If your mosaic fits perfectly into a pre-made frame, lucky you!  If you make your own frames, more lucky you. In many cases, though, the mosaic either doesn't fit into a conventional frame (like thick MDF) or you've forgotten to add hanging hardware to the back of the original mosaic.

​Here, thanks to photos from a student, is a quick illustration of how to use mirror clips. CLICK on the image or hold your mouse over it to see the comments.

There are many ways to frame a mosaic. I usually recommend you consider how you are going to frame it BEFORE you create the mosaic, but hey, it doesn't always happen that way, does it?

I recently took a class on using crash glass (tempered glass) because I wanted to teach a new class AND I wanted to use up the tons of clear art glass scraps I have.

​HOLD YOUR MOUSE over each image to read the caption.

Notice that I still had not committed to a DESIGN, just to 'possibilities' and a color palette.

I made a few last minute design changes after this but I did NOT get all OCD about it!

Notice that this is not real busy or complicated...just balanced and fun to look at.

Overall, it really is a collage with a clear glass mosaic over it.

Lastly, I painted the tray edges to match. Pretty cool, eh?

I recently created three virtual mini-lessons on mosaics in the "Creative Aging" category for the Arizona Commission on the Arts. I designed these lessons to not require any tools (other than things you might around the house) and to cost very little in materials.

They make the most sense if you watch them in order.

1. Spring Chicken Mosaics - A Stress-Free Introduction. Click here for the HANDOUT.
2. Spring Chicken Mosaics - An Easy 2-D Project. Click here for the HANDOUT.
3. Spring Chicken Mosaics - A Personal 3-D Project.  Click here for the HANDOUT.

My goal is to convince you that we are as young as we think, we are all creative, and we can create art without special tools or much money. SHARE these videos with someone who'd enjoy them!