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,

Cindy of Earth Mother Mosaics and
Cindy White Photo Art

I'm running late today. It's good that I am not on a ridged schedule. That's the best part about being forced to retire sooner than I was planning on it. I can do what I want once my kids and grandkids are content for the day.

Not everything got finished yesterday that was on my "to do" list but a few things were accomplished.

The mosaic wall art is resting and will be grouted in black this weekend. I really love the green glass where the blue was. The painted colors under it give it the effect I wanted and saw in my head.

Ready for grout!

I'll share glam shots of this grouted, framed and hung on my wall before it gets shipped off.

This mosaic is heading to the Signatures Exhibition on Cape Cod for The All Artist Salon from July 10 - September 1, 2013. If you live in that area please consider attending to see lots of beautiful art. Admission is free. I can't go myself so anyone who visits or takes a workshop being offered there by some favorite mosaic artists, PLEASE take photos and share!!

Cape Cod Mosaic Workshops: www.capecodmosaicworkshops.com
Signatures Exhibit Events: www.mosaicsignatures.com

Last night I updated some pendant listings on Etsy. Some of them come with a faux suede cord now, I'm pleased to say. It's been a while since I've been able to offer cords with my wearable mosaic jewelry. Not all the pendants have bails large enough to fit these cords but those that do were rephotographed and some have been edited.

I'm slowly getting through the last few vintage items for Zibbet. Here's a sneak peek of something that's not yet been listed.

This needs to be measured, a few more photos edited before it gets listed.  I love ceramic pitchers. I'd have a large collection of vintage and new if I had the space. Some day ...


Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

I had some fun grouting yesterday! I really love to grout. I love watching my mosaics come to life once I begin the process of cleaning off its grout plus polishing the beautiful glass as I go. It's a Zen experience for me. And when I'm finished, a delighted smile appears on my face and I think: "I created that!"

Mosaic Candle Holder: Stained Glass Mosaic, Earth Tones

I did quite a bit of photo editing yesterday for both shops but only ended up with a few new listings. I have a lot of updated photos for already listed items too. The perfectionist in me would not allow sub-par photos to be used which means the Camera Goddess and I will have another session soon.

Mosaic Bowl: Pique Assiette, Recycled, Upcycled, Eggplant Purple, Home Decor, Kitchen, Useful Art

Wooden Fruit, Vintage, 9 Pieces

Later in the evening I got started on the "patch of glass grass" on the wall art.

I've noticed the Mac Glue, which normally takes less than a day to dry is still "milky" looking under the glass I used around the words. I'm guessing it has something to do with our damp weather and am hoping it will clear up under there before I grout. I'm far from ready to grout and that means I have a lot of fun still left to do on this mosaic. I'm pleased with how it looks so far. Isn't the green stringer glass perfect?! How blessed I am to have been gifted most of the stained glass I use for my art. I'm one lucky ducky!

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Yesterday turned out to be a "down day", which means no actual work was done but lots of planning and prepping for the next wave to come.

I don't have any WIP photos of mosaics or dot paintings but I do have the newest Vintage item to share from zibbet.com.

This is called "two salts" according to my Dad. I think it's pretty cool, whatever it's called. Apparently the two glass containers were filled with salt and placed on the sideboard or side table next to the dining table. Then each container and it's spoon went on each end of the dining table so all guests could have access to the salt if they needed it. Makes sense to me!

I should be finishing the candle holder soon (maybe today) and will share photos, of course, when I do. Up next in the studio is a 12 inch framed mosaic headed towards an All Artist Salon in Cape Cod in July. I've yet to start it because I'm waiting for the frame to arrive. Once it does, I make sure it fits the Wediboard, mark off what areas I will work on and then draw a "sort of" design on the board. I will share more on that as I work on it. If you live near the Cape Cod area you may be interested in this event.

And in there somewhere I'll be working on the custom ordered gazing ball, metal tins and taking photos of the vintage items and pendants that now have suede cords to go with some of them. In other words, it is becoming a busy time in the studio once again! Yay!!

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

When I went for a walk this morning, I saw this awesome amber rock on the road. How cool is that?!

I'm not sure where it came from or how it got here but I know where it might be headed! The life of a mosaicist is always fun! I never what I'm going to find to use in art in any given day.

I'm working on the candle holder but am not happy with how the glass is fighting me to get placed on it. It's rippled glass which is often difficult to nip because it shatters. I'm putting the rippled side against the glass of the candle holder so that when sunlight or candlelight come through it, you'll see not only the ripples but the colors from the flat side. Often the flat side gets lost when the rippled side is used. This is thick glass and a bit of a challenge to cut and use.

Once the last flat part is covered I'll then start working on the sides which is also challenging. Putting flat glass on rounded anything is always harder than we think it should be!

I ordered some gold mirror for the next custom 6 inch gazing ball! Woo-hoo! My favorite place to order this mirror is from www.mosaicsbymaria.com. Prices are great, you can order pre-cut tiles or sheets and they have a great turn-around time!

The newest Vintage item was listed this morning. I only have one more ready to list. The Camera Goddess might have to be put to work this weekend!

Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers: Vase and Wheelbarrow, Made in Japan

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

What a beautiful day we're having. I spent a little time outside this morning, going for a walk and breathing the fresh air deeply. What a treat for those of us who live with humidity. It is a welcome relief!

I finished up the gifts and took photos of them this morning. The pendant photos are before grout was completely dry. It will become lighter once it is dry.

Minnie Mouse inspired star box

Pink Pendant with Matching Tin Box

Pink stained glass and ball chain tin box to hold the matching pendant

I almost always mix up too much grout when I do it and this morning was no exception. Thankfully I had a bowl that needed grouting.

Discarded eggplant colored bowl now has new purpose.

 

 

The next project is waiting for me. A candle holder with some really gorgeous stained glass, gifted to me by a very talented local artist who does stained glass windows and inserts in doors.

 This stained glass panel is about 22 inches. I cut it into 3 sections so I can focus on which one to use for the holder. Choosing only one section is not going to be easy! It's all simply breathtaking.

I have 3 square candle holders and one round vase I can use these pieces on. And I have 4 more large panels just as exquisite that are from the same large piece of glass. I'm very aware of how blessed I am to know I can contact this guy and be given his scraps. Especially when they look like this!

The new shop has a few more items in it. Gently Loved Treasures on Zibbet is dedicated to all vintage items. Here's the latest listing. I really love the colors of these!

Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers: Jamestown, VA Souvenir Shakers, Nautical

 Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

It's HOT here in PA. I normally fuss very little compared to others about weather, it is what it is and there's nothing to do but find ways to stay cool and comfy. I wasn't prepared for the large jump in temps however, because this time last week we were living with rain and 60 degrees temps. Today it is not quite noon and close to 90 degrees. Whew. Add that to the fact that I am 58 years old and more bothered by weather changes than I used to be when I was 28. Bah-humbug.

I managed to walk to the local dollar store and found square 3 inch glass candle holders! I only had one left in a green stained glass available so I grabbed 3 more to mosaic. They are hard to find in the local dollar store and often I have to travel further to find them. So, that was kind of exciting. Then I went to the local grocery store and found my favorite coffee, normally at $6 for $3. Woo-hoo! Top it off with a bottle of red and a bottle of white in my favorite wines and that was my perfect morning. Walking home with heavy bottles and glass containers wasn't as much fun but I managed it.

I worked a bit more on the bottle last night and found some wooden napkin rings I purchased forever ago that I am going to dot up soon!

Check it out: the coffee lid sitting by the toothpicks has a black cat on it! That was purely accidental, but I may have to use another lid now because I like finding art in unexpected places. I'm painting the background and will share a photo when it's finished.

Speaking of finding art, I now have a printer (yay) and can print out Art Abandonment tags to go with the few things I want to drop off here and there. I am hoping to do that next week when the temps drop to the mid 70's. It will also give me time to make up a few more pieces to abandon. I'll share photos when I have them all gathered up, which means it may take more than a week, come to think of it ... the photos haven't been all that great lately.

I added 2 more items to Gently Loved Treasures this morning. These photos were taken months ago!

Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers: Pink Seashells, Florida, Flamingos

Vintage Pepper Shaker: Single Shaker, Penguin

I've been photo editing a few items each day and getting them set up to list for the next day. Eventually I'll have no more to share until more photos are taken but hopefully by then, the Camera Goddess will return to me.

I made a treasury on Etsy this morning that I really love. If you have a chance, hop on over and give it some love (click on the link below the photo), favorite the items in it and share it if you'd like. I'm discovering I have a certain color preference when I make treasuries. I made quite a few last week, one for each team I belong to! It has been quite a long time since I've done that.

Peaceful Morning

Meanwhile, I have dots to make, stained glass and dish shards to glue to stuff and things and finally things to sort and gather together. And I'm having the time of my life!!

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

I had a surprisingly creative day yesterday for about 1 hour! Yay!

Seriously it came out of nowhere and I held on tight and went with it! It quickly disappeared but boy, howdy, was I happy to feel that old tug from my muse once again! Sometimes inspiration hits me in my face, sometimes it sneaks up on me. It never matters, honestly, as long as it arrives.

I started the 5 x 7 inches glass-on-glass mosaic I mentioned I might do a few days ago. I wasn't sure I would do one after seeing how nice the dots looked on the 1st frame. Instead of dot painting the frame first, I left it alone and allowed the mosaic part to come first. I thought the dot painting, if it will be done, should happen after the mosaic this time around. As far as I can tell, the back will go on it so it can sit on a table or shelf. I might have to glue it all together to keep it from harm as it will be much heavier than normal. Time will tell.

It will be my "Back to Basics" design I mentioned last week. 3 colors blocked out in sections. I'm so happy I started this. I really didn't think I'd be doing any mosaics at all for a few more days. My thumb is in good shape too! Life is good and getting back to normal! Yee-haww!!!

I hope once I finish this the dots will go on the frame but if I'm still in "mosaic mode" I'll get going on the flowers for the bookcase or I might do something entirely different I haven't even thought of yet. And of course I could decide to continue with the organizing of the studio/living space too. There's still much to be done. I have learned not to force the creative stuff nor second guess where it'll take me on any given day.

My brain doesn't have the power right now to do a full day of anything but I can do a few things in small clumps. I'm not quite sure how I let myself get so burned out so quickly but I am. It felt really great to hold the nippers and cut glass again, though, I have to say. Even if it was just for an hour.

I'm also still editing the vintage goodies for the new Zibbet shop. I do a few items and leave it for a while. Check this cool planter that's going into the new shop for sale. It's a wooden souvenir planter from Bald Eagle Lookout, PA. Awesome!

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics

Daily Picks on Zibbet - 01/27 - 02/02/2013

The theme this week was "RUST". This is the first week I spent virtual shopping on Zibbet. Check out Friday's pick from TimeForMemories, I declare it the winner for the week. Vintage headlights?!!!?? AWESOME!!

ModredVintage

SurrenderDorothy

sweetie2sweetie

Ekatherine1

TheMudPlace

TimeForMemories

monkmama54

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics