| Author | Content |
Heatherbelle
Victoria,, BC
(Zone 8b)
March 1, 2006
4:22 PM Post #2079903
| I have just started mosaics and while I enjoy the process, I am not very good with "originality" ! I find colour choices difficult as I am not really artistic by nature. Anyway I have just finished this table top and can't decide what grout colour or colours to use. Any ideas ? I know that the right colour can make all the difference to a piece.
Heather
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 1, 2006
4:58 PM Post #2079981
| Very nice ;-)
Myself I would do a dark toned green.
It would emphasize the curves in the orange field but not clash with the lizards.
Did you design this ?
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a software program that would work on a downloaded photo for different grout colors ? |
Heatherbelle
Victoria,, BC
(Zone 8b)
March 1, 2006
5:26 PM Post #2080032
| Thanks for your input, scooterbug. I took the outline of a lizard from a book and traced two of them on to the table top - I agonized over the background colour but my DH liked the idea of the orange so I went with that. (See what I mean about being artistically challenged !) I know this is supposed to be a relaxing hobby but so far I have did nothing but stress out about every decision LOL! That software program sounds great - if you can get them for exterior choices for your house, why can't mosaicers ! :-)
I am into a mexican theme for my outdoors patio so this table top will go out there (along with the brugs, hibiscus, plumerias, etc., but that is a whole other story !
Heather
PS Here's my first attempt.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
rose318
Houston, TX
March 1, 2006
5:29 PM Post #2080038
| Heather,
I think you did a fantastic job on the both. You should be very proud of your work. Keep it up.
Patti |
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 1, 2006
7:56 PM Post #2080320
| Love da fishie ;-) |
Sheila_FW
Fort Worth, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 2, 2006
12:25 AM Post #2080809
| Heather, I don't do mosaics yet...but have a suggestion if I were doing it. I am sure you have some tiles left, why not paint a few squares on a piece of would and lay your tile colors on top with the spacing so the paint would appear as a grout color? Like the dark green, black, blue & etc. Then you can get an idea of how it would look before the investment of time and money.
Your work is great BTW! |
AFDolly
Glennie, MI
(Zone 5a)
March 2, 2006
10:31 AM Post #2081278
| Love your work.
I to am new to mosaics. I use my color chart and lay the pieces of tile on the colors I think would work, Most of the time my first hunch is right. Aleta |
Heatherbelle
Victoria,, BC
(Zone 8b)
March 2, 2006
1:20 PM Post #2081576
| Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Last night I took the plunge and went with green. I used a grout dye and couldn't get it really dark but I am quite happy with the results. I may try to darken it later with a fabric dye or something but I realized it is not the end of the world ! On to the next project !
Heather
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 2, 2006
3:26 PM Post #2081802
| A++++++
;-D |
balvenie
Marysville, WA
(Zone 7a)
March 2, 2006
3:36 PM Post #2081855
| Well done Heather. Really nice mosaics. |
Walnut23
Avon, NY
(Zone 5b)
March 2, 2006
4:32 PM Post #2081993
| Heather that turned out great!!
Elaine |
mangomo
Fort Lauderdale, FL
March 2, 2006
6:04 PM Post #2082218
| Heather, really nice work especially with the placement of the tesserae. My rule of thumb with grouting is if I want the central motif (the lizards) to stand out, the color I choose is very close in tone to the background tiles. If I want the background to stand out, I use contrasting colors. It really depends on what YOU want to accomplish. I have many pieces of my work just hanging around in my studio that I had to learn grout colors. Your finshed table looks great. |
Jeanette22
Willington, CT
March 2, 2006
6:05 PM Post #2082223
| Great job!!! |
Sheila_FW
Fort Worth, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 2, 2006
7:58 PM Post #2082464
| Very nice Job! |
picabo
Nashville, TN
(Zone 6b)
March 3, 2006
11:07 AM Post #2083715
| Great Job!!! I have a table that I am going to grout today. I will post pictures tomorrrow. My first attempt at a mosaic table top.
Betty |
RuralGardener
Montgomery Co, IN
(Zone 5a)
March 3, 2006
2:14 PM Post #2084111
| Wow, very nice job! Looks great.
Cindy |
SandiTX
Lakewood Village, TX
(Zone 7b)
March 8, 2006
10:22 AM Post #2095605
| Great job. Here's a link that will show you the different effects of grout color. I used to have another one bookmarked, but couldn't find it. [HYPERLINK@www.thejoyofshards.co.uk]
Edited to add other bookmark: [HYPERLINK@www.mosaicmercantile.com]
This message was edited Mar 8, 2006 12:16 PM |
Vee8ch
Palm Bay, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 10, 2006
5:18 PM Post #2102434
| Love the lizards. Another great piece of art Heatherbelle! :) |
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 10, 2006
7:59 PM Post #2102846
| Still would like a software program that you can put in the brand, type and color of glass you are using for tesserae
and then be able to visually change the grout color.
You would think that somewhere it has been done.
Just look at the great software programs for Stained Glass like Rapid Resizer, Pattern Wizard and GlassEye .
They can do all the work for you as in creating a pattern , cutting, pattern layout,use the glass type and color you want ,number the pieces , resizing without increasing line width even tells you how much lead came you will need plus how much glass of each color.
Only thing it doesnt do is assembly ... lol |
loveshercowdog
Arlington, TX
March 22, 2006
11:12 PM Post #2132239
| HI Heather
I love the work you've done! That light green really captures the lighter color in the lizards' backs. I like the way they seem to be moving out and through the orange background. I think that color grout really enlivened it!
I have not tried mosaics yet, but are giving me motivation...if these are initial projects I'm really excited!
cynthia |
LindaSC
Columbia, SC
(Zone 8a)
March 26, 2006
9:35 PM Post #2141381
| Great job, I'm just getting ready to try my first mosaic. I'll use stained glass on a bowling ball. I've already got the supplies and am nipping the glass into small pieces. Can't wait to get started.
|
drdon
Temecula, CA
(Zone 8b)
April 18, 2006
8:52 PM Post #2201197
| hiya Heatherbelle,
I like it...original or not, it is well executed and the grout joints aren't so bloody large as to detract from all the money you spent on glass...lol.
I might suggest a very...VERY neutral color...white white, black black or a slate blue that contrasts the orange but doesn't mess with the green. White is the traditional grout tone and that's what Sirena is getting. Now that I've seen your work...it matters not, you make good decisions and the grout will be fine as you've done a superb job with this project and although I'm no expert, having only done one piece myself...I vote white white or black black...hows that for a 'butterfly ballot"?...lol.
nicely done indeed,
best to you,
don |
Heatherbelle
Victoria,, BC
(Zone 8b)
April 20, 2006
12:46 PM Post #2205591
| Thanks for your comments drdon ! I always follows your posts with interest as I am a mexicophile (is that a word?) and i know some of your interests lie in that direction.
Heather |
sdryden
Arlington, VA
April 30, 2006
12:06 PM Post #2235417
| Hi Heather,
You've done a lovely job on your mosaic!
I noticed that you said you used grout dye - sometimes when I haven't had the right color grout, I've used acrylic paint to color white grout, or enhance colored grout. I've also used mason stains. Never had any trouble with either.
Also, there is a software package for mosaic design called "Tile Creator" that you might want to take a look at. Here is the website.
[HYPERLINK@www.tilecreator.com]
Enjoy,
Susannah |
Heatherbelle
Victoria,, BC
(Zone 8b)
May 1, 2006
12:48 PM Post #2238662
| Thanks for the info, Susannah !
I am in a bit of limbo just now, I have been accumulating tesserae and different patterns that interest me but have not been able to settle on any one particular project. Too many ideas running about in my head ! I want to do them all but can't decide. Is this normal for a beginner ? In the meantime I have been doing some flower pots but it's time to get serious, LOL !
Heather |
evforums
Oakland, CA
May 17, 2006
5:56 PM Post #2290096
| And what you want to do first is you want to get some sort of a wire brush or a stiff plastic brush. First wipe the area off, and then you're just going to go in one direction so that you don't leave all of this crud all over the bathroom. You just want to make sure that it's clean, free from dirt and stuff. You might, if you have some stubborn spots, you might want to get a grout scraper- a grout remover- and scrape it some. But this is pretty much all gone right there. Just make sure you wipe it off, rinse out your sponge a few times, and just make sure that it's all nice and clean before you start to grout.
Now, you're going to have to let the water dry for about ten minutes before you start to grout, and in that time you can pre-mix the grout and have it all ready.
check out a video for free at:
[HYPERLINK@homegarden.expertvillage.com] |
luvr29
Provo, UT
December 5, 2006
7:21 PM Post #2972068
| By definition, mosaic "is a picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, such as tile, in mortar."(from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.) In this millenium, mosaic is an art form using pieces of broken glass, china, seashells, etc. to create decorative items for your home. It is the latest craft taking the craft world by storm. Everyone is breaking plates and using them to decorate gift and home items.
To start creating your own mosaic, you will need to break some old plates/china, glass, or whatever you have around. You can also purchase some glass pieces, sea glass, seashells, buttons, and more at your local craft store. An adhesive is also needed. You can purchase tile adhesive or grout. Grout is available in many colors, too.
To begin, get a towel and put the china/plates or glass in the towel and break with a hammer. Continue until the pieces are small enough for your project. For example, if you were going to mosaic a picture frame you would need fairly small pieces.
When creating a mosaic, you can create a design or place the broken pieces randomly. For a picture frame you could use sveral different pieces or different colors and place them randomly along the frame.
To start, have your broken china, seashells, etc. in front of you. Using a tile adhesive, take a craft stick or other implement, place a small amount of adhesive onto the back of the piece. Attach it immediately to the frame as it does dry and harden. Continue this adhesive process until your frame is covered with the selected pieces of mosaic. Let the pieces set for a day until dry. Next, you may use the tile adhesive as the grout or you can use actual grout as that does come in different colors. Take a large amount of grout and spread it over the mosaic covering all the pieces. Be sure the grout fills in all the gaps. Again, let the grout dry according to the manufacturer's directions. After the grout is dry, take a damp cloth and wipe down the mosaic, cleaning up the pieces of china, etc., but being sure that the grout stays in the gaps. Let it dry and you have a homemade mosiac work of art!
For more mosaics tips:
[HYPERLINK@www.essortment.com] |
SherryLike
SE Arky
(United States)
(Zone 8a)
December 31, 2006
4:39 PM Post #3039766
| Good golly, you could have fooled me about the artistic part, I think your table top is wonderful!!! |
cactuspatch
La Luz/Alamogordo, NM
(Zone 8a)
August 19, 2007
8:52 PM Post #3875996
| I just found this forum and adore that table top. It is exactly the kind of thing I want for my porch. I have lots of lizards in my yard, most real and many artistic. Here is a shot of my doorbell. I hope to give mosaics a try, thanks for sharing that piece Heatherbelle-you have me motivated now! 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 19, 2007
9:07 PM Post #3876050
| heehee, C. patch, i see you have found your way here! You will love this, these folk are very experienced mosaic artists...lots of great inspiration, tips and links! have fun! sue |
bluegrassmom
Lewisburg, KY
(Zone 6a)
August 21, 2007
1:15 AM Post #3880841
| I am a mosiac wanna be. I love the lizards. Where do you find your patterns and also can you purchase a kit or buy precut pieces? This looks so fun and interesting!
Teresa in KY |
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 21, 2007
8:14 AM Post #3881248
| I can't answer for the lady that started this thread...but you can always go to Barnes & Noble, Borders Book stores..go to the crafts section and start browsing the mosaic books..if you find one you like..(my problem i like many of them..they inspire me). buy it! Or use some of the links provided in this forum...(they are wonderful!) Google "mosaics" or mosaic tiles...sometime "mosaic" gets some pretty weird hits...lol...Amazon.com has tons of books you can order online about mosaics..but it is better to be able to look at what you are buying...any of the big box craft stores..have books there for you to peruse...this is all where i find inspiration...hope it was helpful! ps. Your local library of course! Oh, i almost forgot..go to Ebay...to the crafts,,,then to the mosaics for sale section...i have bid on and won some of the most amazing pieces to make things with...also books there too...and mosaic tools..(very important) makes the job so much easier on the hands! sue |
thermalgran
Hemet, CA
August 26, 2007
2:35 AM Post #3901081
| Speaking of grout color.
I have been told I can add acrylic pigment to my tile grout to change the grout to any color I want.
Anyone have advice on this?
Thanks
Lori |
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 26, 2007
9:33 AM Post #3901457
| Hi lori, I do it all the time, saves money...i have pieces in the shape of pots that have been acrylic pigment colored for 7 or 8 years now, and they are all outside in the elements and have retained their color perfectly...it doesn't compromise the ability of the grout either...i purchase a bag of white sanded grout, mix it up with the water, once that is all mixed i add a half (or less) a bottle of the 2 oz. craft paint you can buy at Michaels, Walmart etc. ie "Apple Barrel, Delta Ceramcoat, Folkart, etc. Add the acrylic into your mix (squirt it in from the bottle)like you would do food coloring into frosting...till you get the color you want! It is a good way for me to get rid of half empty bottles. (be sure to mix enough grout for your project as it is hard to match colors if you run out!).you can get pastel tones to medium density colors...for deep terra cotta and black or dark grouts, i do buy them premixed in the bag...as the dark colors are harder to do with the acrylic paints! Will try to post a pic...for you...sue |
SherryLike
SE Arky
(United States)
(Zone 8a)
August 26, 2007
12:10 PM Post #3901957
| What a great tip, weeds, THANKS!!!!! |
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
August 26, 2007
1:58 PM Post #3902268
| Love using plain ol cheap craft acrylic paint for coloring grout.
Get a shade as deep as you can of the color you want and add a little at a time to get the color value you want.
A bonus I have found is that this makes the grout fairly waterproof :-)
-or-
you can get powdered cement dye very reasonable on Ebay which is the best to use if you need black or other very intense colors.
This is the person I buy from.
[HYPERLINK@stores.ebay.com]
A pound goes a very long way.
*hint-- Have a tight lidded container ready to keep it in.
It is very fine and gets in the air easily.*
AN artist's paint trick is to have white and black available to peak your colors. A little of one or the other can make a world of difference.
I used a dark inky blue acrylic hobby paint to get this color.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 26, 2007
2:38 PM Post #3902402
| hi scooterbug & all, duh...why didn't i think to add black to make a darker color?! Here are some photos of little projects all done with adding the acrylic paint to the grout..the colors are really more vivid than the camera could capture... 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 26, 2007
2:41 PM Post #3902410
| closer up and showing what happens if you don't mix the paint throughly, some blotching of colors on the pots...no biggie...they are just pots to put plants in... 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
weedsgalore
Tampa, FL
August 26, 2007
2:44 PM Post #3902428
| closer up of the lavendar grout, which was a surprise to me...was supposed to be a different color all together...an experiment of mixing two bottles of paint! It is fun to do this i think! thanks, sue 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
SherryLike
SE Arky
(United States)
(Zone 8a)
August 26, 2007
3:17 PM Post #3902512
| weeds, you are an artist, wow!!! |
scooterbug
TwinLakes,WI Athens, TN
(Zone 7a)
August 26, 2007
3:37 PM Post #3902568
| Great stuff there weeds ☺
Guess I do not have enough of the iwannbeamosaicer genes like you do.
I take the easy way out and cut glass, more predictable for my short attention span ... lol
Even after buying china,ceramic tiles ,etc. Gave up and put them on Freecycle . O well !
♥Your flower pots are really lovely. |
CutNGlass
Hendersonville, NC
(Zone 7a)
August 26, 2007
4:00 PM Post #3902653
| Heatherbelle:
Nice looking.
Your question about being able to use software program to get an idea about what different color grouts would look like is feasible.
If you have something like Paint Shop Pro -- you could start from picture of ungrouted piece. There is a feature called "masking" which from time-to-time I play around with. As long as there is enough contrast you can get the white/black appearance enough to create a mask layer -- then you can "pour" in the color you want to try out for the grout.
I understand the idea of what you mean by a program which could do this automatically. That would be nice. I haven't looked at stained glass design software in years. The ones I tried out the demo versions of (over 10 years ago now) didn't even have easy way to change leading widths. Who knows, maybe they will have it now. Although the frugal side of me doesn't want to spend $$ on anything -- even if I had it now.
MaryS |
CutNGlass
Hendersonville, NC
(Zone 7a)
August 26, 2007
4:18 PM Post #3902703
| Heatherbelle:
Duh, I just thought of a KISS method which I've used before for seeing what a particular glass would look like. This works best if you have a light table:
Have a sheet of plexiglass which you lay your glass pieces out onto. Leave off the glass pieces which you are not sure about. Place a sheet of glass that you propose to put in the empty area. Lay the plexiglass w/ cut pieces on top. Not perfect, but you get the idea of how it will look together. Especially good for getting idea of difference between natural inside light versus window lit (day/night lighting). It's always weird to see something look good backlit in window and totally different in "normal light" -- or visa-versa.
If no light table, you can improvise w/ a piece of plexiglass (or glass) on top of a glass-top table w/ some make-shift light source underneath. You can try "reveal" bulbs for closer to day-light look as well as regular lights. Fluorescent lights in most light boxes don't give an accurate idea of the appearance.
For the grout lines -- just put something w/ similar color to grout you want (crayon on paper or craft paper could work) underneath the plexiglass.
MaryS |
Blackonred
Austin, TX
November 8, 2007
10:26 PM Post #4173757
| I saw this last night and thought you did a great job. You mentioned something about tracing the image? I cannot draw at all but I am creative and good with color. I want to do some small things for a consignment store and need to know how you mixed acrylics with grout to achieve that look. It looks thin to me. I want to do some coasters or something different I do not know what. Chimes would be cool but how? I do not know. Mirrors too!!! Anyway I love cats so I thought maybe cat coasters or something and then using graphics from my computer to make sayings and grouting them in with small pieces. What do you think. What can I put it in to keep re-doing them?
I saw some stuff at Hobby Lobby but they were round. Would regular grout work or what? And what could I use? Any suggestions, I was looking for answers to mixing grouts and saw this and I love it, please help me with this I know it would sell and this is Austin Texas. Anything like picture frames or anything as long as its not to heavy. It;s gorgeous. Thank you, Carol Hansen |
Blackonred
Austin, TX
November 8, 2007
10:43 PM Post #4173809
| Heatherbelle, I forgot to give you my e-mail address about the questions I had about the grout and the cats and so forth ...
[e-mail:jadeeandjojo@yahoo.com] |
Louellamarie
Madison, WI
June 23, 2008
11:27 PM Post #5150591
| Awww, Ooooo, what a beautiful piece!! Your ARE artistic! We all have trouble deciding on grout color, It takes me forever to decide! Now, I try and calculate it in at the beginning which I never did befor, it helps to thnk of the grout color as one of the colors, although it doesn't always work as a lot of the time I don't know how my piece will turn out till I'm done! Hmmm, that is a toughy, but still, what a wonderful color it is already, as YES, the grout color CAN change how your piece looks, definatley, Goooood Luck, I'm sure you'll do fine, like I said, I DO believe you ARE artistic after all! Louella
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