getting started gluing the borders
for the border, i am using deep burgandy mirror short strips for the outside 1/4". then, i am using a row of deep burgandy triangles with red/champagne triangles. next, alternating bronze mirror and bronze van gogh long strips are followed with silver frost mirror long strips cut from 1/2" tiles. now, red/champagne triangles are followed with deep burgandy mirror long strips cut from 1/2" tiles.
i like to get some border in place before i finalize my layout. to facilitate as even a spacing as possible, i begin by marking the length and width of the base with some points that i can use to gauge the number of pieces as i go, so that i don't end up at the other end of the line having to fit in the pieces. if that does not make sense, just keep reading. i like to mark a halfway point, and then again in half if necessary. so, i end up with quarterly distances... like from the edge to the first marking is 1/4 of the way down the length... the same with the width. then, i start gluing just to that first marking... then, i use however many pieces that was needed for that first quarter as a guide for the other 3 quarters. for example, if it took 12 triangles to get to the first marking, i will need 48 triangles for the entire length/width.
from the first photo, you can see that i have applied the border from the top left-hand corner to my first marking, which is a quarter of the way across the top width of the frame. you can also see the i have measured and marked for each row to be glued. this is absolutly necessary if you want to keep things in line, and especially if you are going for a precise look. the pieces will vary slightly in size and shape, and the cumulative effect of many pieces will be enough to mess you up.
in the second photo, i am working my way down from the top left-hand corner to the bottom left-hand corner... the base is shown horizonally. this photo shows how i have marked the area for the mirror in the center, and how i have made my row markings all the way down the side, and across the bottom as well.
about the glue... i use clear silicone II in a caulk gun. i find the caulk gun to be easier to manage than smaller tubes that you have to squeeze... once you get the hang of it, it is easy to handle with just one hand. as for the choice of silicone, i like the consistency and the set time... it is stiff enough so that the pieces do not swim around, and it sets slowly enough to allow me plenty of time for adjusting pieces. i get such a precise look because i adjust, adjust, adjust... inspecting from all directions, and constantly adjusting.
cleanup... i clean up the excess glue after each row/area. the pieces are very close to each other, and i like for them to sit flat, so i keep things very clean. besides, it is much easier to clean up sooner rather than later, before the glue is completly set.
starting on the layout
in this photo, you can see that, in addtion to completing a corner section of the outside border, i have also glued down enough of the interior border (the border that outlines the center mirror) to start finalizing the layout. it looks like my preliminary layout accurately estimated that 2 of the squares of diamonds would fit within the 6" width of the mosaic frame area. what needs to be worked out next is how to fit this repeating pattern of squares of diamonds into the length and width.
the repeating pattern is made up of squares of diamonds, which are bronze mirror and red/champagne 1/2" tiles cut into quaters. the squares of diamonds are defined by deep burgandy long strips, cut from 1/2" tiles, and alternating short strips of bronze mirror and bronze van gogh. i will use a bit of silver frost mirror as well, but have not completely decided where.
by just laying out the part of the design that will repeat, i can measure it, and see how it will work into the length and width. it looks like it will work, although i will have to work in an extra 1/2" into the length to make it fit. this means that i have an extra 1/2" in the length than i have in the repeating pattern. this should not be a problem, as 1/2" can be finessed when working with several repeats. i will probably just be more generous with the area that the bronze mirror/van gogh short strips fit into... i really need to keep the squares square, so i can't really finesse them very much. for the width, it looks like it will work out a bit better.
now, i will go ahead and finish the borders, all the way around. by the way, by using this method of marking halfway and/or quarter points, and then counting how many pieces, you can pretty accurately estimate how many pieces of each shape you will need for any section/area. so, if you want, you can... after getting the first quarter done, calculate how many of each kind of piece you need for the borders... then you can just cut up the number of tiles that will give you that many shapes... plus some for waste as not all of your pieces will be as perfect as you would like... and then glue the rest of the border. the same philosophy can be applied to the interior layout... in my case, my repeating pattern. this is generally how i like to work.
