Friday, November 4, 2011

Glitter-Backed Mini Mosaic by Lori Mendenhall

I love making mosaics, but they take a long time to complete – and I don’t like grouting.  So to get around my impatience I make mini-mosaics.  But instead of traditional glass/tile and grout I go for the mixed media look incorporating glass, metal, pearls, and glitter. So cute, fun, and quick!


Here’s how to put together one of these sparkly mini mosaics:

1. Start with a pendant blank (bezel). I like to purchase these from Etsy.  Coat the entire bezel with clear-drying glue such as Art Glitter’s Designer Dries Clear Adhesive. Then fill the whole area with glitter and shake out the excess. In this piece I used Art Glitter Chunky Opaque Hologram, Comet, #251.  Let dry.


2. This glitter is extremely sparkly so I chose muted materials to balance it out. I lined the edges with tiny glass tiles. To make it more interesting I added some pearls. In the center I used a copper charm – don’t forget to snip off the ring. My final touch was a couple of wire spirals. I didn’t want to leave too much glitter showing because it might be overpowering. Had I used a less intense glitter I might have left more exposed. The artist gets to decide what is “right” – I love that, don’t you?

3. Once you pick your elements and are happy with their placement, glue them down. Let dry thoroughly. This is very important because any remaining moisture can ruin your resin and therefore your whole piece.

3. Fill your bezel with resin. I use casting resin. The kind you buy at the craft store is fine, just be sure to buy the epoxy resin and not the polyester kind. Let cure overnight until hard, and three days for a full cure.

Note, I received product in exchange for the write-up of this project.

1 comment:

  1. This is really cute! I love mosaics too but they are time consuming and messy when you make big ones. I've never made one small enough for a necklace but I think I'm going to have to try it!

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