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Stained Glass Mosaic are great fun and very enjoyable to create. The skill is much easier to learn than old fashioned stained glass and nonetheless the results can be equally as beautiful. In very simple terms this type of mosaic is just like a normal one, however you use the medium of glass for both the base and the pieces you are going to afix. It is usually best to limit the range of colors you use, three or four related colours or tones are often more effective than a whole mish mash of clashing colors! Once the mosaic has been completed a great way to finish it off is top use premixed tiling grout to fill the gaps around the pieces. Tiling grout comes inmany different colors now , however generally a darker color that creates a look of stone, or black, will look best on your work, certainly bright white rarely looks good, so be careful which you choose!

You will need to use a good quality clear drying adhesive to bond your mosaic pieces to a piece of clear picture glass. A great idea is to buy an old picture frame (6 x 6 inches is a good size for starters). You should take out the glass, but put the frame to one side, you will need it later.

The glass should be properly cleaned before any glass is glued to it. You can make you own mosaic pieces, by cutting them from a full sheet of stained glass, with special glass nippers, alternatively buy some ready cut mosaic pieces. These can be bought from online supply sites. See the links below for more details. Always wear protective glassses when cutting glass and be aware of how sharp cut edges can be. Rinsing cut glass to remove dust is a good idea. As mentioned above it is a good idea to limit your colors to maybe 3 or 4 at first, so as not to overcomplicate your first design attempt. Try different tones of blue alongside a vibrant orange for example. Often using opposite colors from the ‘color wheel’ can create nice effects.

Next, you need a simple design to work from. You can either draw your own design or trace a pattern from a stained glass template image. How about using a simple celtic knot as your starting theme? Just do a quick search in google pictures and you will find some great ideas for your pattern.

Once you have your design, outline it in black pen and place it under the clear glass. This is your template which you will work to. You can now set out and begin glueing down the pieces of mosaic one at a time, using a strong clear adhesive like Weldbond. Weldbond is great to use for mosaics as it is free from a strong smell and cleans up in water. You may also find the clear glue for sealing around showers is good to use, however this does tend to smell pretty strong and give off fumes, also it can’t be easily cleaned with just water.

Fix the glass mosaic pieces a few millimeters apart, whilst cutting any that need to be adjusted to the right size. The gaps left are where the tiling grout will be applied later on. When all the bits are affixed and when you think that you are happy with your finished design, hold it up to the light to see how the colors will relate to each other. If all of the mosaic pieces are properly glued down, by the next day the project will be properly set and dry. The next stage is to applying the tiling grout. This is done using a tiling spatula and is very messy. You simply scoop up the premixed grout and press it all over the mosaic, pushing it right into all the gaps. Once you have done this, wipe of the excess with a damp cloth and leave to dry. Now the tricky bit is letting it dry enough to clean the glass, but not letting it set too much so that it becomes hard to remove from the mosaic surface. It should take between 40 minutes and 1 hour to become touch dry, however this will vary a lot depending on temperature and humidity and you really have to monitor it every 10 minutes or so as it dries.

Once fully dry you can polish the surface and place it back into the picture frame where you got the clear glass from. Voila one completed stained glass mosaic!

Peter G is an artist. For His Complete Guide to creating a Stained Glass Mosaic To see some stunning Stained Glass Mosaic artwork. To find out and where to Buy Stained Glass MosaicArticle Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/how-to-make-a-stained-glass-mosaic-easily-1653669.html

I was reading the paper the other day and I saw a picture of California kids hiding under a table holding onto its legs and covering their heads. I was afraid it had finally happened. California’s economy had finally crashed and, being “too big to fail”, the kids were hiding for cover as Ben Bernake was above them in a helicopter dropping piles of money onto them.

Then I looked closer and saw they were just doing an earthquake drill and they were chanting “drop, cover and hold on”. No doubt this was a mantra borrowed from another disaster crisis plan, the one that John Edward’s mistresses practice when he shows up at their front door.

California is, without question, a beautiful state and its nickname is “The Golden State”, which most likely was adopted by someone looking down from an airplane during brush fire season.

The earthquake drill had nearly 7 million people involved, not only children but adults were doing it too. Bill Clinton read about this and got upset no one told him masses of grown women would be going down under tables and desks in unison. I can just imagine him thinking, “I wish we’d have moved to California instead of New York,” and, “ah, to be president again,” as he puffed on his cigar and looked nostalgically into the sky.

The state of California also leads the nation in foreclosures. But on the bright side, with the possibilities of earthquakes home owners can at least hope their home gets sucked up by the earth before they get sucked up by the banks. And maybe their insurance will even cover it…come to think of it that probably won’t happen because the insurance companies like AIG gave up all their money in bonuses to their execs.

In the article on the earthquake drill it said that a seismologist crawled under a table along with a row of suited government officials. Now, I understand that they were doing this as a good example for the kids but it warms my heart to get the image of suited government officials hiding under a table. It would be better to hear they were hiding inside a ground hog hole or snuggled in a rat’s nest (way more appropriate) but I’ll take this image for now.

The earthquake drill was being done 2 days before the 20th anniversary of a major earthquake that hit the San Francisco region in 1989. But I’m guessing that earthquake was just karma for the area having elected Nancy Pelosi into office just 2 years before that. Maybe what the people of California really need to drill is electing officials who are actually from this planet and whose faces don’t ooze botox when they feel they need to force a smile.

This whole earthquake drill thing was organized by a group called the Great California ShakeOut. While its actual intentions were very good in alerting people of the dangers of earthquakes, when a group of state senators saw the word ShakeOut they were sure it was another method of taxing people.

Californians have earthquakes, brush fires often followed by mudslides, one of the highest tax systems in the country, and a governor who has trouble speaking the language. In spite of it all, I have to admit, I still do like to visit whenever I can, but if they could give a schedule to those earthquakes I’d sure appreciate it.

Steve Yeich is a humor writer with over 25 years of experience. He has written jokes for numerous comedians who have performed on the Las Vegas strip, most notably Jay Leno and Joan Rivers. He has done various forms of script writing including for movies and TV. He has also written over 100 TV and radio commercials. To see more of his articles go to http://darnfunnyonline.com

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The answer to this question depends on two things. You and your musical ability and the amount of time you are willing to put into it. Initially, do not expect great things overnight and it should be fully understood the commitment involved depending on the standard you want to achieve. Playing piano is a complex skill. In the first few weeks you will need to develop your technical ability to play your instrument, learn about basic rhythm and the fundamentals of music theory. However, if you are coming to piano playing having learned another instrument then you will have a head start on the complete novice.

Success is measured by how much happiness and satisfaction playing brings you and not by how fast or perfectly you play. Many people begin hoping that within a few weeks they’ll be playing a certain classical piece of music or a favourite tune and get despondent when it doesn’t happen. With the greater percentage of cases this level of progress will not happen and it’s worth keeping this in mind at the outset.

Therefore perseverance is important, but more importantly practice is a daily priority. Progress will be slow initially, but regular practise sessions will keep you focused, even if it’s only for 30 minutes a day. Piano playing is a repetitive exercise and by missing practise sessions that repetitiveness is lost. Development will be slow and will lead to a lack of interest and ultimately regret for not fulfilling your ambitions. A lack of commitment will always lead to failure.

When practicing, find a quiet location that is free from interruptions and noise and try to set aside a definite time each day and stick to the programme. Avoiding or delaying getting to the piano will just make you run out of time. Real practice involves both mental and physical commitment. Repeating errors instead of correcting them before continuing is counter productive. It’s not the measure of time you spend that’s most important, but how you utilise that time. If you practice several hours a day and simply repeat the same mistakes each time, then your practice is inefficient. Failure to practice correctly and sufficiently is the single biggest reason that people fail in their ambitions to master the piano.

It may seem like a chore for the first few years. So why would anyone go to the inconvenience to learn to play the piano? Because when it all finally comes together and you can open a piece of music and play it, it is an amazing feeling. And all the hours of practice will have been worth it.

It may seem inconceivable at the beginning, but anyone can play the piano if they’re willing to dedicate the time and the effort to do it. The piano can transport you to places you never thought possible and it will become part of your life. However, the hardest part to learning to play the piano is to start. Procrastination will not do it for you.

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