Pinspiration

You know, you just never know when or where inspiration will hit you. I was exploring Pinterest one day a couple months ago and saw this tile wall with mugs and cups integrated into it. I thought it was so cool, I immediately wanted one for myself. Not like this one (which I could not trace to it's owner) but a more colorful and whimsical version. I immediately contacted my friend Jennifer Kuhns. Jennifer is an amazingly talented mosaic artist and I've always wanted one of her creations. She was all for it. 

Jennifer came over and talked about where to put it . We eventually decided two panels would fit perfectly inside the pass-through between my kitchen and family room. I was SO excited. 

As seen from the family room.

Next came the cup hunt. I had a few treasures I'd saved for years, favorite mugs and cups with history and meaning, but not enough for two panels. I spent the next several weekends searching every antique and second hand store in town for treasures. It was unbelievably fun. Finally, by the end of the month I had a collection I loved. I knew they could be lost when Jennifer tried to cut them in half, but resigned myself to accept any losses. 

 As seen from the kitchen

I was amazed how few casualties there were. Jennifer only lost one when cutting them in half, but of course it was one of my favorites, an antique japanese teacup. It was very old and very fragile and I knew it was a risk when I chose it, but as prepared as i thought I was, losing it did break my heart just a little. 

Jennifer worked on the mosaics in her studio so i didn't see them until they were delivered and installed yesterday. I LOVE them!

I hope you'll enjoy this little tour.

Close Ups:

And here's my birthday present from Jennifer.

 She surprised me with a  pendant made from the broken japanese cup!