…sometimes it's horrible. But we are all friends here and I can share with you that I can produce some crappy stuff.
So I was gabbing with my girlfriend Sharon (waving hi with a wink), and we were talking about the mosaic technique that Beate taught over at Splitcoast Stampers. I wanted to try it and I used my biggest Stampin' Up! acrylic block as my base so that I could do a full size card, and I had been saving up extra rubber. So a couple days ago I wanted to make my mosaic, and my internet was down so I could not see the tutorial, so I winged it, and well I winged it wong…ha!
I made my mosaic "tiles" too far apart, but I tried it anyway.
Here 'tis…
I did not color the image fully cause I knew this was my practice piece, and this was using black ink as my "grout", and well there is too much space between the rubber pieces or tiles.
Ya know what is more tedious then making a mosaic rubber dealie bob? Removing all of the pieces and then trying to wash off all the sticky left on the beautiful acrylic block. And well I wanted every danged gummied piece of glue off so it took some doing, Formula 409, then some Dissolve It, Mr Eraser, I tried it all, even a tooth brush (shhh….don't tell Jeff), and it got to be pretty good and clean, not as beautiful as it was before I started but at least it wouldn't have extra glue on it. Then came to the problem that I had used up most of my rubber for the first one and I thought I could reuse what I took off, what a bloody mess that was, they were sticking all over my fingers and to each other, ugh, into the trash they went. So I used the unused rubber I had left, and then I thought what if I just cut them in squares maybe that would be easier, cause believe me cutting all the triangles and all that and then fitting them together was worse then doing a puzzle. Holy Moly, give me some edge pieces already.
So this is what happened after I cut and mounted all the square-ish ones and I used Brocade Blue instead of black as my grout.
So I am still not liking it, I think I preferred the irregular shapes, but they just need to be closer together like this one. So it is back to taking off the squares, and washing my block AGAIN, and waiting till I accumulate more rubber. So it may be a bit before you see a card with the mosaic look from me.
Added since original post…some of you girls are thinking that I am gonna use this block over and always make this over and over…well I will make it over and over till I get it anally right, but then once it is right it will always be my mosaic stamp and they pieces will stay on forever. I put it on the acrylic so I could see through it, and because I am not going to be using this big piece of acrylic for a stamp…there see I am not that crazy…right?
Have a great Saturday, I will be changing my nail polish cause somehow my nails are all gummy and sticky…how in the world did that happen?
Thanks for stopping in!
I am SO glad other people besides me show this kind of stuff on their blogs. Sometimes I tire of seeing everyone's perfect cards, and I feel it necessary to show people what I TRIED to do, whether I succeeded (in my mind) or not. I often get suggestions from people who were more successful than moi, but in the end, it's about the learning and the EXPERIENCE, right? AND THE FUN; let's not forget the FUN!
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. 🙂
Hey Diane. Sorry for your troubles. You should invest in a bottle of "Goo Gone" It is the best stuff since sliced bread for taking off anything that is glued or sticky plus it smells pretty good. It's cheap too! We always have a bottle of it around the house. Walmart, craft stores, and Home Depot are some of the places you can get it. Price stickers on picture frame glass come off really nice. Waiting for the snow to hit here again this afternoon. Guess I'll HAVE to stamp! lol
I'm thinking maybe you shouldn't have posted that….the number of people who read your blog….expect your mailbox to be full of all their "extra" rubber!!!!
Luv ya
Jax
I've got some extra unused rubber if you'd like it…I'm just over the bridge…give me a call if you want it!
I enjoyed your post! Sorry you had such trouble with the mosaic technique! I thought before I tried it that I might be wanting to try it again, so why waste all that trouble on my clear block. I had a wooden one left after I unmounted some stamp sets & used that. Now I have a mosaic stamp that I can use over & over! (ps- it also helps when putting your mosaic together, to start from the center & work out. You can even cut your pieces as you go & that way they'll fit great & you can even get the edges straight – yea!)
I think it is beautiful. Good job for trying and even better job for posting something you are not convinced turned out like it should. 🙂
Try Goo Gone (you can find it at the Dollar Tree)to remove the sticky. It works great!
Ha ! Thanks for the giggle…. it is good to know that even Stamping Divas have the same kind of misadventures as the rest of us ! I'll be waiting for your next attempt at the mosaic technique as I know it it will be stunning now that you have worked out all the kinks in advance !
Here's an idea for a "save"–cut the mosaic image down to a neat rectangle or square, mount it on a piece of black cs and use it for a background. Pop out a butterfly or a saying (whatever) over it and mount it on a card front. At least it wouldn't be wasted after all that time and effort!
Diane, you are an inspiration! "Try, try again!" is you – which is great for us, your readers! To remove that nasty sticky, go for either lavender oil or eucalyptus oil – both work fantastically to clean scissors and acrylic blocks (and before I used them, I did use nail polish remover…) – found that these worked better than any of the store-bought goo removers.
Pam 🙂
Sometimes imperfect is perfect. I think they are beautiful!
Smiles~
Marilyn
I like your first attempt, but my first thought was to use a stamp with a larger image or one with not so much detail that would get lost in the grout spaces. I also like the idea of using a color for the grout instead of black. The image stamped in black doesn't get lost in the grout spaces.
I 2nd or 3rd, LOL the Goo Gone trick. I keep it around for lots of things. I also use it to clean my scissors after cutting rubber. I was thinking of mounting the rubber on a block that you keep as a "forever" background stamp. Ask Jeff to cut you a piece of wood to mount it on. He can sand it up and make it all smooth for you!!!
Since you will be getting a lot of extra rubber in the mail, you better ask for an A2 size block. LOL
I thought the video instructions included the note that she used "scrap rubber" form the "CLING" stamp sets……
I started saving up… but I will not try it wiht sticky rubber pieces..
I do appreciate your sharing of this (makes me feel better about my "goofs".
Stay warm & have FUN!
T.
This whole post made me LOL!! I've sooooo been there, done that! Thanks for keeping it human!! Love your stuff, Diana!
Kay
Next time you try this technique, maybe you could glue your rubber scraps on something sturdy, like a piece of thick chipboard or an empty container or even a spare wood block if you have one (think extra SAB sets…), to save yourself the trouble of having to wash your acrylic block? Added bonus: you can keep the new mosaic stamp you've created for future use and not have to throw away the rubber pieces every time.
Just a thought… Good luck!
Cindy