I enjoy mosaicing. There is something about highly repetitive, horrifically tedious work that I really enjoy. Soothes the savage OCD beast. So, when the opportunity to make a Wizard of Oz themed gift presented itself I made the questionable decision to sacrifice sanity and make one of these monstrosities.
At second-hand shop I purchased a framed picture, approximately 12 x 26 inches, that came with glass for about five bucks. Shamelessly filched Google Image of whimsical font, printed it out and centered beneath glass. Bought obscene amount of beads, mostly Czech glass because they look like they’re on fire. I used the smaller, more uniform size but they come in dazzling array of colors and shapes. Not cheap but totally worth it.
Adhere beads directly to glass using the picture beneath as a guide. It’s like paint-by-numbers.
Did some trial and error (and more error) with various glues. I tried superglue, mosaic tile adhesive, G-S Hypo Cement, Aleene’s Jewelry and Metal Glue and Aleene’s Glass and Bead Glue. Problems included: taking too long to dry or drying opaque, way too expensive for the amount of work I had to do, not appropriate for glass despite packaging which promised otherwise. The last, Aleene’s Glass and Bead Glue, was ideal for this project. It dries crystal clear, is economical and comes out of the tube a little gelatinous which helps precise placement.
The trick with this stuff is to work in small areas and work fast. Like Speedy Gonzales fast. It takes a couple of hours to fully set but it will become unworkable in less than a minute. If it does get too tacky and dry to set beads, just scrape it up and start over.
WARNING: You will need excellent ventilation.
This stuff is toxic avenger snot, gives off brain cell dissolving fumes and causes hallucinations and severe levels of domestic tension. Remember The Shining?
(That’s not on the label. You’re welcome.)
I underestimated, by about a month, how long this would take (total time: about two and half months working several hours a day). Mainly because I wanted to place each and every bead individually. With a toothpick. The voices in my head told me it would look better this way. They were right. They always are.
(Click-pic to Biggify)
Curio Lair 