Thank you for popping back in and happy that none of the wall tesserae popped off! ;) You've invested a great deal of time in this project and it shows. People tend to think mosaic art is easy (and some projects might be), but what they don't fathom is the incredible amount of time and creativity involved. I've become extremely fond of using stained glass in my mosaics. eBay has some fantastic deals on scrap glass. No doubt your Wonder horse is going to look wonderful when it's finished! I'm going to comment on that thread so I'll be notified when you comment (and post pictures *hint*) again. Wait… did you hear that? I could've sworn it was a horse whinnying "Katre! I'm here! Come finish me!" Yes... I'm sure that's what I heard! ;)

A couple other things I forgot to mention. I see by your post the bench is outside. Wood expands and contracts when wet,humidity, etc. so most likely why also your tiles popped off too. I would glue back on the pieces, grout and all, then re-grout and bring the bench inside as a peice of furniture. Start from scratch on another one to go outside. When putting a wood substrate outside, you need to keep it out of the elements really if even sealed properly if you want to keep it for decades. Not any where where wet can hit it. Grout sealer does repel water,oils and stains, but not considered waterproof and will definately not protect the wood underneath if not primed first. Pieces I have outside, I seal every 6 months regardless. I mosaiced a wood chair for my kitchen. go to' http://photos.yahoo.com/pattiwatti43 I think its under "mosaics" Another fantastic group is mosaicartists.org under yahoo groups. a wealth of info and you can really self teach yourself with their info as I did. have fun.good luck Patti

Grouted the bench today....It's needs a little more clean up and sealed but that's the easy part. I grouted brown since it will be outside....the blocks to sit it on may have to wait awhile....I dug through 3 ft or so of snow and can't find them, I know their there but...I'll just buy a couple, cause digging got me nowhere.. Cathy Here is a link that might be useful: Mosiac-Finished garden bench

Hey Cindy, your bench turned out just gorgeous. Gads, you're good at this cement stuff! I read your responses to my questions (thank you!!) before I moved on with my balls, but then never made it back to the forum. I had one of those D'oh! moments when I read your idea about filling with styrofoam. Of course! I used your idea, then coated the top of each half with my mortar, then smooshed the halves together. It worked great, so thank you! Now a couple more questions: are you messing around with that one guy's "My Mud" recipe (from the Hypertufa forum)? I'm asking, because the metakaolin and silica fume sounds really familiar, but it's been a long long time since I read about it. I don't really know what they do, though-- add strength or are they for surface finish texture? The fibers are something I've been looking to find, but haven't had any luck yet. Seems to me they are the perfect way to go for some of these projects. Thanks Cindy! Nancy