ManicForMosaics

Mosaic Tiles Done A NEW Way!

2008-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting another mosaic artist & mosaic tile seller. Michelle is offering tiles for mosaics done in a TOTALLY new way! I've never seen tiles done this way before & I was very intrigued. I contacted Michelle & asked her if I could get a sample of her work so I could see it. She asked my for a picture of my cat Zipper & THIS is what she sent me!

I was touched by Michelle's generosity as well as her ability to make these cool custom tiles so I wanted to introduce her (& her AWESOME MOSAICS!) to Blogland.

Here's what Michelle had to say about herself. I've also included some pix of Michelle's tiles and her finished artwork.

"I am 39 years old & I live in Southern Calif with my husband of 14 years (15 next month) & our 13 year old son named Joshua. Our home has four of our best friends living here too. "Apple" & "Cooper" are toy poodles & we have 2 cats that the dogs love to chase around named "Stormy" & "Josephine".

Hubby is in the Navy, & for reasons that are way too long to go into, we have been here in San Diego for his entire carrier so far. I'm from here (actually, originally from Long Beach) & hubby is from Kansas.

I'm blessed to have one of my sisters living just about 3 blocks away. She is also my best friend.

For years I was crazy into Miniatures. I built 2 dollhouses & many other things. I was the project coordinator for San Diego Miniature Crafters for 2 years & I loved it.

About 3 years ago I wanted try out mosaics. I didn't have any idea what it would lead to but I have dropped out of Miniatures completely & mosaics have taken over my life (typical story from what I am reading! Ha!)

Unfortunately I also have to work outside the home :( I waitress at a local restaurant & sports lounge. I enjoy it a lot but always wish I didn't have to stop working on mosaics to go to work. Such is life!

At this time, I have many finished pieces of mine in an adorable store in La Jolla called "Something Special". I decided to start selling mosaic tiles on Ebay because I realized what a great product we had for making tiles with our sublimation machine. We bought it about a year ago mainly for my hubby's business, but it wasn't long before I figured out what a great asset it would be to a mosaic artist. So, I started making tiles using sublimation. I wanted to make sure it worked without any problems first so I experimented with all sorts of pieces & designs. To my delight, mosaic tiles made from sublimation have been better than I expected!

You can create a design using the computer or transfer an image, print it out & sublimate it on to your tile. I have been using hardboard tiles instead of ceramic tiles because I have found that the hardboard goes almost perfectly next to stained glass & other nipped tiles & plates being just the right thickness. I still love to use nipped porcelain plates though. There is a beauty among some china that cannot be duplicated & I don't dare try.

When I first started mosaicing, I was discouraged about the problems created when I used thick ceramic tile next to stained glass, which is rather thin. I loved them both but found that I couldn't combine them very well without a noticeable difference in depth from the tile to the glass. This was frustrating for me because I loooooove to use stained glass in my projects. Using the hardboard tiles eliminates that problem because they & only 1/8 inch thick. The hardboard is very strong & durable & it's very lightweight making shipping cheaper for my customers.

I've been selling my mosaic tiles on Ebay about since October 2008. I am working on designing several styles that will mimic plate edges. You know how the prettiest artwork is always around the edge of your plates? I have a program that has tons of designs. Just wish I had more time!"

I know what you mean Michelle! Being addicted to mosaics is a full time job!

If you would like to view more of Michelle's mosaic tiles, click here to visit her Ebay store.

An Anger Management Flunkee

2008-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I had to go & open my big yap! In yesterday's blog I mentioned that I kinda (sorta) almost (but not quite) nearly got kicked out of anger management class. So many people have asked me to explain what happened that I figured I'd do it here.

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that when I get behind the wheel of a car I turn into another person COMPLETELY. Remember the cartoon we all saw in driver's education class where Goofy gets behind the wheel of a car & turns into a raging maniac named Mr. Wheeler? Well that's me, except that my feet are smaller than Goofy's & my ears are not quite as floppy.

I HATE, HATE, HATE to drive but I must do it in order to get to work. However, like most things I do in my life, I do it FAST. Everything would be FINE except for the IDIOTS who get in my way! My feeling is if YOU aren't in a hurry then get the heck outta my way. I've been known to be (how can I say this?) somewhat VOCAL at people who irritate me. The Hubster suggested that I might want to "consider taking a class on dealing with my little problem". It sounded more like "Take the class if you ever want to drive with me in the car again" but I'm paraphrasing. My first reaction was to punch him in the head but then I thought maybe Anger Management class COULD be beneficial. But only just a little bit.

Anyway, I signed up for Anger Management class at our local hospital & went to the first class. That first night all the "students" had to introduce their self & tell why they were taking the class. I kid you not, I was the ONLY person there who voluntarily signed up! Everyone else had to take the class because they were ordered by either a traffic court judge or a divorce court judge.

One man was a jerk from the first night. For the purpose of this story I'll call him uh........Jerk. Jerk told the class that he was ordered to attend by a judge because he had PHYSICALLY assaulted his boss. He went on & on about how his boss was a weiner & deserved it & how he wasn't sorry at all. It was OBVIOUS Jerk didn't want to attend because his attitude was HORRIBLE.

So, as the weeks went on, Jerk was constantly making snide comments under his breath every time another student was sharing. He would roll his eyes & just act like a general asshole. The teacher had made it clear on the first night that the class was a "safe place" to share & nobody would be ridiculed or berated for sharing. I think the teacher might have been a little intimidated by Jerk (remember I said he was violent!) because she never told him to knock off the comments. Needless to say, I liked this guy less & less as the weeks wore on.

There was a woman attending the class because she was going through a bitter divorce & the anger she felt against her soon to be ex-husband was causing problems. She was usually quiet but one night she shared something personal about her divorce situation. Well, Jerk rolled his eyes & said something like "Typical woman! Never happy & always blames the dude!". Except he used the b-word instead of woman.

At this point, I'd had ENOUGH of Jerk's snide comments. I LOST IT!!! I stood up & yelled at him that he was A JERK & A BULLY & I WAS SICK & TIRED OF HIS CRAP! I've cleaned up the language for this blog so as to not offend any sensitive ears.

The teacher quickly quickly recommended that we all take a break which angered me even more because Jerk could make provoking comments under his breath for weeks & she says NOTHING! But I stand right up to defend another student from his verbal attacks & we all SUDDENLY need to take a breather!

So we all took a break, came back & finished the class with out any major incidence such as say, for example, me ripping Jerk's arm out & beating him with it. The teacher had me address what had made me & I said it THE JERK DID! She informed me that people can't MAKE us angry because its our CHOICE to let ourselves become angry. Or some crud like that. Blah......blah......blah.........

After class everyone was walking out of the building & I heard Jerk say to one guy that he wasn't going to let "some woman" (again, he used the b-word) keep him from coming back because he needed to complete this class to keep his job. I just kept walking but like 5 or 6 people came up to me to tell me they were glad that someone finally put Jerk in his place.

I wasn't about to let Jerk intimidate me so I came the next week, which was the last class. Guess what I see? Jerk & the woman I stood up for were talking, laughing & acting like everything was all good!! I guess they had "kissed & made up". WHAT-EV-ER........

So Hubster likes to tease me about ALMOST being kicked out of anger management class for getting mad at at a fellow student. I tell him to shut up before I slug him............

I've been tagged.......Again.

2008-12-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Diane at Diane Weber Quilt Art. Okay. Let me see if I can think of Six Unimportant Things About Myself...

1. I kiss my cats on the mouth. (I know...I know....)
2. I once broke my hand VIRTUAL BOWLING. (I'm so outta shape I can't even do VIRTUAL sports!)
3. I am COMPULSIVELY organized. (Please don't HATE me!)
4. I almost got kicked out of an anger management class. (DO NOT ASK!)
5. I love to watch the Maury Povitch "Baby's Daddy" episodes. (It's like a car accident. I can't HELP but watch even though I know I shouldn't!)
6. I sort my paper clips by size & color. (Is this the same as #2?)

Okay, I've picked some people to tag and they are............

1. Pearl
2. Lisa at Reflections in a Gazing Ball
3. Karen at Karen Cooks
4. Debi at Life In My Studio
5. Kath at Retromantic Antiques
6. Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Write six unimportant things about yourself and then tag six other victims.....er FRIENDS!

Our Three New Kittens

2008-11-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Hubster & I got three kitties yesterday! They are 3 months old & are just the sweetest, most playful things! It took us nearly two weeks but we FINALLY got kittens! Here's a 5 second video of them in all their cuteness:

First off, let me tell you it's taken me an inordinate amount of time to write this post because I keep getting pulled away by one of the kittens plaintively crying because they can't find the other two or the three of them running across my desk.

I wrote in my previous post about our cat Zipper's passing. Zipper was 18 years old & had some health issues. She was our first cat of three & when the other two passed away we decided to let Zipper live out her "Golden Years" as the only cat. However, we've always had animals & we always knew that once Zipper passed away, we would want to get a new cat.

Originally, we went to a couple of cat rescue organizations. First, we filled out the online application for one organization & because we indicated on the online application that we would allow our cats to go outside, we were deemed "not suitable patents". NOT SUITABLE PARENTS!! Now anyone who knows me KNOWS my cats are well loved & well taken care of. All my cats have been indoor/outdoor cats & I've never encountered a problem but the Cat Nazis (this is a reference to a Seinfeld episode. I'll send a nice gift to the first person who posts a comment & can tell me which one!) decided that allowing cats outside is VERBOTEN & turned us down.

So we went to the website of another rescue organization & picked out two cats that we thought we might like from some online pictures. They were one year old siblings from a litter of four who were born without eyelids & had reconstructive surgery. I called the place & asked them what their adoption process was. I explained what had happened at the other cat rescue place & the lady there informed me that most cat rescue organizations have a policy that adopted cats are to be kept indoors. She told me that the cats we wanted to adopt had been raised as indoor cats. I told her that if they came to live at our house & wanted to be indoor cats, that was fine with me. Whatever the cats wanted, they would have! I filled out the online application & was approved. We made an appointment to meet the cats but the night before, one of them got sick & needed to go the the vets the next morning. She said she would call me after the vet appointment.

Well, I didn't hear from her for 5 days! Then yesterday she calls me to see if we'd like to "visit" the cats. I asked if we'd be able to bring them home this weekend because we're going to my Mom & Dad's for 5 days at Thanksgiving & we wanted to get the cats comfortable in our home before we left. Well, this woman told me that she thought I was "moving too fast" & she thought it was best that we "just visit" this weekend & maybe, JUST MAYBE, we could bring the cats home in a week or two! I told her that was not acceptable as our heart were ready to love some cats NOW.

Coincidentally, on Friday night while Hubster was at dialysis he was telling his technician that we were looking to adopt a cat. She said that another patient was telling her earlier that night that he had 6 kittens up for adoption! Hubster talked to the guy & got his phone number (just in case). After our second adoption with a cat rescue organization fell through early yesterday, we called him & made arrangements to see the kittens. We ended up taking home THREE kittens!

Their names are Sugar (a female), Lucas & Bandit (both boys). They are SO CUTE! They follow me EVERYWHERE. Already we can see the differences in their personalities.

Sugar is the smallest cat & she's the loving-est of the three. She was the first to hop in my lap & the first to purr. She adores her brothers.

Lucas is small like Sugar & he's the playfull-est. He is very observant & looks like he's ready for trouble! He loves it when I move my hand under a blanket so he can attack the "blankie monster".

Bandit is the most aloof. He prefers to keep his distance & watch things from afar until he feels comfortable. He's very protective of his siblings & will follow them everywhere to make sure they are alright. He's sleeping sweetly in my lap as I write this.

We went to dinner last night & when we got home the three of them were sleeping together on the couch. We've watched them all eat, use the litter box & find the drinking fountain so it appears they are acclimating well. I'd forgotten how rambunctious kittens are until I tried to take pictures to post here! This is all I could get & I hesitate to take more as it seems the flash scares them.

Zipper - RIP 10/27/2008

2008-10-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

This past Monday we had to have our beloved cat Zipper put to sleep. Zipper lived with us for 18 years. She was our first cat and she outlived 2 other cats to be our last cat. I want to thank her for allowing me to love her. I will always miss her.

Mosaic Square Table

2008-10-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here's pictures of my most recently completed project. This table is my best piece yet & you can OWN IT! Just go to my website at www.ManicForMosaics.com & click on the birdhouse on left hand side to view Finished Mosaic by Artist. Then click on Nancy Cormier (that's ME!) & scroll down!

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Welcome to My Front Yard!

2008-10-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to welcome you to a tour of my front yard. Before we begin the tour, let me give you a little history. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the yard from when we first moved in so you'll have to settle for "after" pictures. If only I'd known someone would invent blogging............

Entrance to the Front Yard

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When we first moved into this house 19 years ago, the yard was all grass. It’s a long narrow yard measuring 50' by 80'. As new homeowners, we had little money to fix up the yard so it stayed grass for about 5 years. It was so much grass to water that The Hubster and I decided to get automatic sprinklers installed. We got an estimate from one of those guys who throws a plastic baggie with his business flyer and a rock into your driveway. I think the guy was THRILLED that his marketing actually worked! Anyway, the estimate was $900 and we (in a moment of complete & utter folly) decided that “WE COULD DO THE WORK CHEAPER!” Famous last words.......

A View of the Front Porch

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So the following weekend we traipse over to Our Other Home (Home Depot) and went to the aisle that sells all the pipe, sprinkler heads, timers & valves that any one (idiot) would need for a project of this enormity. We wrestled an employee to the ground and I sat on him while Hubby asked the questions. He was very helpful (once we got him to the ground) and had answers for most of our queries. He even gave us a pamphlet to guide us in laying out our sprinkler system and figuring out what supplies we would require. We were ready to go home and measure out our plan!

The View From the Porch

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The next weekend we were up early and on our way back to Our Other Home. We were armed with our pamphlet, our sketches and our positive attitudes. Joyfully, we filled the cart with all the things we would need to begin our project. We were now officially in the Do It Yourself Zone.

We drove home and got ready to dig. We had this idea that we would dig a trench for the pipe & save the grass we took out of the trench. This way we could lay the pipe and then put the grass back into the hole so that we didn’t end up with unsightly areas with no grass. To do this, we took a shovel and carefully cut into the grass in a V pattern, placing the plug of dirt and grass next to the trench. Now I had no experience using a shovel. Some people have told me I can sure “shovel it on pretty thick” but I don’t think they meant dirt.

The Front of the House

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Anyway, let me explain the dynamics of digging with a shovel. Basically you jump up and land on the edge of the spade with one foot on EACH side of the wooden handle, thereby driving the sharp end of the spade onto the earth. Sound pretty easy, RIIIIIIGHT? Well THIS body is not built for jumping onto ANYTHING, much less a sharp pointed metal object with a big wooden stick protruding from it. I decided to put one foot on one side of the metal part and gently push the shovel into the dirt. Well this didn’t work because A) Our dirt is as HARD AS A ROCK, and B) by placing my foot in this position I caused the shovel handle to swing towards me and hit my in the eye. I did this several times and had a nice purple bruise around my eye before The Hubster decided I’d helped enough and banned me from ever touching a shovel again. I think he was afraid I'd tell everyone HE gave me the black eye. It was embarrassing to have to admit to people I'd hit myself in the head with a shovel.

Zipper & the Gargoyle

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So we laid the pipe, placed the sprinklers where we wanted them, installed valves & a timer and then put the grass back into the trench. We turned on the water and VOILA! It worked perfectly! It only cost us $200 for the supplies, plus four 10 hour back breaking days of work and a black eye (or two).

We stayed with grass for a few years and then Hubby got tired of mowing it. Now that it got watered regularly it seemed to grow faster so we hired Mr. Lee (have you ever noticed that all gardeners are named Mr. Lee?) to mow the grass.

Another few years passed & we got tired of paying someone to mow the grass so we paid Mr's Lee to remove all the grass and replace it with rock. I know, I know......after we went through all that trouble SAVING the grass while we installed the sprinklers. California was experiencing drought and we decided that rocks were better. However, we did plant several rose bushes roses interspersed throughout the rocks. We ran drip tube from the existing sprinkler heads to each of the rose bushes. We also added a picket fence to keep the rock in and the people out.

I love my yard because it's low maintenance and beautiful. Where I live, the roses will bloom several times in a season. The Hubster has no excuse to not bring me roses because he can go into the yard and cut some almost anytime!

Yes Folks. I've Been Tagged!

2008-09-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Monica from Monica's Crafts! This one is easy because it's about a subject I know a lot about: ME!

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1 - I like to swear. I do it often & like a truck driver.

2 - I am 46 years old. My kids are 28 and 24. You do the math.

3 - I have never seen Desperate Housewives, Survivor, ER or many of the shows on tv today. I don't watch too much television.

4 - I love to read and I can read an average paperback in about 3 hours.

5 - My second toe is longer than my first toe. On both feet. It's NOT a deformity!

6 - I really do sometimes think the world revolves around me. Once in a while....

7 - I twirl my hair with my finger when I'm bored.

I'm tagging the following people:
Joy To The Blog
French Village Life
Smashgirl
An Enchanted Cottage
Cottage At Doe Hill
Little Pink Studio
Sunnymorning Farm

And the Winner Is..................................

2008-09-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and I was so EXCITED because today is My First Giveaway! In the spirit of good will (and the fact that I realize not everyone reads my posts until the VERY LAST WORD!) I entered everyone who left a comment into the drawing.

Can't you just FEEL the EXCITEMENT?!?!

First I copied & pasted the name of all those who left a comment on my Purple post onto 2 pieces of paper and printed them out...............

Don't you love the pink coffee mug?

Then I cut them down so each name was separate.............

I put the names into a cute enamel bowl decorated with roses.............

and had The Hubster pick out one name..................

and the winner is....................Doesn't Zipper look EXCITED too?

OK, for real this time................The WINNER is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kim from Kim's Treasures!

And just WHAT did Kim win? I know, the suspense is killing you, right?

Kim won this beautiful heart shaped wooden sign that I mosaiced just for this give away. Congratulations Kim!

The Color Purple (Or My Purple Passion)

2008-08-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Look what Hubby bought me today! Against my better judgment, I allowed him a trip alone to our "Other Home". That's our name for Home Depot since we spend so much time there. I say against my better judgment because every time he goes it alone, he brings back some $100 power tool that he MUST have and I SWEAR he has no idea how to use. I think power tools are to men what shoes are to women. Anyway, I digress.....

While Hubby was at Home Depot he remembered that my gardening gloves had huge holes in them, which made it difficult & painful for me to trim my roses. He thoughtfully picked me up a new pair of PURPLE leather gardening gloves! Check out these beauties and TRY not to be too jealous!

My New Purple Gardening Gloves

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After pink (of course!) purple is my next favorite color. Purple makes me feel calm and anyone who knows me will tell you a need a LOT of help in that department! I love purple in all its variations and I was amazed to find, once I started taking pictures, how much purple I had in my own house!

My Purple Crocs for Gardening

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The History of Purple
Purple is defined as “any of a group of colors with a hue between that of violet and red” and as a “symbol of royalty or high office.” The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing & mysterious color. Purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. Historically, the color purple has been associated with royalty and power stemming from its use in heraldry to denote gentry. However, the secret of its power lies in the glands of tiny shellfish creatures.

Purple on the Color Wheel - Centered Between Red & Blue

By today’s standards the color purple is commonplace. However, prior to the wonders of modern science, purple dye was the single rarest nuance available in nature. According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and tutor of ‘Alexander the Great", purple “In its purest form it possesses a value ten to twenty times its weight in gold!"

The earliest archaeological evidence for the origins of purple dyes points to the Minoan civilization in Crete, about 1900 B.C. The ancient land of Canaan (its corresponding Greek name was Phoenicia, which means “land of the purple”) was the center of the ancient purple dye industry.

My Purple Dyson Vacuum
(ok, I don't actually USE it myself but the housecleaner says it works GREAT!)

“Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye. Legend credits its discovery to Herakles, or rather to his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast. King Phoenix received a purple-dyed robe from Herakles and decreed the rulers of Phoenicia should wear this color as a royal symbol. The Murex dye industry proved to be so lucrative to the Tyrians that the shell was adopted as a symbol of Tyr appearing on their earliest coinage alongside their city god, Melqart. Over the course of time, and through extensive trade networks stretching from Babylonia, Egypt, Persia, and Rome the Murex’s highly coveted dye became synonymous with wealth and an exotic trade rarity reserved for the rich. Although originating in Tyre (hence the name), man's first dye chemical industry quickly spread throughout the world.

The Murex Snail

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Of all countries that Phoenicia was to trade the Murex dye with it was Italy who would become her most loyal customer. The Phoenicians first traded in Italy with the Etruscans, a society of artisans particularly skilled in the art of jewelry fabrication. However, it was with the creation of Imperial Rome by Romulus in 753 B.C. that the Murex’s purple dye began to be synonymous with power, wealth and position.

My Breakfast

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Pliny the Elder, author of the world’s first Encyclopedia in the 1st century A.D. wrote: “I find that, from the very first, purple has been in use at Rome, but that Romulus employed it for the trabea…". The trabea was similar to the toga and decorated with purple stripes. There were various kinds of trabea; one was completely purple and sacred to the gods, another was purple and white and was the royal robe worn by kings such as Romulus and later Tullus Hostilius. Pliny continues: “As to the toga prætexta (a toga bordered with purple, worn by magistrates and free-born children) and the laticlave vestment (a purple badge of the senatorial order), it is a fact well ascertained, that Tullus Hostilius was the first king who made use of them…" From this use as a status symbol in early Imperial Rome it was a matter of time until purple assumed another moniker, ‘Imperial Purple.’

Toga Prætexta with Purple Stripe

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Hundreds of years later, with the demise of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Byzantine Empire, the usage of ‘Imperial Purple’ and ‘Tyrian Purple’ had been strictly reserved for nobility and the church. By the fall of Byzantium in 1453 the Murex shell had all but vanished, and in 1464 the Pope Paul II introduced the ‘Cardinal's Purple,’ authorizing the use of cochineal insect to dye cardinals' and archbishops' robes instead. The ‘Cardinal Purple’ of the cochineal was much closer to what we call purple than the Murex’s ‘Tyrian’ or ‘Imperial’ variety, and led to our modern interpretation of purple being a mixture of red and blue. With the decline of the Roman Empire, the use of “Tyrian Purple” also declined, and large-scale production ceased with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D. It was replaced by cheaper dyes such as lichen purple and madder.

In My Garden - Pot with Shades of Purple

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Pope Paul II in 1464 introduced the so-called “Cardinal's Purple,” which was really scarlet extracted from the Kermes insect. This became the first luxury dye of the Middle Ages. From this point in time onwards the stone amethyst, echoing the same purple color, became a regular feature in the ornamentation of Rome’s holy men, worn as rings and amulets as a sign of pious virtue. It is from these various associations that amethyst, with its emblematic colors of the Roman Catholic Church, took its place amongst diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald as a ‘Cardinal Gem.’

Amethyst

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The chemical birth of the synthetic dye industry can be traced to the discovery of an aniline-based purple dye, mauveine, by William H. Perkin in 1856, who accomplished this while searching for a cure for malaria. Perkin was an English chemist who changed the world of his time by making this purple color available to the masses. It became quite fashionable to wear clothing dyed with “mauve,” and Mr. Perkin became a very wealthy man.

Purple In My Office - Network Cable & Stapler

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Looking back into American history, the color purple came to represent positions of honor and valor. In 1782, George Washington created The Purple Heart, the military’s oldest and most admired decoration, when Continental Congress told him he could not award commissions or advancements to soldiers. This token of valor was originally a heart made of purple cloth.

The Purple Heart (Medal of Valor)

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The color purple is used in churches and religious sects to represent the holy aspect of the Advent, the birth of Christ. Lavender is used in Advent wreaths to represent purity and virtue. In Christianity, purple means penitence. In Hindu belief, purple is the color of the crown chakra.

In My Garden - Purple & Red Fuchsia

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What Your Favorite Shade of Purple Says About You
Lavender - You're an optimist with an appreciation for nature. You're almost always in a sunny mood, and friends rely on you for a glimpse of "the brighter side."

Mauve - Your sophisticated surface projects confidence that conceals a sexy side. You've cultivated a worldly exterior to protect the sensitive soul within.

Magenta - Daring and attractive, you like to stand out from the crowd - and your unique sense of style helps you succeed in grabbing center stage!

Plum - Stately and formal, your high self-esteem lends you a serene exterior, because you know you always land on your feet.

Periwinkle - A born dreamer, your youthful sense of wonder keeps your mind buzzing.

Lilac - You're an adventurous individualist who emanates confidence, and your genuine ability to like yourself impresses others.

Violet - Self-assured and dependable, you have a strong sense of character, and you possess a playful streak that makes you an amusing companion.

Eggplant - You're highly fashionable, with a developed taste for the finer things in life. Your vivid imagination allows you to take calculated risks in love.

Purple Hankys from My Collection

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Purple Color Meanings
The color purple is symbolic of power, healing, the divine, spiritual goals, passionate belief, magic, and mystery. It represents visionary leadership, respect, wealth, luxury, and sophistication. Purple has been worn by emperors, kings, military commanders, and other high-ranking officials. It also has come to symbolize psychic ability, success, wisdom, power, spiritual growth, and independence. Purple is the color of passion, romance, sensitivity, and good judgment. It is also the color used by people seeking spiritual fulfillment and is a good color to use in meditation. It is said that if you surround yourself with purple, you will have peace of mind. Various shades of purple have come to represent specific characteristics as shown below:

Deep Purple - Sorrow
Warm Purple - Power
Light Purple - Gentleness, Wisdom
Lavender - Reverence, Royalty
Violet - Purpose
Indigo - Intuition

In My Garden - Purple Flower in Pot

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Purple Flower Meanings
Lavender Rose - Love at First Sight, Enchantment, Uniqueness
Violet - Modesty, Faithfulness, Humility, Honesty, Virtue
African Violet - Promotes Spirituality and Peaceful Vibrations
Purple Lilac - First Emotions of Love, Luck
Purple Columbine - Resolved to Win
Purple Carnation - Capriciousness
Lavender Heather - Admiration, Solitude, Luck
Purple Hyacinth - I Am Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow
Purple Orchids - Love

Remember Deep Purple?

Purple Stone Meanings
Many people believe that stones and crystals have their own vibrational frequencies. Many of these stones are believed to produce a resonance with specific energy locations in the human body. Purple gemstones are associated with mysticism and purification. They are used for meditation, to sharpen psychic awareness, and to connect with one’s higher self. Here is a list of purple stones and their respective meanings:
Amethyst (purple) - Intuition & Peace
Charoite (dark purple) - Clears Negative Energy
Fluorite (Purple/Blue/Green) - Calming/Breaking out of ruts
Lolite (blueish purple) - Truth/Simplicity
Lepidolite (Lilac/Light Purple) - Brings Hope & Eases Stress

My Purple Bathroom

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Using Purple in Interior Design
Using pure or predominately purple scheme in interior design lends itself to strong lines and authoritative designs, and creates an extremely dramatic interior. Most children love the color purple, and it is the color most favored by artists. Since purple is a combination of blue and red (the coolest and warmest colors), many consider it to be the ideal color. Violet and plum hues (with higher concentrations of red) can help warm a cool blue design. Indigo (higher concentration of blue) can help cool a warm orange interior. Pairing purple with yellow (complements) provides a dramatic but well-balanced interior. Combining various shades of lavender and lilac with deep plum accents can create a tranquil and romantic space.

In your feng shui color applications, purple should be used with moderation. It is a very strong, high vibration color, the color of connection to the spiritual realms (7th chakra.)

Feng shui-wise, it is not recommended as a wall color. Many feng shui masters believe that color Purple on the wall (or an overwhelming amount of it in any feng shui decor applications) may trigger blood disease. True or not, purple is a very high vibration color and the feng shui advice is to use it sparingly.

The only feng shui spaces purple color can be used freely are a healing room or a meditation space. Use in moderation throughout your home or go for much lighter color tones, like lavender. Limit it in the feng shui areas of East and South east areas, as well as the West.

An excellent way to bring the royal Purple in your environment is with amethyst, one of the most powerful feng shui crystals.

Purple Stained Glass Window

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Did you know…
Purple glass was invented by mistake? Purple turned up in colonial homes when clear window glass was imported from England. A defective batch, made with too much magnesium, was shipped to New England, and windowpanes turned purple when exposed to the sun. Some people thought the glass looked faulty but many preferred the beautiful purple hue. When the company was asked to produce more, they could not replicate the mistake. The purple glass panes are still installed today in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill close to the Statehouse.

Purple Plate

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Good purple

* Purple cow - something remarkable, eye-catching, unusual
* Purple prose - exaggeration, highly imaginative writing (also has negative connotations)

Bad purple

* Purple speech - profanity, raunchy language
* Purple prose - exaggeration, colorful lies
* Purple haze - state of confusion or euphoria, possibly drug-induced, type of marijuana

Purple Sunset

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Some other common names for purple include grape, lavender, lilac, magenta & maroon. If you leave a comment & can give me another name for purple, your name be entered in a drawing to take place on September 13th. The winner will receive a WONDERFUL GIFT! Trust me, you'll LOOOOOVE it!

It's FINALLY done!

2008-08-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

Well, the mosaic table is finally done! This table must have several THOUSAND tiles in it and my shoulder is feeling EVERY one. I think this table, which I'm calling Ring Around the Roses, turned out great! All I need to do is a final wipe down and then seal the top. Then I'll be posting it for sale!

Suffice it to say I'm terrible at taking pictures!

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My Mosaics

2008-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm bound & determined to finish that table that I show in the Mosaic Redeux post. Life got in the way and I stopped working on her (all my mosaics are girls!) but I'm alternating between feeling "Oh Boy, am I EVER motivated & this table is turning out so GREAT!" to "I hate this $@*%# table and how did I ever allow myself to get addicted to mosaics in the first place?". And this is every two or three minutes.........

If I could I would talk about mosaics all the time. I actually DREAM about tiling things! It's a sickness, I know. Hopefully I'll find a support group someday.

Today's blog is all about my mosaics! I decided to post pictures of many of my projects, some of which are for sale in my store www.ManicForMosaics.com. This one is a visual Girls so sit back & enjoy!

Shabby Roses China Mosaic Tilt Top Pie Crust Table

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Garden Trug

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Step Stool

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Birdhouse

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Cabinet

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Rose Trivet

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Doorknob Shelf

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Cup of Hope, Laugh, Joy, Dream & Love China Mosaic Plaque

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Pink Mini Hutch

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Welcome Garden Sign

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Rose Garden Mosaic Lazy Susan

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Bunny in the Rose Garden Mosaic Picture

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Basket of Roses China Mosaic Wall Hanging

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Rosebuds Box

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Roses & Lilacs Mosaic Lazy Susan

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Magazine Holder

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Mini Mosaic Birdhouse #1

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Mini Mosaic Birdhouse #2

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Mini Mosaic Birdhouse #3

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Four Drawer Organizer

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Wasn't that fun?! Ok, break time is over and I must get back to that TABLE!! Look for pictures very soon!

Woo Hoo! I've Gotten An Award!!

2008-07-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Monica from Monica's Crafts has given me my very first award! It's the Blogging Friends Forever Award. Thanks Monica! I'm honored and so pleased!

Here are the rules:
1. Use the Twinks Bank icon
2. Nominate 5 other people only
3. Four (4) nominees have to be dedicated followers of your blog
4. One (1) has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
5. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.

Here are the five people I would like to give this award to:

Alex from My Quill & Pen
Debbie from Debbies English Treasures
Cathy from Treasured Heirlooms
Amy from Bunny Rose Cottage

aaaaaaaaaaaaand.................

Chelle from IBreak4Glass

Come on Girls! Pass on the LOVE!!

Married 17 years & 70 years!

2008-07-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday my Hubby & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. My husband & I spent the day with his maternal grandparents. Grandma Juanita is 88 years old and Grandpa Bill turned 93 this past April. My Hubby was named after his Grandpa. We are in our mid-forties and feel so lucky to still have grandparents alive!

Hubby & I decided we would take Grandma & Grandpa out to lunch and then for a ride to visit Morcom Rose Garden in Oakland.

My Bill, Grandma Juanita & Grandpa Bill at the Entrance to Morcom Rose Garden - July 27, 2008

The wonderful inscription on the sign says:

Roses are beauty but I never see
Those blood drops from the burning heart of June
Glowing like thought upon the living tree
Without a pity that they died so soon.

John Masefield

Roses at Marcom Rose Garden

Grandma had surgery a few months ago & has been unable to get out of the house much. This was the first time in Grandma’s life, except for the birth of her 2 children, that she had been in a hospital! Until a few years ago Grandpa used to do all the driving for them but one day he passed out while behind the wheel and decided he probably shouldn’t drive anymore so the driving fell to Grandma. Since her surgery, she wasn’t able to drive so they became housebound for the most part.

The Pool at Morcom Rose Garden

Hubby has a hobby called Letterboxing and there was a letterbox hidden somewhere in the rose garden that he wanted to find. We asked Grandma & Grandpa if they wanted to go and they jumped at the chance to get out for a few hours.

A Perfect Rose!

We ate Chinese food, which seems to be the only thing Grandma wants to eat right now, and then drove to the Rose Garden. The roses were in full bloom and we stopped to smell almost every one. We marveled at how they all smelled different. Some were spicy, some smelled fruity and some smelled like powder. Hubby searched for his letterbox and finally found it. Grandma & Grandpa were needing to rest for a bit so we found a nice bench and sat down.

Another Beautiful Rose

Since this day was our anniversary, the conversation got around to anniversaries. We asked Grandma & Grandpa how many years they had been married and Grandma said they’ve been married 70 years! Can you imagine! It's so obvious how much they still love each other after all this time.

What A Darling Couple!

Married 70 Years!

I took a few pictures to share with you. We had gorgeous weather! Grandpa fell asleep as soon as we got him home. Bill and I were honored to have spent our anniversary with Grandma & Grandpa!

The ManicForMosaics Craft Room - The Place Where it All Happens!

2008-07-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

There have been several people who have asked me how I organize my mosaic tiles & stuff. I'm a very organized person by nature, some people may say obsessively & compulsively organized, but the truth is that I LOVE to organize! If I thought I could make a career out of organizing other people's things, I would do it in a heartbeat! I get excited when I watch home organization shows on HGTV. When I pass by the Rubbermaid section at the store I start to salivate. I buy baskets to organize stuff I don't even have yet because I know someday I WILL have something to put in those baskets!!

So I thought I'd give a little tour of my craft room. I hope those of you who are organizers (like me) will find some inspirational ideas that you can use in your own organization. I hope those of you who aspire to be organized won't HATE me too much!

Here is the door to my craft room. I bought this sign years ago on Ebay.

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This is the view when you walk in the door. On the left is a bed. This was SUPPOSED to be a Guest Room before mosaics took over my life!

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Here is the shelf where I store the tiles that I use. The tiles that I have for sale are in the garage on another shelf. All these tiles are in parts drawers so I can see them all when the mood to mosaic strikes! Plates waiting to be cut are stored underneath.

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Another view of the tile shelf.......(with all the other stuff I had on the shelves put back!)

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The parts drawers containing my tiles.

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More tiles in parts drawers........

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A close up view of the parts drawers. I used double sided tape to stick one tile on the front of each drawer so I can easily see what's inside!

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The corner to the right of the mosaic tile shelf. See my button collection?

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Here is my craft table. This is where I cut plates as well as glue tiles onto smaller mosaic projects.

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More plates to cut. I use this old quilt rack to hold the tissue paper that I use to wrap my mosaic projects for shipping.

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Mosaic projects in various stages of completion.

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The very first thing I mosaicked. This is what started it all! I used hydrangea tiles in various shades of purple to mosaic the recessed area under the mirror & towel bar of this antique washstand.

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A closer look..........

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The closet where I store smaller things I want to mosaic in the future.

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Another view of the project closet..........

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I LOVE spending time in my craft room & working on my mosaic projects. It's a sunny room which is perfect for doing crafts. I have scented candles placed throughout the room to make it a peaceful & creative place to be. I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek!

Making New Friends....

2008-07-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when we LEAST expect it, the Universe sends someone across our path that really makes a difference in our lives. Sometimes it's a small kindness that makes your heart sing. I recently met a sweet, wonderful woman who helped me ease the transition into a new experience.

I have been an accountant for longer than I care to admit and I really enjoy what I do. In March of 2008 I was laid off from a job I had held for 6 1/2 years. I loved my job and I loved the people I worked with and it was so sad to think I wouldn't be seeing them on a daily basis. I took some time off and then started looking for another position.

Mind you now, my working outside of the home is merely in a effort to support my mosaic addiction and something I would NEVER let get in the way of my passion. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

I interviewed with a local company a few week ago and last week I started a temporary Accounting Manager position at this company. I had spoken with the receptionist briefly when I had interviewed. However, when I walked into work on my first day, there was another woman behind the reception desk. I had forgotten the last name of the person the agency had told me to ask for so I gave the new receptionist only the first name of the person. She looked perplexed and asked me if I knew the person's last name. She told me that she was filling in for the receptionist who was on vacation and this was her first day. I told her that it was my first day too! She told me her name was Linda. Linda figured out who I was supposed to report to and she let that person know that I was in the lobby. While I waited to be escorted to my new desk, Linda and I chatted for a few minutes about how it was the first day at a new job for the two of us.

I was a little nervous to be staring a new job, with a new company and with new people. Linda made me feel comfortable and I liked her immediately, in that way you bond with someone who is sharing something similar in life at the same moment you are. We chatted occasionally during the day and I learned that we lived very near each other.

This morning I arrived at work a little earlier than usual and Linda was waiting outside the door. She had forgotten her door key so I opened the door and held it open for her as her arms were full of stuff. I noticed she had a cute little box with her and I asked her what was in it. People who know me say I'm kinda nosy like that! Linda opened the box and showed me a bunch of WONDERFUL 4th of July postcard that she had made. They were so PATRIOTIC! I asked her more about her card making and asker her if she would mind bringing in more cards for me to see. Well, this darling woman went home on her lunch hour (half hour actually!) to bring me a TREASURE TROVE of things that she had made!

Here's the 4th of July postcard that caught my eye:

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With Linda's permission I wanted to share some of her other beautiful creations here. She probably thinks I'm nuts but I was so enamored of her work that I just had to show it!

Here's another of Linda's vintage inspired cards. She even makes the envelopes, which are beautiful in themselves.

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Here's a little bit about Linda and pix of her cards:

Linda has been crafting since childhood & she loves to learn new techniques & skills. She will try pretty much anything that catches her eye! Her skills include rubber stamping (which she's been doing for about 18 years), decoupage, card making, crepe paper flowers & "firecracker" boxes. She also makes jewelry - bracelets & necklaces from "found objects" and old re-purposed jewelry. Linda recently learned to solder. She makes boxes & frames that she decorates with shells & sand. Last summer, she learned to do mosaics (which was a life long dream) and enjoyed it very much.

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Linda's main focus is making and selling greeting cards and envelopes utilizing everything from old photocopies photographs, lace, antique buttons, collage, rubber stamping, old sheet music and just random things that she finds. In the past few months she started selling her cards and has sold about 200 cards at $5.00 each. Her goal is to use up all the supplies she's collected!

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Every year, Linda participates in the "Dia de Los Muertos" in her area. This Mexican celebration means "Day of the Dead" and is a day to remember & honor our ancestors. This year running from November - December 2008, Linda is proud to be part of an exhibit called "Columbarium" at the Oakland Museum in Oakland CA. She is currently working on a piece of art for the exhibit.

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Linda is always busy cutting or gluing something. She has a room in her home that is dedicated to her crafting and she spends a lot of her time organizing it and says her biggest challenge is keeping everything in its place!

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Linda - I want to thank you for your friendship those first few days at my new job. You made it a lot easier to get through it! I'm so glad that I got to know you and learn about your art.

If you want to contact Linda to inquire about her cards you may email her at LMarglon@gmail.com

Mosaic Redeux

2008-06-10T17:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever mosaicked a project & then pried off EVERY tile & started over?

I had a coffee table that I'd been using in my formal living room & I decided to mosaic it with china rose tiles. I spent hours gluing at least several hundred tiles in a random pattern all over the coffee table. There were at least 20 different patterns of china and all the tiles were very small so it took me a LOOOOOONG time to glue them all down.

When I was done with gluing down the rose tiles I started to fill in between the tiles with white china filler. When I'd gotten about 1/3 of the table filled in, I took a trip to visit my parents in another state. After I got back I decided to finish mosaicking the table. However, when I looked at it I just DID NOT like the way it looked!

I decided to leave it for a few more days to see if the design "grew" on me but the more I looked at it, the more I HATED it. Here's a picture of how it looked.

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Soooooooo, I got the BRIGHT (?) idea to remove all the tiles & start completely over. I was able to remove all the tiles & only about 10 tiles shattered in the process. I'm now done re-gluing those tiny rose china tiles back onto the table. One thing I've learned is that random patterns do not appeal to me. I am an organized person (some would say anal retentive but what do THEY know?) & in most aspects of my life I need neatness & order.

I started by drawing different size circles onto the table. Some of the circles intersected with some of the other circles & some circles didn't. Then I sorted ALL THOSE tiny rose tiles by pattern & decided to mosaic the outside of each of the circles with a different pattern. I originally was going to do the remainder of the table in only white china filler. My idea was that the circles would stand on their own but later I decided to glue china focals in the middle of SOME of the circles. Here's how it looks today:

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I'm much happier with the way the table is turning out the second time around. The brown spots you see are where the white laminate tore off the table when I removed the tiles from the first attempt. Once the table is tiled & grouted, you won't see the brown.

I'll post pictures when it's finally done!

Awesome Mural Mosaic in the Town of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada

2008-03-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

This AWESOME mosaic mural in the town of Cochrane is a made of smaller pictures put together to make the large mural. If you click on any of the squares that make up the large mural, you'll see the detail of the small picture used.

Click here to visit the site.