FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  I am still adjusting to the new job, still really like it but come home tired every night.  I am hitting the gym 2

times a week on my way home but thinking maybe going more often might up my stamina?  The housing market in the Bay Area is going gangbusters and the staging business is hopping - so that means we are on the run all day, every day to keep up!

I did turn in my vacation schedule today - off to Idaho for a family thing at the end of July.

2.)  I am happy that I am able to collapse in the evenings in front of one of my favorite shows - So You Think You Can Dance!  It is such a positive and uplifting show and Tom and I have been laughing and cheering through the current audition shows.

I am not a big basketball fan - but Tom has been watching our Golden State Warriors win many more games than anyone thought possible!

3.)  This Saturday we are going to ride our bikes into Livermore and watch the Amgen Tour stage 7 start in the downtown area before they head up Mt Diablo for a day of hill climbing!  The riders arrive and mingle with the crowds for an hour before the start, there will be a parade and booths, etc. They are also going to have big screen TV's so they can televise the riders on the route.  No sure we will hang out all day but it should be fun to be a part of the Tour de California!

4.)  I am hoping to take down the tarps and get my mosaic area up and running for the season.  I have missed my hobby time.

5.)  I hope Spring smells good where you are!  I am loving the gardenias outside our office and the jasmine in my yard makes my whole house smell wonderful each evening.

A MOSAIC PROJECT

I have had readers ask me about my process of making a mosaic project.  So I finally manged to take pictures of a piece while I was making it.

I am always on the lookout for inexpensive ceramic and terracotta pots to mosaic.  Plastic doesn't work because the glue and tiles don't adhere well enough to withstand expansion and contraction and the seal isn't tight enough to withstand moisture.  This is my experience.  Other, more educated mosaic people may have found a way...

for this project I used a ceramic pot I found on sale at the end of the summer season.  I didn't need to seal it because it was glazed.  For terracotta pots, I brush on a concrete sealer to help reduce moisture transmission through the clay. This is also a free form sort of design.  If I am doing a pattern, I will draw it on the pot before I start to add tile.

I buy my tile from lots of places.  The tile on this project was from a tile outlet that has since closed.  I get it at hardware stores, online sites and sometimes pre-cut from e-Bay.  For this whole tile, I am using my smack with a hammer technique!

 I lay the tile on a piece of cloth, cover the top and smack it with my hammer.  (Lay the tile face down and the hammer will not damage the finished front of the tile.)

I use a lot of my used jars to store tile and cleaned styrofoam meat trays to hold the tiles which I am working with them.  As you can also see, I use old tee shirts, dish towels, sponges and all kinds of stuff from around the house.  The one thing I didn't manage to get a picture of is my nipper tool.  I use that to cut the pieces I am using down to the size or shape that I need.

The red pieces I used were a pre-cut purchase.

My favorite glue is Weldbond.  I buy it online in the big jug and then refill the smaller bottles for ease of use.

Because you want a great seal between the tile and the thing you are applying it to, there needs to be adhesive on the pot and on the tile.  Another thing to keep in mind as the tiles are added to the piece is the fit.  It is fun to piece them together but you also need to make the pieces as flat to the surface as possible.  I am not so great at this, as you'll see in the finished piece, my tiles tend to poke up and the surface is uneven.  I am ok with it - but it really is not the ideal.

You also want to leave space between the tiles for the grout.  Some mosaic makers leave lots of space and have wide grout lines, I tend to like the pieces to be closer together.

When the tile has covered the surface, let it stand for a day to dry.  Then tape off the areas which you don't want to grout.  I have taped off the bottom pf the pot, but I want to get a good seal around the edge where the tile meets the pot at the bottom and top to help prevent moisture from getting up underneath.

I use grout from the hardware store.  It comes in white, beige, black, and gray.  I also use an acrylic admix to wet the grout.  it makes it stronger and more flexible that using plain water. The grout should have enough liquid to make it spreadable but not drippy. 

Oh, and use gloves for this, the grout is really tough on your hands!  Some people spread the grout using a tool, I am more hands on and scoop the grout onto the piece and then smoosh it down into the cracks.

After the entire surface is covered and all the cracks are filled in, the surface can be lightly wiped down.  After about 10 minutes, use a wet sponge to wipe the surface again, but not so much that it pulls the wet grout out from the cracks. 

I use a dish tub with several inches of water in it for this process.  You should not wash the grout down the drain in your house because it will dry and clog things up!  By using the dish tub of water, I can wash the gloves off, and used the sponge to wipe the pot down without using the sink.  After the grout has settled to the bottom of the tub, I can pour off the water and then wipe out the solids of the grout which remain and toss that in the trash.

After several hours you can wipe the surface again, What you are doing is taking the grout off the surface of the tiles, but leaving the cracks completely filled.  The next day the tape can be removed and all the surfaces wiped and smoothed.  I use a spray bottle of vinegar water to help loosen up any grout from the surfaces of the tiles and a rough cloth and a popsicle stick to scrape tough spots.

The last step is to seal the grout.  I use a spray on sealer from the hardware store. Let it sit for a day and then fill your pot!

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.) I have decided that I need to give up on buying the generics and store brands.  I keep ending up with products that are so inferior that I feel ripped off even though I saved a bit of money.  I think the days are long gone when the big companies just packaged their goods under store labels.

2.)  I think I have PTSD of sorts.  Except it is "Post Election Advertising Stress Disorder".  Every time a new ad comes on when I am watching TV I have a gut reaction to mute the sound.  I started doing that about 10 months ago when I got so tired of hearing Meg Whitman's voice...

3.)  Don't hate me but I am  about 85% done with my Christmas shopping.  A combination of keeping the lists short, using my final paycheck and having time to shop.

4.)  On one of the many sites I read occasionally I ran across this post by a woman in my age group who resorted to starting her own business because she needed income and found it difficult getting hired - sound familiar?  Then I saw what she is selling - even more familiar!  But I have looked very closely at Etsy and e-Bay and mosaics just don't sell well. I also had a booth at a local crafts store.   For some reason people like to look at them, admire them, but don't buy them.  So I wish her luck.

5.)  And what will I be doing this sunny and surprisingly warm and dry weekend?  finishing a couple of mosaics!  Perhaps I will post pictures on Monday.  Hope you are happily engrossed in pleasurable activities, too.

SUMMER PROJECTS WITH NANCY

My sister Nancy has been coming over to work on her first mosaic project.  She's been very ambitious and is working on two projects at once - a small birdhouse and covering a large concrete globe that is part of a fountain in her backyard.

Working on a large round object is very time consuming because you can only do a bit at a time and then you have to wait for it to dry before you can shift it to work on another part because the tiles slip and slide around.  So she has been coming over for a few hours here and there for a few weeks - which is fun for me to spend time with her!  I have to be more careful though - today I hit my thumb with a hammer because I was yakking and not paying attention - ouch.

Now she has gotten the mosaic bug and has been spending lots of money on tile and stuff - so my brother in law may not be too happy with me.  Oh, well.    Good for the economy, right?

I have been busy finishing a few projects and starting a new big pot.  I finished a new birdbath for my yard because I gave the first one I made to my sister Polly.  I finished the pot I made to match the umbrella, and planted it with geraniums.

I am happy that I have been spending more time away from the computer, up in my mosaic area and enjoying the summer months.  I was so stressed out last year about my joblessness that the summer went by without much enjoyment.  This year I will have lots of nice projects to show for it and will have spent some quality time with my sister.

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

It has been an uneventful weekend. A bit lazy in fact. I have drifted from a bit of gardening in the cooler part of the day to a little housekeeping. Some reading of my new book club selection "The Irresistible Henry House" which is pretty irresistible.

I have almost finished a new mosaic pot which is an homage to the new stripy umbrella for my mosaic area. In fact I sat right there, under the umbrella to read my book, iced tea at my side for an hour or so yesterday. Anyway, you can't see it well in this picture, but there is a purple stripe and a creamy yellow and the green in the umbrella isn't quite as foresty as the one I am using on the pot, but that's what make it an "homage" I suppose! I will grout it black and plant it later in the week.

Ally spent the weekend in Tahoe with friends and Tom has been either riding or working on his bikes. I had to go rescue him this morning when he had a break down while riding many miles from home, he wasn't hurt, unlike some of the riders on the Tour de France which we have been watching a bit.

I finally watched "It's Complicated" last night. I am probably the last woman in my age group to see it - it was fun, but so much of it had been revealed in the previews and promotional clips that very little was a surprise. That is the problem with waiting so long to see things. I promised Ally that I would save "Nine" to watch with her when she gets home. Which should be about 3 hours from now...

Hope the long weekend was as restful or activity filled as you wished!

MAKING MOSAICS

I finally got busy making some mosaics this week. I started on a little birdbath last Sunday but quickly ran out of the tile I decided to use and had to wait until a new order arrived. I was indecisive until I actually started working on it how I was going to go about the design and then decided to go dark to light with the dichroic glass in the center. This is the first time I have used the opalescent tiles, but I think they will look pretty under water.

I am making a very large pot for our bougainvillea plant which I am happy made it through the winter. I am going to do the entire bottom of the pot in the same tile because it has so much variation in it just as it is, then do a contrasting tile around the rim. I just could not decide what I wanted to do - so I started it and then I'll decide when it is all done.

I guess that I was just not in the frame of mind to make decisions when I got these projects started!

I am having fun with the pot, though. It is the first project in a while that I am making with broken tile. Which means I get to smash the tile with a hammer to break it into pieces. It is one of the reasons I got into making mosaics in the first place. It just sounded like something I could do. I mean, break something and glue it together = art. Works for me!

Oh, And the pot that was blown off my bench and smashed? I am using it as "mulch."

MAKING THE HOLIDAYS HAPPEN

I posted a while back about selling some gold jewelry. I was happy with the amount I was paid. And put the money aside.

There was a pendant that had a couple of small stones, a ruby and a diamond, but it was only worth about $11.00 to the jeweler. I kept it and put it up on eBay and got $25.00 for it. So I popped a few more things up and have made a little over $100.00. All of that money and a bit more I saved has gone into my account for holiday shopping.

And that shopping? Almost done. I have a few things I am watching on eBay. Most of the shopping has been online so things are en route. I have been more careful than usual about watching the budget I set. I really don't want to put a penny on my credit cards. I am even planning to return a few things I bought early on before I got really organized.

So now I am focused on the things I am making. A few mosaic items I hope turn out well. Then I will make some biscotti and maybe some spiced nuts to send off to Idaho and Palm Desert and share with friends here.

I know a lot of people start decorating as soon as the turkey is put away, but I usually wait until a week or so into December.

How are you doing on your holiday preparations?

FAVORITE GREEN THINGS

Philadelphia Magic Garden, Suede Shoes, Puerto Rico Rainforest, Mosaic Ball, Birthday Cake

For more photos of green - go to the Green Challenge at the Colony.

MORE MOSAICS AROUND MY YARD

This plaque is the first one I made. I was really happy with how it turned out. The glass tiles are easy to work with and it was the first time I integrated mirrors which are radiating out from the heart.

This was on the porch of our old house, now I have it hanging in the arbor behind the BBQ.






I have made a few more plaques as gifts. I made the OM symbol to put in the yard of our last home, and haven't hung it here. It is up on my
work bench to remind me of the order the the universe and the need to meditate and clear my mind. There is something about working on a mosaic that does this for me. I frequently lose time when I am working on a project.

The glass in this plaque is black with copper streaks and copper. It has a pretty, sparkly effect in the sun.






I found this little birdhouse at TJMaxx and added some ceramic tile I had. There were just a few pieces from a plate. Someone I bought tile from had added them as a bonus to an order. The birdhouse was a small enough piece that I could use them up. I shouldn't have left it out over the winter, but I found moss inside and didn't want to evict a bird family!

WHAT I AM DOING INSTEAD OF BLOGGING

When the weather is nice, I become distracted from many of my responsibilities and normally enjoyable diversions, like blogging.

Pictured here is my mosaic "studio" which is located outdoors on a covered patio located upstairs off the laundry room. Tom put together shelves and workbenches and added lighting so I would have a space for my messy hobby. In cold and otherwise foul weather it is covered with tarps. It took me a couple of weekends to clean it up and get back to creating stuff.

This pot was completed late last fall, but I didn't get around to grouting it until last weekend. I made it for my friend Brenda. It always takes a while to get it cleaned up and sealed and ready to plant.

This is my workbench. I am starting a little pot to send to Maggie. She wanted it to be purple and I had 3 purple tiles left from a trip to the now defunct Tile Seconds in Marin County.

Now I end up buying a lot of my materials online which is expensive because of the shipping - ceramic tile is heavy. I also use glass tile for some projects, but I have not yet learned to cut glass myself. I am on the lookout for a class.

I am self taught. I read some books and spent a lot of time on the Internet learning the ins and outs. I am not an artist, but I love color and design and I just find the process satisfying. I will share some of my other projects in future posts.

Why Mrs. Brightside?

I have gone through several names and templates and host sites and I think I have settled in to Mrs. Brightside. I am, by nature an optimistic person. Which is not to say that I am always Suzy Sunshine. I tend more to looking at both sides, walking in the shoes, making lemonade and it could have been worse, a lot worse.

This blog naming thing catches me when I am working to lose MOM as my first identity. I will always be mom to my 3 children - but it is the MOM I need to put move down the list a bit. So when I started out with a blog title I was thinking about "A Little Less Laundry" in reaction to the reality of having 2 fewer kids at home. And "Mosaic Mom" because I make mosaics as a hobby or "Momrocs" because that has been my e-mail address and vanity plate for years. When I became resolute to drop the mommyness - I was lost.

So who am I these days? I am in my mid-fifties and I am still wondering who I am, what I will become - who woulda thought?

What I do know is that at the core of me is a thoughtful, smart and positive person. I have a gift for looking at the bright side of things. And that is a good place to start.

Now What? New to the Personal Blog

I have been blogging work related content for about a year. I keep wanting to go beyond the boundaries of that role, so this is it.

I want to write about politics because I am becoming obsessed with the election. I want to write about being a mom to older kids - a 15 year old girl and boy girl twins, almost 21. About being in peri-menopause for like forever. About making mosaics! My hobby. Reading, my other hobby. Being married for 24 years to a difficult man. About trying to reconstruct myself after the years when mom was my first identity.

And, like so many women on the web - whatever floats through my day.