Anniversary Cross

I'm excited to share my newest mosaic cross:


The technicalities: This mosaic cross was made on my small cross base (roughly 7.5" x 10"). I used aqua iridescent and deep red stained glass as well as beautiful, sapphire blue glass beads. The cross was finished with bright, white grout.

The juicy details: This mosaic cross is chock-full of great symbolism. My client ordered the cross as an anniversary gift for her husband . . . so the heart symbolizes their love. The "C" is the first initial of their last name. Even the color scheme has meaning as their wedding colors were aqua, sapphire blue and deep red. I just love it when a cross takes on so much special meaning!

The tricky part: For some reason, I have the masochistic tendency to design a cross before I fully figure out how to execute the design. This cross is no exception. I thought a line of beads around the outside of the heart as well as a beaded initial inside the heart would be lovely. (And it is!) I suggested these design elements to my client, and she agreed. What I did not fully think through was how I was going to grout the cross without getting grout in the small and curving bead lines.

The process: I have used similar beaded design elements in my mosaic crosses many times, so I've created a quasi-process for grouting in this situation. At the risk of boring y'all, here are some pictures and a quick explanation of the process:

1. Ready to be grouted.

2. I masked off the beads with painter's tape to try to keep the grout away from the beads.


3. Then grouted inside the heart . . .


4. Cleaned the grout with the tape still on but forgot to take a picture! I did take one once I removed the tape. Sorry for the blurry pic. My camera didn't want to focus!


5. Grouted the rest of the cross. I covered the outside beads with tape again . . . although this picture shows the beads after this tape was removed.


6. This is where things get dicey. Inevitably, no matter how careful I am, grout gets in the bead lines. It's a bit hard to make out in the picture above but the biggest problem area was in the lower left part of the heart. Even after I cleaned everything, there was too much grout left in the bead line. Obviously, my masking method is far from foolproof!

I ended up pulling up about 6 of the beads, cleaning the area under and around the beads, repainting this area and then carefully, relaying the beads. This picture was taken right after I removed the beads:


7. It's definitely an exercise in patience! But the results are always worth it. Or at least I like to think so. The final product:


Thanks so much to L and her husband for their patience and trust. I hope you enjoy your beautiful cross for years to come!

In Him,
Mary
www.maryharrell.com

Back at it

So . . . it's been almost 6 months since I last posted. Let's just say that the Stone Yoga plaque (see post below) sucked my will to mosaic on many levels. After finishing the plaque, I threw my cutters, nippers and Weldbond into the studio and didn't touch them until this past weekend. In the meantime, I've been busy playing lawyer and being the Mom Taxi. I'm blessed that way.

Anyway ~ about my latest mosaics. I made my first Junior League ornament in 2003. Since then, my client has ordered JL ornaments several times. She told me today that she gives them to officers of the organization, and the 2008 batch will go to the executive officers. I incorporated the Junior League logo into the ornaments' design and handcut each piece of glass. Yep, even those teeny tiny, vertical pieces. I have the gash on my finger to prove it.

The ornaments are approximately 4 inches tall, are made of red and white stained glass and grouted in white. Here they are:


And a close up:


I am so glad I picked up my glass cutters and started mosaicing again. Guess what I learned? I really enjoy mosaicing (well ~ maybe not the slicing my finger with a piece of glass part of mosaicing). Go figure. I'm looking forward to finishing a few other long-standing orders over the next few weeks. If I'm still working on something for you, get ready: your lucky day just might be drawing nigh. Ha!

Be sure to check back. I'll try to post a little more often.

In Him,

Mary
www.maryharrell.com

Stone Yoga Plaque

I'll be back to share more about my latest piece of artwork . . . but here's the pic.


In Him ~

Mary
www.maryharrell.com

O Girl!

My last entry was about boy crosses so it's only fitting that this entry is about a baby girl cross. . . a pink beaded daisy cross to be exact! It was ordered by a new client who actually found me through this blog. See! Proof that I'm not just talking to myself. Ha!

I really love my beaded daisy crosses (I think I say this about each of my mosaic crosses, don't I?! But it's really true!) They just make me smile.

The process to make a beaded daisy cross is more complicated than a "regular" cross but it's so much fun to watch it all come together. The beads add the perfect, unique touch and iridescence of the beads really makes the daisy stand out. I'm pretty sure I've posted pictures of previous beaded daisy crosses but here's the one I just finished. No two are ever alike anyway!

I'll add my typical "this picture is horrible" disclaimer. Really, I need to invest in a new camera. The 3.2 megapixel Sony Cybershot has seen better days and I'd really be able to give y'all a better idea of how gorgeous my mosaic crosses truly are. Maybe soon . . .

I hope your weekend is full of things that make you smile. : )

In Him,
Mary

O Boy! O Boy! O Boy!

My latest custom order ~ 3 crosses for baby boys.


These mosaic crosses were created on my 4" x 6" cross base. They each have a navy blue border, a heart tile and a light blue background. I love that, even though they are similar, each cross is unique.

I pray that these crosses will be a blessing to the sweet little boys for years and years to come.

In Him,

Mary
www.marymakingdesigns.com

Ornaments . . . in March?

I completed a custom order this week . . . 5 mosaic dove ornaments.

Yep ~ Christmas ornaments in March. These doves were custom ordered by a wonderful, extremely patient client. I have had the pleasure of working with her to create a custom mosaic cross, angel ornaments and now dove ornaments. She is thinking about ordering cross ornaments for this Christmas and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has in mind.

I make a limited number of ornaments every year. I enjoy making them but they are time consuming because of their small size. It can be tricky and time consuming to cut tiny pieces of glass to fit onto the small surfaces. I usually spend more time on an ornament than I do on a 4" x 6" cross. Crazy but true.

I have only made one other dove ornament and I used white iridescent glass. One of my goals is to create ornaments for a Chrismon tree using all white iridescent glass and a white dove will definitely be included.


Another ornament that I'll include on the Chrismon tree is a cross. I made this one, using silver mirror Krinkle glass, for my mom for Christmas last year. This isn't the greatest picture but the ornament was so pretty on the tree.


And ~ of course ~ I make lots and lots of angel ornaments. You can see the different types of angels and find out more info about them on the Angels page of my website.

Until next time ~

In Him,
Mary
www.marymakingdesigns.com

Big House Cross ~ Part 1

I want to share an exciting new cross that I'm about to start working on. In two weeks, my church (www.christ-umc.org) is getting ready to open its brand new sanctuary. Once the services are moved to the new sanctuary, the entire old sanctuary building will be used for children's ministries. There are lots of exciting things planned for the kids . . . but probably the most exciting is Big House.

Big House is the name of the new Children's Worship service for Kindergarteners - 6th graders. The service will be structured similar to the basic adult service . . . except be geared toward kids. So . . . more upbeat . . . more singing . . . more visual interaction . . . but still in a respectful, worship-oriented setting. How cool is that? I think it's exceptionally cool and I know the kids (including my own little monkeys) are going to LOVE it.

I'm really excited and feel very blessed to have been asked to design a special cross for Big House. The cross will sit on the altar and be an ever present visual reminder of God's love and grace for the kids. I'm still working on the design so I can't share exactly what the cross is going to look like. But I can tell you that it's going to be BIG (probably about 2.5' tall) and vertical (sit in a stand). It predominantly will be jewel tones and I'm thinking of using a lot of mirror glass. As of right now, the design will be more free-flow than a true, structured design . . . but all of that could change as God hasn't really told me what He wants yet. Or maybe I just haven't listened. I have that problem sometimes. HA!

Either way, it's clearly a work in progress and I plan to share the progress with you. The first thing I need to do is have my dad build the base for the cross. I hope to have this by mid-March. In the meantime, I'm going to work on the design and find the perfect glass to use. Stay tuned for the updates . . .

In Him,
Mary