the temperament of TG. Once it's in pieces, it continues to splinter and break, often causing tiny shards to form. It must be handled with care at all times.

Art Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Difficulty: Medium

Finding tempered glass is not difficult but might take some visits to your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Shower doors are made from tempered glass. You can find table tops and shelves there too. We have quite a few in our area and I'm hoping you can find one close to you. If you can't find one, let your friends and family know you are interested in this glass to try a mosaic with. If you know a local contractor who replaces shower stall doors, or a friend's car window or patio furniture table top break, you've got a lot of glass to play with if they remember you wanted it! Don't be afraid to ask.

I gave away a glass shelving system a few years ago to a family member. Over time, one or two shelves have broken due to kids and animals doing what they do so well and she sweeps it up and brings it to me. I've gotten quite a bit online from an office supply store when they have sales on tempered glass shelving.

Some TG has a green tint to it. You can't really see this looking straight on but if you hold it on an angle, you can see it.

Below are photos as to how to make these really pretty coasters. These would make great holiday gifts!

This photo above shows glitter, MDF coasters, tweezers and tempered glass. This plus acrylic paint and glue is all you'll need for this mosaic. I recommend using tweezers especially made for mosaic use. You can order tweezers like the ones I use above online. I suggest doing an search for them under "mosaic tweezers" to find the ones you think might work for you and your future projects. I use the ones offered by Mosaic Tile Mania.

Paint both sides of the MDF coasters.

Before the paint on the 2nd side is dry, sprinkle some glitter on it. Isn't this pretty?

I find it best to tilt the coasters to get rid of excess glitter before the paint is completely dry. I like to show a little of the paint under the glass as well as the glitter.

For this project I use MAC Glue as my adhesive. It is expensive as far as glue goes, but there is nothing better than using the right glue for the job. It lasts a long time and not much is needed. The amount I've poured out here is enough to cover one coaster. You can use a PVA glue (shown in the first "how-to" post) if you don't want to invest in this glue. If you think you might like to try glass-on-glass mosaics in the future, please consider purchasing this glue (Editor's Note: Buy during the summer months only - it does not ship well in winter months, especially if it freezes). For this project, the white glue I used for the first set of coasters can be used. That glue takes about a week+ to dry when using tempered glass. MAC Glue dries within 24 hours under all glass.

Find and carefully place pieces of tempered glass for your project and apply over the glue.

Only add glue to a small portion and take your time with this glass. Placement is important.

Let your mosaic sit for 24 hours or more (as explained above) depending on what glue you use.

This shows the tint in the tempered glass and explains why I like to use MAC Glue.

Once the glue is dry, you can tape up the bottoms of the coasters if you're messy with grout. I used white sanded grout for mine.

Pretty and functional.

I've added felt pads to the bottom, tied them up with some simple ribbon. I show how to do that and give sealant information in Part One at the end of the post.

Any questions? Please leave comments or send me a private message if you have anything you'd like to discuss.

Next week, Part Three is the last of mosaic coasters fun! That post shows how to use scraps of stained glass. Woo-hoo!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics

In The Studio - Part Two

As you all may recall, I'm working on adding mosaic flowers to a handmade 15" sphere. It is just about finished getting all the glass glued down. I'm loving this so much! I put the last flower on the sphere yesterday.

Then I painted the open spots with red, orange and yellow plus generously sprinkled silver glitter over the paint.

Once it was dry, I started adding tempered glass in 2 different thicknesses depending on the size of the space to be filled in.

As soon as it's covered with tempered glass, I'll let it sit for a few days to rest. I want to make sure all the glue is dry before I grout. I usually wait to grout until the weekend when things are a little less crazy for me with the family. Leaving grout half cleaned off to go do something for my grandson can often lead to the grout drying too much to clean off properly. Hopefully it'll be ready soon. I can't wait to see it all finished up! I'm excited!!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

THINK PINK!

"Think Pink" Mosaic Art Pendants

Found exclusively through my EarthMotherMosaics' Facebook Page - "Think Pink" Mosaic Art Pendants have been introduced. The campaign started this month to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month and will continue to run until the end of 2014.

There are 8 silver-plated pendants and 6 copper pendants available. All pendants are $30 a piece plus $5.95 shipping and come with a necklace. 15% of each sale will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation { http://www.bcrfcure.org/ }.

Each pendant photo is numbered for easy identification when ordering and is approximately 1 inch round.

The silver-plated pendants are painted in bright pink, glitter and/or microbeads were sprinkled generously over the paint. Tempered or "crash" glass, was placed on top. There are 2 heart shaped pendants available in this style as well.

The copper pendants are made using a form of mosaic art called Pique Assiette. Broken china in shades of pink, red, green, blue and yellow were used. All pendants are grouted and sealed.

Message me any time to ask questions or to reserve one for yourself or a loved one. Please use the number associated with each pendant when ordering to ensure you receive the right one. Don't forget ... these make great gifts! 15% of each sale goes towards charity.

PayPal only. I'll send you an invoice through email.

Spread the word! "Think Pink"!! Find the entire collection in the photo album entitled Think Pink Art Pendants Collection.

Mention how you found us for a free gift with your purchase. Thank you!!

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Cindy