I actually like the grout color! It probably will not be as bright after it completely dries. I think you did good! And thanks for sharing because now I know to not get carried away with the thinset when I try it!
Oh, and I know how big a project it was. Lots of hard work and I think it paid off for you!

Thanks Cindiloo. Tomorrow things may look different too me.

And YES, don't lather on the thinset, unless you want to spend the day sponging it off again. LOL

And I saw an immediate difference in the way the thinset looked from the new box, even though the other bag was less than 6 months old. Though no telling how long it had been on the store shelf, and I didn't cover it up very well.

On the new box, I wrapped in two plastic bags and might redo to make sure no air gets in. WOuld be great to have a really big container that seals well..

Does anyone else have good ideas on storing opened bags of thinset/grout etc???

ouch hurts to type with all hose dang cuts, specially my middle finger

Well, would you quit that complaining about that beautiful BB??? It looks WONDERFUL. I LOVE it and how you finished the top edge is just PERFECT. Bless your heart - your wounds w/heal only w/LOTS more mosaicing - put on gloves and get busy.

Looks wonderful to me! The grout color is lovely! On storage of grout, thinset, etc. I use cat litter buckets with the snap on lid. We get really humid here in the summer, so that seems to help. Just leave it in the orig bag, wrap that in a plastic bag and insert into the bucket. If you don't use that type litter (or don't have a cat) you can usually get them on freecycle in your area. That's where I get them since our felines are too finicky to use scoopable litter.

HTH,
Pat

ouch ouch ouch. and Slow, i did wear gloves but latex... should have used my playtex ones.. lesson to be learned.

don't mean to be complaining but you can't see from these pix but the rose thinset has gone over the edges and bled onto the sides. It just doesn't look right. Maybe I can scrub that off it is just a light coating but it BOTHERS me...

And the other thing I am unsure about it the center. I can't decide if i should glue back the leaves on the flower or add something else.

the flowers are cut from stained glass so it is much thiner than the ceramic pool tile

I feel a treasure hunting trip coming on.. maybe take off those different colored marbles and find some ones that match the tile???

i'd prefer to shop on the web but am too impatient to wait for the shipping. LOL I want the stuff NOW..

thanks Pat for the cat litter idea. We have dogs, not cats but we use rubbermade containers to seal their food. that might work too but will check out freecycle

You will drive yourself crazy with "I should haves" and making changes and all. I would just move on to the next thing. After a few weeks, you will look at this again and see how beautiful it really is!
Go treasure hunting for the next beautiful thing to create!

True, I'm working on a clock right now, but still haven't given up on the bb.

Don't give up on it, I have a few of "Those" and I ignore it for a while and the answer comes to me! We all go thru this!...I think...

Thanks Calamity. I felt an urge to drive and get some glass gems. Unfortunately that meant going to Walmart since I didn't want to drive into town.

They had the glass gems(marbles) on sale for $1.88 so i bought four different colors and then surrounded the center of the birdbath in several of the mini gem colors. I will take pix tomorrow, got too dark before I reached for the camera.

Also glued the leaves and missing tile back on with thinset. Then tomorrow I will seal the grout yahoo... and then wonder if i should add cleaer acrylic to the whole bb???

Now I am figuring out how to add tile to my stepping stone. SOme of the ceramic tiles got dislodged from the kraft paper, so I thought i would add the tiles to the top of the stone, and make a heart shape surrounding my baby's name, and then a jagged crack, like a broken heart to separate reverse from direct (if that makes any sense).. but that is as far as i got, not sure it i would then grout or just leave it as it is with???????? I will post pix tomorrow of my idea...

I think this is GREAT!!

Question... is the thinset also the grout? Because then I don't understand what you meant by not putting the thinset on thick if your gonna smush in the tiles then wipe away excess... kinda what ya do with grout only the grout goes on over and the thinset comes from undereath. Comprende?? haha I'm just thinking that both need to be wiped away so what would the difference between grout and thinset... unless the thingset dries much quicker. I don't know... have yet to work with thinset.

I also like the color. Very cool.

Anxious to see your finished projects, girlie. You're doing great. CAIT: I addressed the thinset question on your bench thread. It's MHO, though.

Thanks SLOW!!! Buttering is the way to go!!

Ok, I tweaked it a bit more added thinset, glass gems, sealed with tile lab sealer. now have to decide if i should add acrylic sealer....

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Very pretty. You should be very proud of this beautiful BB. If the Tile Lab isn't quite shiny enough, give it another coat. It soaks up the first coat. The leaves and half marbles set the center off. Good mosaicing, girlie.

Thanks Slow, you are the greatest!!!

This is a VERY ADDICTING hobby!!!!

Mermaid, Oh, my gosh! Can you see the difference yourself between the first set of pictures and the later ones? I hope you didn't get so "down" on the piece that you can't see it through new eyes. It's beautiful! Great job on the fixes, as you enhanced it a little, but mostly, it was always beautiful. Sore fingers mean you've been creative. And that's a good thing!

Daisy, thank you. I am still seeing all these flaws like some thinset coming off in center etc.. i pick things apart so much and then sometimes i go overboard and really mess it up.

I am much happier with the changes to the center and can see the difference but my brain is cranking thinking of what else I can do... LOL

Oh well there are plenty more items to test my mermaid fins with...

I guess many of us are too self critical??

Are you kidding. I just finished lunch on my patio and was re-working my patio sconce to DEATH. I even look at my paintings I did years ago, and think "why didn't I do .......? I seldom go back to "fix" something - too anxious to get on w/the next project.

LOL

So... want to do my birdbath? :)I didn't even know you could make grout that neat a color! PJ

Mermaid, I just love the colors you chose! Absolutely beautiful!!!
Jeanette from Mississippi

Thanks all, you make me smile.. I just added a few more coats of tile lab sealer and then did something stupid. I thought well more is better so i started to spray a coat of acrylic on and the tile started beading up. Could you hear me screaming this morning?. Anyway, I had only done a small person and quickly wiped it up. I'm headed back out to see if I have destroyed my bb. I think i caught it in time. Maybe it was because it hadn't dried, tile lab sealer says allow 2 hours or maybe its because i really didn't need that extra coat??? Either way, I'm stopping. Enough!!!

Going to put in in the yard today so will take pix to show you finished project

I thought it was beautiful before, but I do like the little extras that you've added. It really is a beautiful BB!! Great job!! Now, quit fussing with it and move on the the next creation of beautiful art!!

I guess I hadn't commented on this before. I really liked it to start with, but now I REALLY like it! It's got BLING! :) The gems really dressed it up. And I LOVE pink! (Maybe it's 'cause I've got three boys and never get to buy ANYTHING pink unless it's for me. My bedroom has pale pink walls :)

Thanks all. If i can get my DH to move the birdbath back to its base, I will take pix and show you all !! Hopefully tomorrow

Anxious to see it in it's setting. You did a great job, and should be ver proud of this piece.

OK, DH got the birdbath in place. We had relatives from England over and I had to have that bb out by the pool. A mermaid has to have a pool, right? LOL

Here you go. I am starting to like it, now I have to fill it with water and see if the birds will come..

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That looks wonderful! Is that a "naked" Pelican statue in the back? LOL! PJ

PJ, It is indeed. Unfortunately, it is made from a tree and I am afraid if I mosaic it, the tiles could break off.

Maybe I could make "clothes" out of mosaics, like a paper doll ROFL

Excuse the weeds. Those dang dollar weeds just do not want to die!!

I just can't stop. Added more bling underneath with a circle of gems. and then mosaiced the top of a planter in the same pool tile. I quit now , i think
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That's my Aussie following me everywhere

Wow that's a lovely mosaic bird bath,your plumie has made way more progress than mine(neat pot too) and I LOVE your puppy! PJ

Thanks PJ. Yea, those plumeria's are our's grown from our seed pod. It's been several years and we are anxious to see what color they turn out. Exciting. We have a Singapore that we just can't seem to get rid of the rust, but the other
s are doing well.

That is Rascal, we also have his litter sister, Ginger but she hates the heat and spends all her time inside when she isn't murdering her brother. LOL

oops sorry got off tangent.

now I do have one additional plant pot that is the same, so I guess I better mosaic that one too.

I like the added blue gems to the BB and the planter is perfect! It's snowing (!) here today, so I just wanna come over and swim in your pool, LOL!

I like that the birdbath really matches your pool - looks so refreshing. You really did a good job. Love your dog too - looks like a big wooly bear.