Thursday, May 21, 2015

MAGNOLIA + CERAMICS

"IMPERFECT THURSDAY" THOUGHTS OF THE MAKER

magnolia+ceramics photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com

Nothing is perfect. I think. And if things were perfect, nothing interesting would happen.

magnolia+ceramics photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com


As a creative it is awful to admit that without special reason some days are just more difficult than others. You know...that...block. And how to overcome it? 

Sunday, May 17, 2015

SPRING SPIRIT

BEGINNING

still life photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
Fresh green.Who can resist it? I am so in love with this spring color. I had to cut a branch from our plum tree and make a photo of it because those cute and delicate flowers doesn''t last long. Today I'm going back to forest and continue the project that I started on this week's Thursday. I found so charming creatures from the forest that I have to photograph them again and this time with real camera. I took iPhone photo of them and you'll find it in my Instagram feed. I think pic of these creatures would be very nice on the wall. What do you think?

still life photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
Yesterday I was testing also new paints. I painted a cut board. Beautiful paint and what a matt texture! I have a feeling that I will use these painting colors in our workspace kitchen.

Have a happy Sunday!

xo,
Kreetta

Thursday, May 14, 2015

MOSAIC TABLE DIY

MAKE A FACELIFT TO AN OLD GARDEN TABLE

mosaic table DIY photo by Kreetta Järvenpää by iPhone www.gretchengretchen.com
This is a good way to reuse your old garden table or redesign other surface. Last year we promised to our neighbour that we will make a facelift to their old garden table. (It only took one year!) I like the idea of using things what you already have and if you can give a new life to old and used - it's even better. Story continues.

First of all you need the mosaic material that can be old random tiles. Maybe there are some tiles left from your kitchen or toilet renovation. Maybe you have found couple nice ones in flea market or recycling center. Remember that you get a better result and easier project if the tiles are same thickness. You can also use broken china. But they are often a bit convex so you have to play with that issue too but it's not impossible. It just takes a bit more time. I have made a flower pot and vase decoration with broken old china and ceramic plates. But now we make a beautiful mosaic table. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect. It's ok to have a bit handmade look because that's what it is.

Here's a list what you need

1. tiles/broken china
2. hammer
3. old newspaper/cloth
4. glue that works indoor/outdoor
5. glowes
6. grout indoor/outdoor
7. tools to mix the grout, spread the grout, wipe the excess grout, clean the tiles from grout

How to do it?

First it is good to plan a bit what kind of design you want to make. Maybe draw some sketches. When you break the tiles you get different kind of shapes so keep that in mind when designing your table top. If you want to make very precise patterns - it will be a challenge with this technique. But of course you can do it!

mosaic table DIY photo by Kreetta Järvenpää by iPhone www.gretchengretchen.com 1. Clean the surface.

2. Break tiles/plates etc. with hammer under the paper or cloth that you don't get any small pieces in your eyes. I enjoyed a lot of breaking the tiles. It's crazy, I know haha!

3. Start to make your design on the table. I took iPhone pics to make more clearer what kind of design I'm getting because somehow it is much easier to see how it really looks in the pic.

4. Glue the pieces on the surface. Let it dry for 24 hours or less depends on your glue. It's worth to find out what kind of glue you need if you use your table outside.  

5. Mix your grout. Read the instruction on the package how to do it. Usually it's mixed with clean water. I think a good thickness was then when the grout was like thick nut spread. Spread the grout on the tiles. Fill the gabs and edges. Remember the grout dries quite fast so maybe it's easier to start with smaller areas until the whole table top is done. Clean the excess of grout. Let it dry. Remember to clean the tile pieces before the grout is too dry. It's much easier to clean after few hours than next day. 

I had so big gabs between the tiles so I needed quite a lot of grout. I used about 1,5 kg.When choosing the grout's color remember that it is part of the design. You can make a big difference with it. 
 


Done.  

Ready to drink your coffee in the garden? I am. I photographed these photos by iPhone. Amazing what you can do with it.  
xo
Kreetta

ps. This project waited us for over one year so take your time...planning can take few months ;) but of course it is easier to make this kind of project outside. You can easily make one during the weekend. If you have any questions about this - just ask! There are also a lot of How to do mosaic in Pinterest if you need to see step by step version.


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