Category Archives: 2022

The Right Tools for the Job

Tools & Adhesives

#1  Wheeled Tile & Glass Nippers have a set of disc shaped wheels on spring-loaded handles used to cut tile and glass. Replacement wheels are sold separately.

#2  Tile Cutters are for thicker tiles, plates and crockery. Better tile nippers have tungsten-carbide cutting edges and spring-loaded handles.

#3 Glass Cutters  practice makes perfect and is absolutely epic when it works.

#4 Weldbond Adhesive – Non-toxic white glue, safe for indoor use/kids and dries clear in most circumstances.

#5 Clear e6000 Adhesive – Toxic adhesive, clear is my preference, use in well ventilated area, great for glass and not for kids.

#6 Mastic is for tiling dry areas, sets faster than Thinset and has an odor that lingers.

#7 Tile Thinset is used for areas where water is present, it sets slower than mastic and is harder to remove if you change your mind.

#8 Grout comes with sand and without sand. Use unsanded grout for any gaps less than ⅛” inch. Always seal grout.

Tools
Lighten up … cutting takes practice.

Always good to have nearby:

  • Small Hammer
  • Needle Nose Pliers
  • Tweezers
  • Beverage of Choice
  • Toothpicks or Wooden Skewers
  • Paper Towels
  • Vinegar/Water Spray
  • FIRST AID KIT
  • SAFETY GLASSES
  • Open Window
  • Base, Tile, Shards and Found Objects …

Mosaic Tile Vase

get lost in trying.  🙂 mara lee

 

 

a clearing

Random Jar Challenge – Earth Tones

How’d it go?

Well … I stared at the pile for weeks and right before bailing & failing,  I researched earth tones instead.

Earth Tones

Circa 1970  filled with muted and mellow nature shades in brown, avocado green, harvest gold, wood paneling, macrame, indoor plants, shag carpet, groovy boots, polyester leisure suits and Save the Earth signs.

irony © mara leeFunny how that works … laid out a design with ceramic tile, pennies from the US and Canada, a vintage brooch, gold tile, ball-chain, green and orange glass tile, a metal washer found on the side of the road, orange bead, saw-tooth hanger on back painted gold, 3″x3″ inch mirror and will eventually be listed at the shop.

To all appearances, the artist acts like a mediumistic being who, from the labyrinth beyond time and space, seeks his way out to a clearing. – Marcel Duchamp 

nature of things © mara lee
now and then © mara lee

53 Year Old Fun Fact – the Woodstock Music Festival (1969) was all about changing social practices and gave the hippies – who were deeply political – a platform to reshape the way society treats itself for the better and …

enough
image credit unknown

Have a Nice Day!

Dog Pause

Surgery went well and Charles is on the mend.

Life is good.