First of all, it is Lovely! Slow adds thin set to her grout, I think, and I'm sure she'll give a comment. You could go with so many colors for it. Is it a cement birdbath?

Wow, it's really pretty! I haven't tried thinset yet so
am anxious to hear advice you get.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BB!! On all my outside projects I grout w/thinset as well as use it for adhesive. When I first started mosaicing, several mosaicists advised me to use cement-based adhesive for outside projects. It was my thinking that should I have missed some areas, the thinset as grout w/confirm adhesion all around. It hasn't failed me except on one pot on which I used glue/water to seal the terra cotta. The tesserae all fell off this past winter in sheets, and I'm blaming it on rehydration of the glue/water sealer. On the pots I didn't seal, there has been no winter damage. I'm not advising anyone on this method. If you have questions, like CALAM always says, check w/your tile store expert. On capping your project, you know you can cut half marbles in half. Also, check w/your tile store or one of the box stores for capping tiles - like quarter-rounds.

Thanks for the advice . Calamity, It is cement, I bought it at HD for a steal.. I don' think the garden guy knew the base and bowl were individually charged. I didn't insist. LOL. or maybe i just got a great deal. Both for $30

Slow, how do you cut marbles in half?? Do you need special tools?? Also, have you ever colored your thinset???

You know. looking at this again, i wonder if i should pop off all those teeny tiles on the rim and use something else?? I'll have to think about that.

You all inspire me.

Well, I am going to read the boards and then go see what I should do next for the birdbath.

W/your wheeled nippers, center the wheel on the marble and cut. I use my old, worn out nippers for this kind of work cuz the spring is gone and w/fit around a half marble. Cut them in a sack - cuz they fly everywhere. No - I don't color the thinset cuz I most always use charcoal or grey grout, but for outside stuff, I just use the grey mortar as grout. You can get powdered colorants on-line. HD and Lowes have cement colorants but nothing jazzy - just beige, terra cotta, etc.

Thanks again Slow, I'm off to try my hand at cutting marbles plus find the colorants i bought on ebay, i think I have rose and purple.....

I think my thinset is old or i am thinset challenged. Probably both!! Seems to be an awful lot of crumbly bits in between the tiles. Only a couple tiles came off so it seems to be sticking, just crumbly. I went ahead and got as much as I could out , used the shopvac and scooped it up. Now I guess i better head up to store to buy fresh thinset and hope I can grout with fresh stuff

Right now I am thinking the thinset patrol will come and take back my nippers. LOL