Cinta said:Beautiful work. I have done some small stepping stones and have a collection of internet site searches of what I am going to do one day.

Cinta, that's how I got started.I made a file of all the projects that I liked. Do it when you can. It's so much fun, and one project always leads to another.

Becky and Cinta, my daughter works full time and is a mom of 2 boys who are heavily into sports. She only has tiny blocks of time, but I finally have her doing mosaics. She will just work on them for maybe 15 or 20 minutes at a time, but eventually her projects get finished, and she's really enjoying it.

Hello, I just joined today and found your forum. I am saving bowling balls for a craft project for our small garden club. Please, can you give a little tutorial for me. What do you use for glue especially. I love the designs you have created. I want to also do some stepping stones. Thanks. Marie

Welcome MyRee

If you're working outside E6000 is a great glue and @plantmanager has great glue ideas as well.

There is lots of information on this entire forum.

Have fun with your projects and please post photo's for us when you're done

@plantmanager Hi Karen! Just found this thread and WOW! You do beautiful work. Would really like to try a stepping stone. Is that something a beginner could do? Do you start with a basic concrete stepping stone? Is there some place you could recommend for a tutorial? Can't wait to hear/see more of your projects.

Mary, Dave posted a thread some time back about making stepping stones. Might fill in around what others will post for you here.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

Thank you all for your comments and interest. Mary, using ready made stepping stones makes it easiest. I don't like E6000 because it's extremely toxic but using it outdoors is probably ok. I like to use GE Silicone 2 or Loctite Polyseamseal Clear caulk in the small tube, not the big caulking gun tube.

I'm sure there must be a lot of youtube videos on making stepping stones but I'm not that familiar with Youtube. There are even small kits in the hobby stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. They show you how to make one small stone, and then you could do more on your own. They include a mold and material to make your own stone.

@MyRee, what a wonderful project! You will all have such fun! The spheres are a bit harder to do than the flat stones. I just take my time and only do a small area and then let it dry before going on. Keep some toothpicks or old dental picks handy to clean up any glue that oozes out or gets on top of your tesserae. Tesserae includes whatever you use, glass, mirror, beads, pennies, rocks, etc. You can use almost anything! Try to keep your spacing even. It can be tight, or the spaces can be larger. What is nice is that there are no rules. Do whatever you want! Even if everyone decides to do a tree or flowers, each one will be so different and totally creative.

@Azgarden, since you are essentially 'local', there is a very good mosaics teacher in town. He is Dave Jarvinen. He used to be in Phx, but I think he is in Florence now. He runs classes all the time.
http://www.mosaicguys.com/Home...

@plantmanager Karen ...It is a good thing that I live near hardware stores! Will look for the caulk and get a pre-made stepping stone. AND then I can head to the thrift store to look for blue plates maybe

After I saw your beautiful work on this thread, I actually looked and found tutorials or links right here on ATP.

Thank you so much for the information. I will be looking for the links here also. I am excited to try some.

Thank you both! You will love doing this. Finding blue and white dishes to crack up and use will be very pretty.

If you're using a bowling ball the pieces will need to be fairly small to lay flat on the curved surface. Try some about an inch in diameter and see how they lay. If you lay things fairly far apart, but some sanded grout at the hardware store, and mix it according to the directions. There are Youtubes to show you how to grout. It's easy and fun! If you use beads, make sure they're larger because tiny seed beads just disappear in the grout.I had a table once where I used a lot of small beads and it was a big pain trying to make them show up after grouting.

Thanks Karen and thanks for the info on the mosaic classes. Looked them up. They have a class coming up this Saturday in Glendale, but it is sold out!

I think his classes have gotten pretty popular, but maybe you could join one a bit later. Are they giving them at the stained glass shop? I used to go to that shop for my glass.

Yes, it is at the stained glass shop. The class is a stained glass luminary.....way above my ability! Will be on the watch for something more basic. Maybe make a stop at that shop. I'm not that far from it and then go to the shops in old Glendale. Love to do that when the weather is nice

I'm sure you could do a stained glass luminary. It would be mosaic style, with the glass glued, right?

Even trying a leaded glass one wouldn't be too hard. I had a friend show me how to do a bit of leaded glass and I made a nice hummingbird on my first try.

Your bowling ball is Beautiful!

I have two that I want to do something with!

Thanks for the information! It is appreciated!

Hello, Jeanne. Thank you, and please ask if you have any questions when you're ready to start your project.Most of all, have fun with it!

@lovemyhouse Debra. Dave's video and the other links are really good

One of the sites I went to, to learn more about mosaic said that the white glue weldbond is excellent for outdoor projects, like birdbaths and etc. I have used e6000 and it has worked well for glass flowers outdoors. http://blog.mosaicartsupply.co...
He has all kinds of tips and tricks and beautiful things. I have several bowling balls I want to do something with.
Never posted a pic on this website I apologize if I should of done something differently.
I made this mosaic for a friend for Christmas it is a big stepping stone for the football team and made this one for myself to put some plants in. pictures flipped?

Nice mosaics! They look familiar. Are you in CMA?

I know many books and teachers use Weldbond, but it is not waterproof at all. Even high humidity can cause it to turn white and soften up again. One person did a huge lifesize bust for a garden. It was a commission and she was paid very well. After less than a year, the pieces all started slipping off the bust. It might be fine for an area under a patio roof where it only gets wet occasionally. In a wet area or freezing area, it's not really safe to use outdoors.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/s...