Wren & Chickadee

With Christmas around the corner I am madly trying to make ornaments, trying to see what works and what doesn't.  While I want to get back to doing the little quarter size ornaments, I wanted to see what a couple of the 2 inch square ornaments would look like with open spaces (not completely tiled) and without grout. The cardinal and even the dove look a little dark on the tree. 

I also wanted to practice on simple border patterns. There's not much room for a proper mosaic border (Roman style, in my mind) on something this small, but I could manage a little something.

(This was a picture from when the glue was still drying.) If the pieces weren't all hand cut, it might be easier to fit them in. Even still, I am pleased with this frame. 

As you can see, I had sketched out the wren and then started choosing or cutting glass to fit.

 I also had made a blue frame with a perhaps odd pattern going around. 

Because this frame was so colorful, I thought I would contrast it with a black and white chickadee. 

I sketched out the chickadee in an upside down perch, which I thought looked fun, and began to cut glass.

I think the end result is fun. He may be my best bird yet. It's a shame you cannot see that his eye is actually made from purple glass. It is surrounded by the black and doesn't show.