About a year after I took my job at the hospital I became interested in button art. You know, the art pieces made by gluing buttons in a pattern like a mosaic, a 3D mosaic. I thought I could paint some backgrounds and do button art on them for some fun. I began noticing the safety caps that I flipped off every single vial of intravenous drug I mixed at work. They came in at least three different sizes and all sorts of colors. The longer I looked at them the more enamored I got. And the more I hated throwing them away. We have no way to reuse them as they are intended to be used once and destroyed. They are not made to resterilize and reattach.
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I started saving the caps I personally popped off in my pocket. Once I had several I went to my boss and asked if he cared if I took them home. He said he didn't care at all and I could have all I wanted. My coworkers were super encouraging and soon my work momma had placed a large ziploc bag in the buffer room for all techs and pharmacists that wanted to to put their caps as well.
My desk sometimes
I began to take them home to organize and store them. They accumulate quickly from a very busy city hospital. I realized I had to figure out something to do with them or everyone's efforts to save them for me would be wasted. I got an old canvas from the few my husband had started and not completed and went to work. I painted over what he had done, he wasn't going to go back to it, I always ask first. Then I brainstormed. This was the first piece I completed:
It was a piece I made for our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I decided since the caps I was using came from work I should try to give something back. It is not the best piece I have ever done and there are many things wrong with it, but it still makes me smile. I chose the acorn because just outside our NICU department there is a large glass mural with a mighty oak tree and many small acorns. It has a phrase lettered on it, "From a tiny acorn, a mighty oak tree grows."
Y'all... Some of our NICU babies are less than 1,000 grams. They are so teeny tiny. I cannot even begin to explain it. Some will fit in your hand with room to spare. It is truly amazing that these tiny humans are living, breathing, and growing and fighting.
I am in awe every time I see them and then watch them grow and get better and stronger and bigger. When a NICU baby gets to go home it is cause for great celebration for us all.
And yes, we make many medications for these tiny fighters. It seemed fitting my first piece would be for the NICU. I took it to the department and the nurses were tickled to receive it. They said it was adorable and hung it in one of their rooms. It is still there, as far as I know. They said it really brightened it up. I was just happy they were happy.
How did I do it? Acrylic paint, backstapled canvas, caps, and hot glue. And a lot of cussing and burns. I am not exactly well coordinated and sometimes I would touch hot glue that, well, was still hot. I still do. Oops. The happiness of the NICU staff gave me the confidence to try more. This is the next piece I did:
A colleague asked me how I know how to do these. I said, "Well, I just keep gluing until it looks like what I want it to look like. And if I go too far, I pull them off." The advantages of using hot glue are that it dries and hardens fast so I can continue working and it will pull of with some pressure should I decide it doesn't look right. There are other adhesives I could use that take longer to set and do not remove as easily, but I have found I lack the patience required for those.
I also made some of those cutesy little badge reel pieces on blank badge reels. Mainly for my department and a few others, just for fun. This was my favorite I did. Minions just make me happy. Banana!
And so a hobby was born. I began to make more and more mosaics. A few of my favorites are below:
Oh deer!
Reminded me of the Renaissance Faire we have every year here in May.
Gotta love our Preds here in Nashville!
Another piece to give back. This hangs in my department
I think I most impressed myself with this piece. A steer skull with turquoise and red detail to coordinate with a friend's photo wall of pictures from the American West.
So, all that to say, don't be scared to try something different. Making mosaics with these colored caps has brought my brain so much calmness and peace. I don't know if it is because of the love I have for organizing chaos, the colors that make me so happy, or the knowledge I am taking something that was bound for the dumpster and making something pretty out of it. No matter, I enjoy it and that is what matters. What is it that you enjoy? Is it something different from most? Tell me about it! Might give me some new ideas!
I will link my supplies I use when making these pieces down below if you want to try some for yourself. They are affiliate links.
Be well, y'all.
Glue sticks I use (yes I order by the 5 pound box at a time): https://amzn.to/3zDekET
Liquitex Basics acrylic paints is what I use. I have tried others but I like their texture and thickness and size for the price: https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-100330607-12117697?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dickblick.com%2Fproducts%2Fliquitex-basics-acrylic-colors%2F
My handy dandy glue gun. I love that it has an on/off switch in addition to the power plug. And the precision tip is super helpful for getting in between small caps. I find the hi temp works much better for my medium: https://amzn.to/3xjfaEs
If we do not have any canvases I can reuse I usually buy the economy packs from my local craft store. They also have online ordering for shipping or pick up: https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-100330607-14079089