What?? Why do you call this ruined?? I think it looks
really good! You are too hard on yourself....knock it off!

I like it. I think the darker color makes the blue and red really pop without loosing the lighter colors! But - I to know what it feels like to work so hard on something and have it turn out differently than you imagined. I am sure we have all done it, youll learn to love it or sell it to someone who loves it!

I don't see a thing wrong. I like the terracotta color. It still highlights all the colors, and it does match the top and interior.

Are you on a "silly" drug or something? That pot is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I used Mapei's terra cotta on my birdbath "Esmeralda", and still don't like it but hate to repair something. Always meant to paint it darker but never have. You CAN paint grout, doncha know, but as the others have said, it's perfect the way it is - shows everything up well. Like CINDI said - KNOCK IT OFF.

Ooooh, thank you. But....(sigh)... I am hard on myself, because I know what my work can/should look like. Sometimes, I just get too impatient and hope for the best...and then I am really, really disappointed and mad at myself because I was too impatient to take the time and "think" about the grout color.

I think bone would have really looked good...(sigh)...

Your first paragraph is the story of my mosaic life as well as the quilting, painting, sewing my own clothes, decorating, on and on and on. I LOVE your pot the way it is now. I saw one of those strawberry pots in a huge garden center yesterday in Monroe and fought w/myself to keep from buying one - The little bitty eensy weensy sensible side of me won - cuz I got too many projects stuffed in the garage already.

Doone, I can understand why you may be disappointed in your grout color and think bone would have been a better choice. I think you feel that way because in the first pic the bottom of your pot is lighter colored and I think you wanted that to blend in more and have the red pattern pop out more, right? Although it may not have come out as you first envisioned it, it still looks great! We are always more critical about our own creations than other people are. There are so many things I've made and hated but after living with it awhile it can start to "grow" on me...and having other people rave about it helps too! LOL

Barb

I could paint it, but usually it just seems to make the project look tacky. And, if it goes outside, the paint will eventually peel/crack off.

I just should have started with bone or white and added terra cotta paint to that...and I would have ended up with the same color of grout as the pot. That would have made me happy (maybe - lol!). I was just so afraid that the bone colored grout would have been too light for the lavender stained glass.

Anyway, here is another project that went all wrong....I was trying to avoid the washed-out look...

Well, thanks for letting me whine.....(anyone got cheese and crackers?)

You're a mess! There is absolutely nothing wrong with EITHER of those! Lighten up on yourself! Put a huge price tag on them, take them to a local gallery, and laugh all the way to the bank! You've done a terrific job on them both, and are making me eyeball the strawberry jar out on my porch (does anyone know when portaluca comes out, if it isn't dead?? That's what went into the winter in that pot, and I don't know whether to wait, or plan to replant...) Anyway, DOONE, I REALLY like your pots :)

I agree with you all, I love that pot Just the way it is. Makes me want to mosaic mine, its been sitting in the barn for years.

I also think the birdbath is perfect too.. You are too hard on yourself. That hibiscus flower looks like you could pick it right off the pot. I also like the idea of adding the bottom pot, with the strawberry and then a saucer. Cool idea.

Did you have to glue them together to keep them rearranging themselves??.

ROFLMHO!!!!! Y'know... I hate my duck. I love Lucy Goose but I think the duck came out AWFUL!!! ROFL!!! They're practically the same thing! I even used the same colored tiles and broken plate so they'd match up. But I think the duck didn't come out as good as Lucy. Why? I don't know. It's just perception. When I put Deryn with Lucy they looked perfectly suited to each other. My dissatisfaction made no sense. But there ya go.
Both your projects are BEAUTIFUL!!! I don't understand what you mean by 'washed out look' in the second pic you posted. I love it. You can send it to me if your really that unhappy with it! wink wink
Oh yes, we are often our own worst critics!! You've done beautiful work so stop being so hard on yourself.

I wish I could do a mosaic project half as good as that. It's just gorgeous.

Ronnie- The rose moss or portulaca? reseeds itself, otherwise it is an annual. You may have to replace it this year if it didn't reseed. Next autumn collect the seeds and open them and reseed for it. Or buy new seeds.
Doone- The pot is beautiful the way it is. Makes me want to do some of mine, but most of them are full already and I don't want to empty them to seal inside. You have done a beautiful job and if you don't like it, you are as the rest say "Too hard on yourself" Lighten up, the grout will as the summer progresses. Slow is right, Maipai makes a terra cotta grout. I don't like it so I mix mine with acrylic to get the color I want.
I think they are awesome, they can come live at my house any time.

You must have a fever....I think it is really pretty..........beautiful work.............however, I understand totally when you are disappointed in "your eye only." We are our own worst critic. But really, it's great!

It will dry lighter too remember, I too am my own worst critic! They look great as they are! I have outdoor craft paint that is terra cotta, why not paimt the rim if you don't like it? I bought my paint a Micheles. I don't like my snail, that I grouted and didn't like, then painted and made it worse!!! But it's growing on me now....