I've used old dishes before that had lost their sheen and they were effected by the black grout I used, they absorbed the grout and became dull and tainted grey, so I say seal those somehow!!! Good luck and I hope you post pics soon!!! Jane

Hmm... maybe I should seal first then.

I'm kind of shy about posting - but I have been taking pics as I went along for my own record - just to see if I get any better as time goes on ;) so I'll post some once it's done.

Greymom, DON'T be shy about posting pics!!! I'm really new here too and was a little bit nervous to post pics of my projects at first. I kinda felt that my "newbie" projects weren't good enough compared to all the beautiful artwork others were posting.
My DH pushed me to do it and I'm so glad that I gave in. The encouragement, support and advice that you WILL receive from the warm and wonderful people of this forum is worth every butterfly in your stomach, lol.
Once you post pics and get some positive feedback, it will be like an adrenaline rush that will motivate you to do more, experiment more, learn more and SHARE more.
Now when I do a project or find a shiny new thing to mosaic or smash, I can't WAIT to show pics to everybody here. They're the ones who will "get it" and share in your excitement.

Greymom, I really hope that you change your mind and post pics of your projects. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect or if it's unfinished - we wanna see! Did I mention that we LOVE pics here, lol.

Cindy

POST PICTURES!! We love pictures!! Don't be shy! You will never get a mean comment here!! Encouragement, suggestions and postitive comments!! We all have winners and losers LOL.

I think some have mentioned putting a coating of weldbond or something like that, then peeling it off after you have grouted.

We love newbies...more in our cult...uh, I mean hobby

Maria

Thanks for the encouragement! The weldbond idea in interesting too.

I'll post some photos later today, and see if there any other suggestions once people see it. I have to do some errands first, blew out a tire yesterday and don't like to run on the spare too long.

Thanks,
Haze

ZONE and SHRTY - those are absolutely beautiful recommendations for this forum. Y'all are sooooooo right. Ditto.

ok - now for the even sillier question -how do I post photos here? I have them in a small size jpg file. I don't have them hosted on photobucket or anything, but I see some people have the photo in the message - I didn't see any upload or attach option - am I missing something obvious?

Thanks,
Haze

You have to transfer them from your photo storage to an on-line photo storage. They're free. Go to Photobucket or whichever one you choose, set up an account (free), transfer your photos there. There are a couple ways from there. The hotmail tag URL can be copied and pasted into your message, and it already has the codes. You can also copy the URL of your album or photo from your browser and paste at the end of your message, but you have to add those codes to it. When you preview your message, your link w/show up. This is not very clear, but you can figure it out as you do it. It's easy.

Thanks slowmedown! think I've got it.

So here is my first experiment - I thought it would be neat to have the dragonflies in glass, and the rest in unglazed tile. It actually has a better effect with the camera flash on it than it does in real life:) So, should I seal the tile first? and what color of grout would everyone recommend - I'm not very good at visualizing that part yet.

I know there's some sloppy cutting, it's not as neat as I had intended - oh well.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I can't believe you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just as I suspected - a perfectionist - too afraid to post. GOODGRIEF, girlie. This is WONDERFUL, FABULOUS AND OUTTA SIGHT BEAUTIFUL. These cuts are GREAT. Now, no more of this shy stuff. You're GOOD, GOOD, GOOD. GEESH!!!

Shoot fire!
You're cutting is great, what the heck are you talking about?
If you're gonna cover the entire tile, I don't see why you'd need to seal it..except the edges to keep the grout from staining.
MORE..MORE..MORE.. you've got talent!!

Greymom, this is BEAUTIFUL!!! I LOVE your idea of mixing the glass and tile and it is very effective.

I have read many times that you should seal any unglazed stone or tile before grouting. I think you can use TileLab, a sealer you can purchase at Home Depot or Lowes. Then you can use the TileLab to seal your grout after it is cured. It enhances the grout.

Thanks for posting! You are doing a GREAT job.

Oooohhh, I love those dragonflies and the tile combination. It looks just beautiful. And nothing wrong with the cutting either. Its perfect.
Bianchi

Thanks for all the encouraging words! - I do feel better about it now:)

I want to explain though, that I'm not sure if the unglazed tile is ceramic (I didn't keep the bag it came in - it was a mixture) it came in those little squares so don't give me any credit for cutting those, and it is really soft, almost chalky, so I think it might soak up any grout color. I'll check out the TileLab - do you know if it alters the look in any way? I don't want it to look polished.

I don't know if I should use dark or light grout, or dark on the dragonflies and light on the background (can you mix like that?) - any ideas?

Lots of questions - sorry

Thanks again everyone, for the inspiration and the encouragement.

I can't answer your questions...but...I think you are doing a terrific job!! I say seal the tile, no doubt.

Oh my goodness, Greymom! You have taken me back in time to my Dad's lake cottage years ago... reedy grasses... beautiful iridescent dragonfly wings. It's just wonderful!!!
(I don't know any technical answers about grouting... but sure LOVE your work!)
Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Hey greymom - very pretty! Glad you posted pictures. And I don't think I ever officially welcomed you....so Welcome!!! :)

I think I have some of those same "unglazed" tiles - you described them well - being chalky, etc. I bought them when I first started mosaicing. And I THINK you might be right to be concerned about them absorbing grout color - especially if you're going to use a dark grout. You might want to test it on a spare tile first. I used some on my first birdhouse, and I do believe it took on some of the grout color - it didn't matter too much on my piece because the grout was light. OH, and DUH....just went back and read Debbi's response - and her advice of sealing it first is right on!

And YES, you can use different colors of grout on different parts of your mosaic. Just use some masking tape or painters tape to mark off a section at a time.

Nice work, looking forward to more pictures!

Grey, there is a sealant made for mosaics that is similar to clear nail polish. or you can use clear nail polish but both of those will leave you with a shiny finish - defeats the point of your design. I have used the weldbond mask technique too but you can't get it in the grout lines just the tile surfaces.

Now then, WOOT!!!! look at that beauty, wonderful design, colors and your cutting is AWESOME!!!! don't dis your work, it's really grand!

WOW! WOW! WOW! That is beeeyoootiful. Insert wolf whistle here! Sheesh, talk about modest, lol. I hope you figure out the grouting/sealing problem, I really, really like the contrast in finishes.

I'm soooo glad that you decided to post pics. It's taken me about 5 minutes to write this cuz I keep going back to look at them, lol. Great job!

Cindy

Greymom. I have used tile lab many times and it works well. It goes on like water and your not even sure its doing anything but it really is.

Your dragonfly (one of my favorite things!!!) is really great. Your color choice is really ggod.I do believe they are ceramic tiles. They look just like the ones I used on my fern tray. Cut really nice too!!! Now that I think of it I never sealed my ceramic tile but they were supposed to be sealed. Even though they were a flat color (no shine)

You can DEFINITELY change up on the grout color..that can be so awesome when you do it. I have learned (from this site) that you can use one light color of grout and then use an acrylic paint to change the color to the color you want.

Glad to see you post some pics, your work is great.

OH HAZEL!!! LOVE IT!!! EXCELLENT JOB!!! Keep Going!! Very Nice!!! Jane

Very nice, I'm glad you took the plunge and posted that pic. I love dragon flies. That 's a sweet project,
Cindy

I'm going to get some of the TileLab and try it on some spare tiles to what it does.

I also wanted to add that the design isn't mine. I copied the picture and just used whatever colors I had that were close, so all that credit is due the original artist (I got it off the web - hope I don't get into trouble!)

I'll post pictures when I get it finished.

See, nothing to be worried about!! That is a great piece!! I love the colors!

Maria

Hazie, The Tile Lab will deepen the color on your tiles; it won't affect the glass at all. I have a high gloss TileLab and I can tell you it is not a high gloss like finger nail polish. I would never call it high gloss unless I read the label. You probably can buy a matt finish. Experiment with it on a scrap piece. Let it dry for 24 hours to see how it looks.

I had a backsplash with tumbled marble and used the high gloss TileLab as a sealer. It doesn't make it shiny so you won't need to worry about it competing with the glass.

Beautiful job...look's like a pro aleady!love your colors and the design is great!Way to go girl!

there is no way that youre a newbie. If this really is your first peice then you have found your calling. If you have problems picking grout colors then the top choice is usually black or tan for me personally.

This is really my second piece, my first one was a coaster in a kit:)

Once again, thanks for all the wonderful comments.

I went to Lowes and didnt find the TileLab, but I found something called AquaMix. It says it's penetrating sealer - non shiny, for indoor or outdoor use on natural stone, masonry, etc. I tried it on some spare tiles and it went on like water. after the recommended 24 hours to dry, it doesn't even seem to have darkened the colors. Tomorrow, I will seal the tiles, and hopefully on Tuesday I will grout!
I think I'll try black in the dragon flies and a lighter color on the bg. Thanks for all the advice.

The truly wonderful thing about ignorance, is that it lets you try things you'd probably never try if knew what you were getting into:)

Haze,

You rock! That is awesome!

Haze,

AquaMix is excellent a product, but I switched from that to Tile Lab (once again), because Tile Lab goes on like water, protects very well and easy to wipe off. I found that AquaMix leaves a 'Haze' LOL, if you will, on the tiles, and if not wiped away immediately, it doesn't come off, UNLESS you purchase a stone cleaner, which is just another step that I did not want to do. Just my two cents worth!