I have heard of people using weldbond for that-Im not sure if mac would work or not.

You could use a sand colored grout.
Mixing craft glue with sand makes me a little nervous. You could "grout" with mortor and sprinkle sand on top, or silicone and sprinkle sand on top.
I think I would just go with sand colored grout.
Kathy

What is mac?
I really want the texture of the sand that I have. When I get an idea in my head, it's not in my elbow. My father used tosay that, and I still don't know what it means. Stubborn, I guess.
Silicone and sand sounds possible.
Still mulling it around. Anyone else with ideas?

The problem I see with using glue and sand for grout is that you may make a mess on your tess that is not easily cleaned off. If I get MAC glue on a tile and I fail to completely wipe it off right away, I have a hard time cleaning it off later; it leaves a smear. Same problem with silicon. To accomplish what you want, I would grout with sand-colored sanded grout and then while it is still wet, the instant I wiped the piece off, I would then cover the piece with the sand you have, press it firmly into the grout, and then brush the piece back off, with the goal being for the sand to stick to the grout lines.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silva's blog

If I were doing your project, I'd use regular sanded grout, and while it is wet, push my sand into it?

Grout is basically a cement mix and it is made with sand (or at least the sanded one is), so it seems like you should be able to make it with your sand. But I have no idea how.

I found this link on e-how on how to make mortor. I suppose you could try it. Be careful if you do.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: diy mortor mix instructions

I'd do what Slow suggests, use a tan grout and then press dand into it before its cured.

Silva has it right about the glue and sand mix, i sometimes grout pendants with micro marbles and its a friggen mess to clean up glue and marbles off the tess

I knew you all would have answers. I didn't think about glue residue. I would be the one to leave just enough behind to make it look bad.
Nice, I was thinking of microbeads for another project. Which glue to you use?
I will have to experiment with all your ideas later today. WIsh me luck.

I was using weldbond just because I figured I could clean it easier than anything else

This is what I ended up doing: I took the premixed mortar and mixed a LOT of sand in it. So it looked like more sand than mortar. Pressed it into the spaces and used a dry paint brush to poke it in firmly so it kept a "sandy" texture. Wasn't sure this would work.

Today, it's dry and it's strong! Not something you would want in a piece that truly needed grout, but fine for an ornamental use.

I have a little sample drying to see if spraying it with clear spray paint will make it look like wet sand. I like that look better. Otherwise, I don't know what to use to make it look like wet sand. Any ideas?

Try clear nail polish. On my Cleo bench/planter, I wanted the grout to shine so I used spray varnish. Worked fine.

I don't understand the differences between polyurethane and varnish and clear spray paint.
Would varnish come off with time? I was thinking of making the shells shiny by sealing with it.

There are two kinds of polyurethane - water-based and oil-based. I hate working w/the oil. Varnish is oil-based and the spray was so easy. Used a whole can on Cleo, and it gave the effect I wanted. If it comes off, I'll re-spray it.