Fantasy Flowering Tree Mosiac

Trees and flowering trees appeal to me*.  So as a mosaic artist, I decided to create a stepping stone that combines multiple loves and interests - trees, flowering trees, chintz china, and mosaics.  

Image 1: Flowering Tree Mosaic Stepping Stone

As I looked around for a mosaic project inspiration, I found brown mugs with dimensional bark, of all things.  That mug needed to be broken!  Whimsical, but dare I say, ugly?  Maybe ugly is the wrong word, perhaps unique would be better.  (Maybe OK for hobbits?)  Let's just say using the mugs daily would be a strong choice.

Image 2: Mosaic Flowering Tree Detail

I also had a large circular stepping stone mold (18 inches in diameter) that I had purchased full price ($93) around 2008, and never used.  It bothered my that years later I was making mosaics, wishing I had bigger stepping stones, and yet had never used my large mold.

With the help and encouragement of my concrete unafraid and unfazed mosaic artist friend, and after watching her encourage other friends to use concrete (concrete pumpkins, anyone?),  I mixed the concrete (in her basement!), adding chicken wire in the middle of the concrete for support.  I used the mold!  (Which I then gave to her, but have used twice more since, making that mold cost only $31 each use.)  

Image real 3: Mosaic Stepping Stone Detail

I also had many floral dishes I wanted to use.  There is a style of china called chintz, which I love, that has inspired me in multiple mosaics.  Using small bits of floral patterns mimics the chintz look.  See bunny mosaic here.

My Flowering Tree No. 1 stepping stone was the result.

Image 4: Mosaic Flowering Tree

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Skippable Notes: 

Ah, blogging!.  I photographed my stepping stone on the lawn, thinking the flowers in the grass would add to the spring like image.  Instead, the grass photographs really dark and the lawn looks weedy.  (I used photoshop to lighten the grass.  So much work.)  Do magazine photographers avoid using grass as a background?  Do you have lots of color correction problems?

So then I took the photo on my front step against concrete, but my concrete is in terrible shape, snow and winter and salt having eroded the surface, and it's expensive to fix. (And not a priority, either.  My travel budget would take a hit.)  And guess what - I don't really enjoy concrete work!  My dad skim surfaced it more than 15 years ago, but that has worn considerably.

A recent plumber fixed some plumbing for less than an hour and charged me $358.  What do you think new steps, or concrete repair, will cost?  I'm not getting a quote any time soon.

Mosaic Notes: 

Mosiac work using broken china is sometimes called Pique Assiette, or picassiette.  It's my favorite style, and the one I work in the most.

Project Notes: Reflecting on the results of achieved when a project is completed, I try to answer these 3 questions.

1.  What went well, 
2.  What could have gone better, and 
3.  What would I do differently if I could re-do it. 

Applying these questions to my stepping stone:

What went well:
I used my large mold.
I made my own concrete stepping stone base.
I finished.
I'm happy with the materials used - clear silicon caulk, sanded grout, grout sealer! 

What could have gone better:
The project took so long.  The results could be better.  

What would I do differently if I could have a do-over?
I'll show you in another post.


Answering these questions for completed projects is something I encourage people to contemplate.  Skills are improved by practice and reflection!     

Click on the images to see them enlarged.

I blog for fun and my blog is ad free.  Comments encourage me, and I sometimes need encouragement. Please leave a comment if you have time!  Anonymous comments and  comments months/years later are welcome!

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Click here for an Incredible Mosaic Collection!

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Recent Posts ...

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Here is a geometric style table I created detailed in this post here.

Mosaic Garden Table Top