Custom Mosaic -Adding the Shelf

My husband embedded the little half salad plate into the base of the mosaic  and glued all around it.  We had to let that dry before applying another coat of glue which has taken several days to complete.  He finished it off using some wood filler so once I finish with filling in the rest of the design I can grout around it and it should be good to go.

I also painted the back black not only because I like a finished piece, but to camouflage the Spackle on the back from the plate.

This is a photo of the plate just laying on top.

Here is the plate embedded into the wood.

Back view showing the wood filler.

Tonight I hope to complete the mosaic and have a photo of it emailed for approval.  Once I get that I will grout it, which will take at least two days to cure, then clean it up and ship it out.  I take a toothpick around each tile, gem and doodad in each of my mosaics.  It takes time but I believe the finished product is worth it.

My next post will be on grouting.  I hope to be doing that as soon as I hear back from my customer on the design.

Until Next Time. :)

Custom Mosaic Continued

I have started piecing the tiles to fill in around the main design.  This takes time and patience as you want to get them as close together as possible and there are lots of curves to go around.

I found some fun bright yellow dishes with a royal blue pattern and I thought it would be the perfect thing to go with this mosaic.  I used them in the fan design at the lower left side.  They are rather thick dishes and would be too much of a variance in height for many of the tiles, but it works when you have the gems butted up against them.

The photo above is upside down so I could work on filling in the top.  I decided to glue what I have down and let my husband get the half plate embedded on the bottom (for a shelf).  He will need to cut out the area I have sketched in and set the rough edge of the plate down inside the wood.  He will then fill in any areas with wood glue and let dry overnight.

Next my husband will sand down the glue so that it's flush with the mosaic front and back.
After that I can finish it up and see what my customer thinks before I grout.  At this point I can still change things around a bit.  Hopefully this will be good to go.

The dish tiles on the bottom of this photo are very similar in color but have a completely different design.  One has light blue polka dots against a darker blue and one has light blue swirlys against a darker blue background.  It keeps the continuity and flow but creates more interest.

I'll show you the little "shelf"  once it's dry and sanded.

Until Next Time. :)

Custom Mosaic Part 2

Just getting the feel of the design.

I changed the tiles a bit and have added my flowers.

I have been working pretty steadily on this mosaic and have it partly laid out.  I have changed a few things from the original drawing, but it will still have the same look when I have finished it.

My customer wants lots of bright and light colors so I am doing my best to keep to that.  I cut the flowers out of the checkered pattern dishes to keep the country feel to this.

The pencil markings toward the bottom are where the shelf made from the salad plate will go.  I just want to be sure I don't tile over that area.

Just a few more to lay out and I will run this by my customer to make sure we are on the same track.  If she is good to go I will probably glue down what I have to keep it from shifting while I design the rest.

I should have my progress here on my blog in the next day or so.

Until Next Time. :)