Better late than never...

Christmas is never a dull time around our house, so it has been tough to get back into the swing of things! I did clean and re-organize my workspace, which was clean for a day before I started on a new project. More about that in another post. Before I forgot, I wanted to show you some of my Christmas presents for my brother- they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself!

Mosaics are actually a recent interest, but I have really taken to it. I actually have a background in painting, so I love to combine the two media in one. I have found creating mosaics with tempered glass to be the most fun- though they can be hell on my hands!

The clock was my first attempt- I got the "blank" at Goodwill and stared at it for a few months before I came up with an idea for it. My brother loves Montana- he has been there several times, and I had a nice sunset picture that I used for my color inspiration. The base was sealed already, so I just painted over it with acrylics.

When it was dry I puzzle-pieced the glass over the paint and grouted it as usual. The piece that I broke had a lot of larger clusters, so I used those first, then filled in the gaps. I liked the look of the grout flowing in "rivers", rather than being more regulated, if that makes sense.


I had the table already- it was a castoff from a store that closed in the mall. My brother went to Notre Dame, and loves the Blue/gold combo, so I sort of started with that in mind this time (being mindful of his other decor, of course). I sealed it and painted the base in the same way that I did the clock- though this time I just squirted the paint and sort of free formed it.

Here is a close up of the actual tabletop:

You might be able to see in a few spots that I ran a blade through the paint in a sort of marbling pattern- it ended up adding a lot of interesting effects under the glass. The gold is just faux gold leaf (it is sort of plastic-y, so it was kind of hard to cut into organic shapes). I just shredded it and through it on randomly at first, then moved it around until I was satisfied.

Just experimentation, really- kind of seeing what I could come up with! I grouted with a deep black, and it really came out dramatic- I had a glass round that fit on top, and it sparkles even more when the light hits it. Wish I had another table like it- I was sad to see it head "home" to Vermont. ;-)

Happy Living to you.