The Fountain of Mama's Anger (IMG HEAVY!)

[lovesclutter]

Just had to vote for this because it is so well done, creative and not the ordinary. You rock.

[Fontiua]

this is super awesome.!

[SharaStar]

What a wonderfull creation!! Enchanted! You must have taken so much time and energy for this. Really amazing...

[theatreorchid]

Whoah.  I've been gone for a couple of days and...wow.  I am just completely blown away by all these comments.  Thank you so much, everyone!!   I'm so glad people seem to like it, I was really nervous about posting because I thought maybe it was too weird, but I put so much time and sanity into the silly thing I kind of had to put it up, hehe. 

Gosh.  Self-esteem boost much?  Thanks, Craftsters! <3

[Diane B.]

Really fabulous piece of work!  And your perseverance and problem-solving are totally admirable!! (and what it takes to really progress)

(I posted a link to this project over on the Polymer Clay completed projects board too.)

Wanted to ask what the problem was with using the polyurethane spray.  For grout that needs to be sealed, polyurethane is one possible sealer but sprays aren't always the same as their brush-on equivalents...what exactly was the problem?  And was the grout thoroughly dried/etc before applying the sealer?

There are other possibilities for "grout" that wouldn't need to be sealed though too, like solid polymer clay thinned down with liquid clay or other things, tinted liquid polymer clay, acrylic modeling paste, etc, and the tiles can also just be pressed down into a layer of soft raw clay to avoid grouting too.


In case you haven't run across them, there are also "quick" ways to make polymer clay tiles (especially when needing a lot of them like you did! ) --using various gridded items (square-ice-cube trays, french fry cutters, etc), or scoring the lines in a raw clay sheet on a smooth baking surface then breaking them apart along the score lines after baking, or using cutting or dragging tools on raw clay sheets like rotary cutters, Xactos, single-edge razor blade tips, homemade rows of blades**, "spring dividers," etc...or even cutting the baked clay sheets with scissors*** (best while the sheet is still warm) as long as not using Sculpey/SuperSculpey/Sculpey III since they're more brittle than other clay lines.

There's more info about all those things on these pages if you're interested:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/cutters-blades.htm (> Cutters >>Cutting Small Tiles)
http://glassattic.com/polymer/mosaics_inlay.htm (>Cutting the Tiles and Grouting & Bases)

You might also want to try some of the smaller clay mosaics too...lol...like doing them on frames, votive candle holders or nightlight screens, pocket mirror backs, box lids, etc., or even some of the really tiny ones on jewelry. 

** http://glassattic.com/polymer/cutters-blades.htm (> Multiple-Blade Cutters)

*** these were cut with scissors by Kim Korringa (some from sheets of Skinner blends which is another way to get more colors for less work):
http://glassattic.com/polymer/cutters-blades.htm

Make more mosaics!
Diane B.

[nougatgee]

oh this is just tooo awesome!!!
so well done!!!
and your 'tutorial' is sooo funny

[Krafty_Karasu]

O

M

G

that is freaking INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I so need to make myself a fountain like this.  great job!!!

[SewIn2Disney]

Congratulations on winning!  Enjoy the awesomness that is owning every Mama game!

[theatreorchid]

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my crazy little fountain.  I can't believe all the nice things people have said to me- I really needed a pick-me-up and this has done it for sure! <3 

Wanted to ask what the problem was with using the polyurethane spray.  And was the grout thoroughly dried/etc before applying the sealer?

To be honest, I haven't sealed the grout yet, heh.  No water actually touches it when the fountain is going, so it became low-priority after I finished everything else.  I actually used the spray for the tiles, because I was worried about the grout scratching them up when I applied it.  The tiles were saved, but the grout peeled the Varathane right off.  I gave it about 30 hours to dry before grouting, but I guess it just couldn't stand up to the hard treatment it got.  I wasn't terribly surpised because it didn't go on smoothly to begin with- it may have just been too cold outside for the spray.  I'd have waited for a warmer day, but this time of year in Oregon it's just too unpredictable!  (Fun fact: the day after I did the sealing it was 80° f...go figure)  This is the site where I got the idea for Varathane, and they do say that in their experience the spray works just as well- which it probably does in the right conditions or on a smaller project.  I'll definitely try it on my other polyclay crafts (just to use up the can if nothing else) but not on my next mosaic.  It looked great until it got scratched off, and really made the tiles look like glass, which was what I was going for.

There are other possibilities for "grout" that wouldn't need to be sealed though too, like solid polymer clay thinned down with liquid clay or other things, tinted liquid polymer clay, acrylic modeling paste, etc, and the tiles can also just be pressed down into a layer of soft raw clay to avoid grouting too.

I looked into other ways to grout (I actually used your site a lot, so I've seen those links. ) but real grout was the look I was going for, and at $3.50 for a box of the unmixed kind, it was by far the most cost-effective option!  I have enough for about 3 more mosaics of this size (not that I'm doing anything this big anytime soon!). 

In case you haven't run across them, there are also "quick" ways to make polymer clay tiles (especially when needing a lot of them like you did! ) --using various gridded items (square-ice-cube trays, french fry cutters, etc), or scoring the lines in a raw clay sheet on a smooth baking surface then breaking them apart along the score lines after baking, or using cutting or dragging tools on raw clay sheets like rotary cutters, Xactos, single-edge razor blade tips, homemade rows of blades**, "spring dividers," etc...or even cutting the baked clay sheets with scissors*** (best while the sheet is still warm) as long as not using Sculpey/SuperSculpey/Sculpey III since they're more brittle than other clay lines.

I thought about using quicker ways to cut the tiles too, but I liked the slight variations in shape/size my painfully slow method produced.   If the challenge hadn't been about the pixel look, I would have been using interesting shapes instead, that's the kind of mosaic I really like.  I'm already making plans for the next one.

[Krafty_Karasu]

I definitely voted for you!  and I'm so glad that you won!  congrats!!!  I seriously am considering making a fountain for myself, but maybe on a smaller scale.    now, let's see if I can decide on what character to use.  oh, and if I can find a website that shows me how to make the actual fountain part.