Jeweled Mosaic Faberge Style Egg, My Version-

Hello- and thank you for visiting my instructable on how to mosaic a Faberge style egg.

As you can see from my group photos, I recently made several Faberge style eggs as a mosaic challenge project using vintage broken rhinestone jewelry, antique and vintage buttons, vintage china, stained glass, fresh water pearls, vintage glass cabochons and beads on ceramic eggs.

With this entry I'll focus on my pink egg from the set and show how the focal jewelry pieces help to determined the color and flow of the piece. I never really have a set idea in mind; I simply start with the jewelry and move forward to the china or glass that catches my eye. As you can see in the steps to follow I have a huge collection of jewelry and china to choose from.

This pink egg is a favorite and is in my personal collection.

Please see notes in pictures.

Step 1: Choosing and Placing Your Jewels-

I started with a vintage orphaned rhinestone earring, placed in the center of the front of the egg. This process takes a full day for the adhesive to set, so I do several pieces at a time.

As a general rule in my mosaic work, I don't worry too much if a rhinestone is missing from a jewelry piece, the grout will fill any holes, but, on this piece the jewelry is pristine!

Step 2: Placement Is Everything-

Once that earring was set in place, I added another orphaned antique milk glass and rhinestone earring to the center on the opposite side. I also added some vintage china with petite pink roses and a gold trim, half a side at a time. The whole center belt process took 2 full days to apply and set.

Please see notes in pictures for more discussion.

Step 3: Making Things Smooth on Top and Then Fill-

I placed a square rhinestone section from a vintage bracelet at the top of the egg for a little drama and added sparkle. I then added some vintage pale pink china to compliment the petite pink roses. I finished off with some hot pink china that I saved from a broken Victorian hand painted bowl.

An additional 2 days of curing- I let this set for 2 full days to make sure the adhesive is completely dry.

Once cured, we are ready for grouting.

Please see notes in pictures for more discussion.

Step 4: Grouting-

The grouting process is quite messy and difficult to photograph when wearing protective gloves and I don't generally take pictures of this process, but I grabbed my son to take a few shots over my shoulder to demonstrate.

I use regular sanded grout found at most building supply stores, and mix according to package instructions. Even though it is not recommended for tight spaces like those in my mosaics, I've never had it fail on me once in 9 years as a mosaic artist.

I simply prefer the sand texture over unsanded grout, which can look quite drab, in my view.

It's actually fairly simple; I gently push the grout in the spaces, by hand, and then clean it off with an almost dry sponge to remove. Too much water in the sponge in the removal process will add water to the grout and it can crack while curing, so WRING OUT THAT SPONGE!

I let the piece cure for about a week, lightly spraying once a day with clean water, to help cure the stone.

Step 5: Some Polishing and Sealing and We Are Done-

After the grout has cured, I rub the piece with a soft damp cloth to wipe away any stray sand and polish the tiles. I then seal the grout with a penetrating water sealer. It seals the grout against moisture, helping to keep it clean and free from stains. Make sure to wipe the sealant OFF the tiles, it can cause pooling rings.

And so, here we are, all sparkly and quit pretty too, I must say.

Measures approx. 3.25 x 2.25 inches.

Thanks so much for viewing my little project. I appreciate your time.

Faro