Well look at you! Well done! Nice score on the broken dishes. They didn't get a little help from you breaking, did they? LOL

Lol Crystal!
ScorpGirl! Good Job on those!! I just use my rubber gloved hands for small jobs! You have Major talent, looking forward to your next projects!!

Thanks for the compliments you two! Crystal, you are TOO funny!! I was waiting around all last summer for someone to drop those plates! It wasn't me! Any recommdations on sealing? I know they will get dirty when I put them in/on the ground, but I'd like to keep the grout as clean as possible. Thanks again!
Jo

Love your stepping stones.

I seal my outside things with TileLab. It's a little expensive but it says it lasts for 20 years. But that's in bathrooms, LOL! Haven't been mosaicing long enough to know exactly how long it lasts outside. The directions say to test a piece & if it soaks in the grout you need to reseal.

As for the grouting with the smooth finish - whatever you did, you did really well. I couldn't get it that smooth. I usually have some type of background filler so there is not too many empty spaces.

Very good work.Love the Fiesta dishes!

Oh, those are so pretty! GREAT job! I don't know anything about how to protect outside stuff (yet). I just use my gloved hands for smoothing and am learning to put more
filler tile down so I have less grout to have to
mess with!

That turned out great. Awesome job.

I use outdoor grout sealer that I buy at a tile store. I am not sure if you can buy it at a box store but I go to the pros as they have it all and some great advice too!!!

Very nice!! If that is your first attempt, you are going to be a major artist!! Now I am almost ashamed to show you all some of my first attempts. But let me get camera working and I will. This is such a nice group I am sure you won't all mind

Such a shame all those pretty dishes LOL. We eat everyday on Fiesta, and i have vintage also. I think when mine get too scratched up i will have to break them.

You did a really great job. They look beautiful!

Here is how I handle stepping stones with a lot of blank space....I actually make my own stepping stones so that the mosaic design is imbedded in the concrete. I lay the pieces out on a piece of contact paper that is the same size as the stepping stone mold I am using. I gently pour the concrete on top of the design and let it set up. When that is done, the contact paper will peal right off. I brush any excess concrete off the mosaic pieces, wipe off with a damp sponge and then I'm done. If you go this route, you can't seal them for 30 days. You can also pour your stepping stone in the mold and then press in each individual piece, but I found this works better for me.

When I use pre-made stepping stones, I just fill in the bare spaces with one color, so it becomes the background.

These are really cute! However I'd like to point out (gently) that you might have problems with this cracking. Usually, mosaicking is about the tesserae, not the grout. You attempted to use the indirect method for your stepping stone, which is meant to be done in a mold (with poured cement). I would suggest (gently) that you might want to fill in your dragon fly stepping stone with more tesserae (only leaving about and 1/8 of an inch between pieces).

I HOPE I don't appear to be a know-it-all, but this is what I teach in my classes.

Thanks again to all! Doone, my husband also said the same thing about the cracking. I will add more tiles to the dragonfly, as per your suggestion. If the butterfly does start cracking, is there anything I can do to slow the cracking or repair a crack?
I guess this will be a learning process, but I'm looking forward to future projects.
Everyone here is so nice! I enjoy seeing all the beautiful artwork that others have done.
Jo

Nice job, S...girl!!! I particularly like your dragonfly... great colors! I'm reading what folks wrote to you, too... hoping to make some stepping stones this summer. So glad that you've joined the forum! We're all learning from each other! :)

WELCOME. DOONE's advice - take it. I agree - it's all about filling every space w/beautiful colors, and the grout is just the finishing touch - not part of the mosaic. You have a real eye for color, and you've done an outstanding job of placing the tesserae, so just think how much more fun you can have by putting down more for the background. I love both projects, and can't wait to see them finished w/your additions of more, more, more.

Well, if it hasn't cracked (during the drying process) it might not. I don't know. Just don't leave it out in cold weather or the winter. Did you use sanded grout?

Just consider this as a learning experience! :0)