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Mosaics... somewhat like Crazy Quilting?

After posting my mosaic crazy quilt cabinet in my last give-away, a few of you emailed me asking me about other pieces I have made. Here are a few pieces that I will be putting up in my Etsy shop RavioleeDreams sometime this week.

Before I was ever into Crazy Quilting I was addicted to creating mosaics. I would scour yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores for fun and different items that I could work my magic on. The hunt was so much fun - not to mention the thrill of finding a new piece of vintage china… something that was cracked, chipped or broken. I spent quite a few summers in my back yard mosaicing the day away getting things ready to sell at local Art & Craft Shows and Christmas Festivals. One of my most favorite pieces to make was this cute little bird house. Using pieces of vintage china and stained glass I laid it out like I would a crazy quilt foundation... blending colors. Then I embellished it with some broken pieces of vintage costume jewelry and a porcelain rose. Funny... I just noticed that the colors I choose to use in my mosaics are the same shabby chic colors I use when dying up my laces.


This picture frame was one I actually cried over. I mistakenly broke a plate that was part of my collectors series ... you should have heard me.... no... better you didn't LOL!

I added cute little polymer clay roses to this cute little frame to finish it off.

When I found that my attention shifted to crazy quilting, I almost forgot my mosaics… such a shame since I have a room full of china dishes and stained glass just waiting to be played with again. I got to thinking a while back how much Mosaics were much like Crazy Quilting. Little bits of broken china put together to create an unusual design and embellished with beads, vintage jewelry and sometimes other pieces of china findings.

This mirror is made using all cut stained glass and topped off with a cute little set of porcelain roses.

Another mirror is a mixture of stained glass and vintage china. In the corners are bits and pieces of costume jewelry, buttons and even an adorable little porcelain bench.

Finally, I couldn't resist trying to dress up this cute bird dish - just the perfect size to hold a plant, jewelry or pretty soaps. I brushed it with some metallic gold paint and using a mixture of broken china and stained glass , I also added a few little clay roses.

Last month I gave away a little mosaic cabinet which I made specifically for storing crazy quilt pretties. I have two more cabinets that are similar, some old sewing machine drawers and lots of frames so I've decided that maybe it’s time I get back to breaking up china and start playing with my mosaic work again. What led me to this decision? After the flood we had in our basement a couple months ago I have had to take a good look at all the “stuff” I have accumulated over the years in my studio. I’ve been gradually cleaning and tossing things out and need to rethink how I am going to set it up once all the major work has been done to revamp the basement. I took me a whole day just to remove the fabrics and china and I still have half the room to go! Enough is enough…. Yea right… wait until I head upstairs to my Crazy Quilt room or worse.... find another object of my desires at an antique shop or flea market! OMG! I need a few more hands!

Beautiful Lace & Bead Treasure

Last year I received a package in the mail from my best friend Bev. Bev had been helping her father clean out his house and was going through some items that had belonged to her mother (Barbara). Barbara passed away close to 20 years ago but to this day I can still hear her wonderful laugh and remember how she used to love to eat raw onions like they were apples.

Bev knows everything about me (maybe too much LOL!) - she knows I love the color blue, love lace and love anything beaded. Knowing that her mother would have loved for me to have these treasures, she decided to share them with me. I feel so lucky and so honored to own something that is so beautiful. One of the items she sent me was her mother's gorgeous blue chenille bedspread which I have on my bed right now. I thought I'd share with you a couple of the other treasures she sent me in hopes that maybe someone out there could tell me a little more about the dress. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The dress is very thin and light weight and very tiny - looks to be like a size 2 so it sure won't fit me. It is all hand embroidered lace and is incredibly beautiful. It looks as though it might have been a night gown for a wedding night. Along with the dress I received a beaded purse with this note tucked inside. It reads:

5/3/75 : "the black beaded bag and dress will be Barbara Payne when I am gone" and it is signed Beulah. Barbara was willed this by a close friend of hers before she passed away and it had been tucked inside a dresser for years.

Some close ups of the dress: Front center. Note that there is some staining and a few areas where the stitching is coming apart.

Left side of dress:

Right side of dress:

Close up of boy:

Top front of dress:

Back of Dress: The bottom portion of the front and back of the dress has a slit and is not ripped.

Bottom of back:

Bottom right side of dress: Looks like rust stain

This is the beaded purse that the note was found in: Gorgeous bead work

Check out the birds!

Close up:

Also inside the purse was this necklace and earrings set. We are not sure but think this set was Barbara's. Bev and I met when we lived in Seville, Spain 1965-1969 and this is the style of jewelry that the Spanish ladies would wear with their flamingo dresses. We think her mother might have purchased them - what a fabulous reminder for me of those wonderful years!

For right now I have everything stored in one of my dressers wrapped in a white sheet. If anyone can tell me how I should take care of the dress I'd be forever grateful. I had thought of hanging it up on my bedroom wall but because it is so thin I don't want it just hanging there. I'm not even sure how to go about cleaning it to preserve it.