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My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Debbie Klann!!!

Debbie Klann (debbieklann, #770) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Bee Good to Your Mother Earth Merit Badge!

“I am not known for having a green thumb; it’s more like a brown thumb! I also don’t have a lot of garden space anymore, but I decided last summer to start small and tuck in a few plants here and there where I could. I decided on zucchini and heirloom tomatoes.

Surprisingly, we had zucchini and tomatoes, and how delicious! I also found 3 organic sprays that I can mix to control aphids and mites, which I will use this year. I didn’t use any pest control last year, but I will have some ready in case this summer is different. I’m planning on using it on all of my roses. I also read the book, Montrose and enjoyed it. I don’t think I could ever garden on a scale such as that!”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,328 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,226 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane 

For this week’s Stitching and Crafting/Mosaics Beginner Level Merit Badge, I turned my frown upside down. I was handed lemons, so I made lemonade. I made the best of a bad situation. I didn’t cry over spilt milk.

In case you’re wondering where I’m going with this (down a bunny trail, don’tchaknow), I had broken to smithereens one of my favorite platters. But, did I despair? Did I sniffle? Did I wail and bemoan life’s cruel twist of fate?

Well, maybe for a minute. But then I snapped out of it, had some soul-nurturing ice-box cake, and remembered a fun fact:

There’s a badge for that.

Mosaics.

That’s right, come to mama, little shards of pottery that only a moment ago resembled my hopes and dreams.

Carefully, oh so carefully, I swept up the pile of brightly colored pieces and brought them to my kitchen table. This was after I removed the roast chicken from the floor, where it had skidded, rolled, somersaulted, and come to a stop amidst the glass. Sigh. I told you there had been tears.

Anyway, the chicken disposed of (and my tummy growling in alarm a bit), I washed the best of the best shards, and threw away the rest. My goal? To make a mosaics trivet and earn a Merit Badge, to boot.

To make your own mosaics trivet, coasters, or wall art, be like me and throw your roast chicken on the floor. Then, follow these steps:

• Make sure your surface for your project is very flat and clean. If you’re making a trivet or a piece of wall art, just double check that your board isn’t warped or bumpy. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
• Wear work gloves and safety glasses. These are to protect yourself from flying bits of glass, and also because they will make you feel like a surgeon or perhaps a mad scientist. And who doesn’t want that?
• Arrange your mosaics pieces next to your surface first, so you can play with the design before you begin to glue.
• Have a snack break.
• As you lay your pieces, you can create any sort of design or picture you like. For mine, since this was my first, I just went with pretty, swirling patterns of color. But be creative! You can spell things, or create an animal, or a whole still-life out of your pieces. Do a bust of Elvis. Whatever floats your artsy boat.
• Once you’re happy with your design, coat each piece (one at a time) with a good adhesive. There are plenty at the craft stores or the hardware store. Anything strong will do.
• After gluing and one more snack break, use a grout sealant between the pieces, if desired.
• Clean your masterpiece with a wet sponge or rag.
• Step back and admire your work! It’s a thing of beauty! A joy for the senses! And if you made a trivet, like Yours Truly, it’s also the perfect place to set down a hot, roast chicken.

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