Lonely Heart Shrine

It's deceptively simple, this little shrine.
But if you take a closer look, there are hundreds of individual polymer clay tiles in the background.
Kind of a metaphor for how simple a person can appear and how complex a human being really is.
Well, most of us, anyway.
And most of us want the same thing...just a little love.
So here, on this Thursday morning, is some love. Take it.
It's free. There's enough for everyone.

There was no pattern I followed to make the tiles. I used black polymer clay and cut lots of sticks. I painted each stick of clay with lots of different iridescent acrylic paints, cut those sticks into various sized squares and baked them off in a toaster oven. Polymer clay manufacturers use different temperatures, so make sure you follow the directions on the package. (I used Primo! by Sculpey)

I chose the Open Front 4.5 x 5.5 Shadowbox as the frame for my shrine and primered the inside back with gesso to give some good tooth for the glue to stick to.
I lined the sides of the inside of the shadowbox and the entire outside (including the back) with Double Dot Vintage Blueberry Scrapbook Paper, but you can use whatever works with the colors you choose to paint your tiles. Here's a LINK to some other gorgeous colors available in this paper collection.

While the papers were drying, I painted the Flaming Heart Shrine that is the big centerpiece, with more iridescent paints and set it aside. After the papers dried on the shadowbox, I stated gluing in the tiny tiles. There really wasn't an order in which I did this. My placement decisions were based on colors and how things fit together. On occasion, I would cut a piece to fit a difficult spot.

After all the pieces were in place and the glue was dry, I 'grouted' the tiles by squeezing Liquid Pearls - Gold Pearl into the gaps between the tiles, like you would with real floor tiles. I used my finger to smooth it in and then frequently wiped the surface of the tiles with a slightly damp paper towel to remove excess gold from the surface of the tiles.

After the grout was dry, I sealed the tiles with a mixture of matte medium and glazing medium. I wanted a satin finish and a mixture of the two gave me the look that I wanted.

When things were dry, I painted white details on the tiles and around the flaming heart. I attached a Large Red/Gold Glass Heart Bead to an old dolls hand and glued it into the flaming heart and glued the piece into the shadowbox, making sure it was centered.

Here's a detail shot showing the gold grout. Notice I didn't use it in all the tiny gaps....I missed a few spots but I kind of liked how it looked so I decided to leave them.

I glued some pretty gold ribbon on the sides of the box for hanging and attached a finding on the bottom of the ribbon ends to finish it off.
For a page of supply links, click HERE.

Supplies list:
Relics and Artifacts Casts-Flaming Heart w/ Support
Large Red/Gold Glass Heart Bead
Liquid Pearls-Gold Pearl
Open front 4.5 x 5.5 Shadowbox
Double Dot Vintage Scrapbook Paper
Gold Metallic Mini Braid
One Inch Wrought Iron Bronze Connector Filigree

Additional Supplies

Doll Hand
Various Iridescent Acrylic Paints
Matte Medium
Glaze Medium

Thank you for stopping by!