Introduction: Mosaic Glass Egg
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About: I like sewing and crafts,and trying new things. I'm vegetarian and always looking for new recipes. My cat's name is Mirko and likes to be in the centre of things, so you will see him in several of my instruc…
I used glass cobbles and tiles to create a stained glass appearance for this egg. Using a mosaic tile technique by gluing the glass pieces onto the egg and then applying grout, I then placed an LED inside to light the whole thing up.
I was impressed at how nicely an egg glows with an Led in it, when I saw the following two great instructables. I just took it a step further and stuck some glass on the outside to give it a stained glass appearance.
Extremely Simple "Eggcellent" Night Light
Eggcellent Night Light
Using coloured glass in mosaic tile projects is a great way of creating a stained glass look, you can use it on vases, mirrors, candle holders, etc.
I was impressed at how nicely an egg glows with an Led in it, when I saw the following two great instructables. I just took it a step further and stuck some glass on the outside to give it a stained glass appearance.
Extremely Simple "Eggcellent" Night Light
Eggcellent Night Light
Using coloured glass in mosaic tile projects is a great way of creating a stained glass look, you can use it on vases, mirrors, candle holders, etc.
Step 1: Materials
-egg -the larger the better
-needle, awl, or any pointy metal thing -for poking holes in the egg
-bowl -to catch your egg innards
-your favourite recipe for preparing your egg (omelet, scrambled, cookies)
-glass -pieces* or tiles**
-tile nippers or hammer
-safety gear: safety glasses/ rubber gloves/?mask
-newspaper/cardboard to cover work surface
-glue (I use Weldbond -great for tiles and is nontoxic)
-grout*** (you can get this from hardware stores or craft stores) grout can come in different colours so make sure you get the colour you want
-putty knife for applying grout
-sponge for removing excess grout
-cloth for buffing project after grout dries
-a design for your mosaic egg
-pencil/paper to draft design
Light
led
battery
resistor
I just used an LED candle I bought at a dollar store
nice egg holder
or make your own
*the glass pieces I used are called Cobblets I bought them at Michaels, they are nice because the sharp edges have been smoothed over so they are gentle on your fingers.
**you can buy glass tiles at craft stores too, but they are much less expensive on ebay.
http://search.ebay.ca/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=glass+tile&category0=''
***The grout I usually use for my mosaic projects is already premixed and comes out of a tube which makes it super easy to use, I get it from RONA here in Canada.
-needle, awl, or any pointy metal thing -for poking holes in the egg
-bowl -to catch your egg innards
-your favourite recipe for preparing your egg (omelet, scrambled, cookies)
-glass -pieces* or tiles**
-tile nippers or hammer
-safety gear: safety glasses/ rubber gloves/?mask
-newspaper/cardboard to cover work surface
-glue (I use Weldbond -great for tiles and is nontoxic)
-grout*** (you can get this from hardware stores or craft stores) grout can come in different colours so make sure you get the colour you want
-putty knife for applying grout
-sponge for removing excess grout
-cloth for buffing project after grout dries
-a design for your mosaic egg
-pencil/paper to draft design
Light
led
battery
resistor
I just used an LED candle I bought at a dollar store
nice egg holder
or make your own
*the glass pieces I used are called Cobblets I bought them at Michaels, they are nice because the sharp edges have been smoothed over so they are gentle on your fingers.
**you can buy glass tiles at craft stores too, but they are much less expensive on ebay.
http://search.ebay.ca/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=glass+tile&category0=''
***The grout I usually use for my mosaic projects is already premixed and comes out of a tube which makes it super easy to use, I get it from RONA here in Canada.
Step 2: Preparing the Egg
-Wash egg and poker(needle, awl etc)
-Gently poke* hole in bottom, and enlarge by delicately chipping around the hole.
-Poke hole in the top of the egg.
-Blow (don't suck) into the smaller hole on the top of the egg until empty, forcing the egg innards out of the larger bottom hole into a bowl.
-Rinse out the egg by running water into the larger hole and blowing out, repeat until water coming out looks clear.
Make sure that the bottom hole is large enough so that the light unit (see step 7) will fit before you start gluing and grouting.
*If you are having trouble poking through the shell, tap the top of the needle/awl gently with a spoon.
-Gently poke* hole in bottom, and enlarge by delicately chipping around the hole.
-Poke hole in the top of the egg.
-Blow (don't suck) into the smaller hole on the top of the egg until empty, forcing the egg innards out of the larger bottom hole into a bowl.
-Rinse out the egg by running water into the larger hole and blowing out, repeat until water coming out looks clear.
Make sure that the bottom hole is large enough so that the light unit (see step 7) will fit before you start gluing and grouting.
*If you are having trouble poking through the shell, tap the top of the needle/awl gently with a spoon.
Step 3: Design and Transfer Pattern
When deciding a mosaic pattern keep in mind that the level of detail is relative to the size of the tile pieces you are working with; as well as the size of the canvas (the egg) you are working on. Unless you have an ostrich's (or dinosaur's) egg you probably won't achieve a great level of detail and may need to simplify.
-First trace your egg onto piece of paper.
-Create a design for your egg, if you need help there are some mosaic patterns on the internet, you can browse through mosaic books from the library or even colouring books have some great simple designs
-Draw your pattern onto the outline of the egg that you drew on the paper.
-Then draw the design onto the egg with pencil.
You can also just do a random pattern of tiles, this looks great too, that's what I did for the back side of my egg.
-First trace your egg onto piece of paper.
-Create a design for your egg, if you need help there are some mosaic patterns on the internet, you can browse through mosaic books from the library or even colouring books have some great simple designs
-Draw your pattern onto the outline of the egg that you drew on the paper.
-Then draw the design onto the egg with pencil.
You can also just do a random pattern of tiles, this looks great too, that's what I did for the back side of my egg.
Step 4: Start Gluing
Before you start, lay down some cardboard and newspaper to protect your work surface, also keep your safety glasses on hand.
I usually work colour by colour for the main design. For the random pattern on the back, I just fill in pieces working from the top down. If you are really organized you can separate out your glass pieces by colour beforehand and keep them in separate containers so it is easier when you start gluing.
Nip pieces if necessary to fit (don't forget to use your safety glasses), it's is easiest to break your glass tiles into smaller pieces using tile nippers, since they are more precise. When "nipping" I do it under a cloth to block any shards from flying around. If you are using a hammer, wrap your glass piece(s) in a cloth, place on a hard surface and start smashing with the hammer, again the cloth will prevent shards from flying around and they will be collected in the cloth for you to use.
Apply glue to the tile piece, you may need to use a toothpick to apply the glue to the smaller pieces, (tweezers are helpful too if you have thick fingers.) Place you glass piece on the egg, make sure there is good contact with tile piece and egg, especially since it is a curved surface, which makes it more difficult. Also leave gaps in between the glass pieces for the grout to fill in.
Remember be gentle with that egg!
I usually work colour by colour for the main design. For the random pattern on the back, I just fill in pieces working from the top down. If you are really organized you can separate out your glass pieces by colour beforehand and keep them in separate containers so it is easier when you start gluing.
Nip pieces if necessary to fit (don't forget to use your safety glasses), it's is easiest to break your glass tiles into smaller pieces using tile nippers, since they are more precise. When "nipping" I do it under a cloth to block any shards from flying around. If you are using a hammer, wrap your glass piece(s) in a cloth, place on a hard surface and start smashing with the hammer, again the cloth will prevent shards from flying around and they will be collected in the cloth for you to use.
Apply glue to the tile piece, you may need to use a toothpick to apply the glue to the smaller pieces, (tweezers are helpful too if you have thick fingers.) Place you glass piece on the egg, make sure there is good contact with tile piece and egg, especially since it is a curved surface, which makes it more difficult. Also leave gaps in between the glass pieces for the grout to fill in.
Remember be gentle with that egg!
Step 5: Time for Grout
Once you have finish gluing on the pieces it is time to add grout. Make sure the glue is cured, 24 hours is good, but double check with the instructions on your glue bottle.
Also before you start with the grout, look over your egg to make sure each piece is glued down well, because you definitely don't want some glass pieces to fall off while your applying grout.
Follow the instructions given on the packaging for making up the grout (use a mask if you are worried about the dust). You can add dyes or food colouring to change the colour of the grout. (If you do add colour, make sure you make up a large enough batch to cover the whole egg, because it may be hard to colour match if you have to mix up some more.)
Apply the grout with a putty knife (or if you used the same stuff as me, that comes in a tube -just squeeze some on). Work it in with your fingers; gently and thoroughly over the whole egg, making sure it gets into all those cracks and crevices (use gloves if you have added colour to your grout or if you just don't like getting that stuff on your hands, and also to protect your fingers from any sharp glass edges.)
Once the whole egg is covered, wipe off excess grout with a slightly damp sponge. Make sure the grout isn't covering over any of your glass pieces, it should only be between the pieces.
Also before you start with the grout, look over your egg to make sure each piece is glued down well, because you definitely don't want some glass pieces to fall off while your applying grout.
Follow the instructions given on the packaging for making up the grout (use a mask if you are worried about the dust). You can add dyes or food colouring to change the colour of the grout. (If you do add colour, make sure you make up a large enough batch to cover the whole egg, because it may be hard to colour match if you have to mix up some more.)
Apply the grout with a putty knife (or if you used the same stuff as me, that comes in a tube -just squeeze some on). Work it in with your fingers; gently and thoroughly over the whole egg, making sure it gets into all those cracks and crevices (use gloves if you have added colour to your grout or if you just don't like getting that stuff on your hands, and also to protect your fingers from any sharp glass edges.)
Once the whole egg is covered, wipe off excess grout with a slightly damp sponge. Make sure the grout isn't covering over any of your glass pieces, it should only be between the pieces.
Step 6: Polish It Up
When the grout begins to harden I start scraping off any residual grout that may be covering the glass using a sharp knife or razor blade(I can never seem clean it all off with the sponge).
Once the grout is fully dried (I usually wait until the next day) polish the glass with a cloth, dampen it if you have to, getting rid of all the dust and excess grout residue (grout often leaves a film on tile surfaces which can be wiped off with a cloth).
Once the grout is fully dried (I usually wait until the next day) polish the glass with a cloth, dampen it if you have to, getting rid of all the dust and excess grout residue (grout often leaves a film on tile surfaces which can be wiped off with a cloth).
Step 7: Light
For the light source I just used a cheap LED candle (non-flickering). I didn't like the orange colour the light gave off so I replaced it with a white LED. I like using the candle because it has a nice on/off switch.
(I apologize, I am a complete noob when it comes to working with LEDs, I'm sure a lot of instructable members can rig up an LED, battery, and switch that is far better that this.)
(I apologize, I am a complete noob when it comes to working with LEDs, I'm sure a lot of instructable members can rig up an LED, battery, and switch that is far better that this.)
Step 8: The Egg Stand
I needed a stand that would cover the light unit, so I just used a gold coloured cardboard jewelry box. I cut out a circle in the top so that the egg can nestle in and the light can come up into the egg from underneath and the light base can remain hidden. I used another cardboard piece to enclose the bottom and cut a small opening in it so that the on/off switch can be reached. I glued the egg to the top of the stand and the light to the inside bottom of the stand to hold everything in place.
That's it, it is all finished.
That's it, it is all finished.