Boy is this one a beauty. Sure wish I could find some of the pretty plates some of you find. Hmmm guess being in the right place at the right time prob helps huh. I'll get lucky.

Kat

WOW! That's a beauty, daisyme...did you grout it with "blue?" or is it painted blue or the natural color of the ball? It will look AWESOME in your flowers? Got any oranges, yellows or blues bloomin' right now? NICE! TFS! Jeanne S.

Here's the plates, Kat. I just keep looking at all the thrifts and I garage sale as often as I can. When I found these I wanted to find something to do with them right away as I figured they'd make up into something fun. They look a lot different on the ball, don't they? And the cobalt grout made the orange really stand out.

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Really a work of art!! Beautiful!! Amazing how different plates look on the ball! Love the plates too!! Jan

Thanks all! Jeanne, I colorwashed the cobalt over white grout and HOPE the color will stay vibrant. Trying to hold that bright blue is the reason I'm putting UV spray on it. We've got yellows in the garden, but I'll add some blues for sure. Hmmmmmm, I've got blues on the front porch now. Maybe it could go there where it won't get so much sun and sprinkler water.

its stunning and the colors are so good together

I love it is=t is so pretty!

Great job coloring the grout! I tried that once and it came out a disaster but looked great on another piece. Beautiful use of color. It will looking stunning in the garden! I think it would look really nice in a shady spot that is mostly green (like my balcony - he-he).

Absolutely, totally, GORGEOUS. I love this BB. And I will get it in our Inspiration album asap.

I'm behind again on adding photos (sorry Everyone, will try to catch up soon).

hugs, Karen

Wow! Your BB is beautiful! I think it may be the prettiest one I've ever seen! Love the color choices too! I'm sure it will look stunning in your garden!

OH MY GOSH!!! That is gorgeous!!!
I'm sorry, I've been off the site for awhile, could you explain a couple things to me? First, colorwash - do you mean you painted the grout? with what type of paint? and what are you sealing it with? Is it a spray or a brush on?
That is sooo gorgeous, I'm feeling motivated to make another myself!!!

Kelly, I'm glad you like it and that's inspiring you to do another one too! Yes, you just use acrylic paint. You can put it right on the wet grout, and the better quality paint the better, but you can buy it at Michael's. Someone on my other forum sent me a link to a site that sells acrylic paint that repels or holds up to water, which would be great for a garden piece. When I get back from this weekend I'll go back there and pull that information and list it here for all you junkers...you loves!

Your BB is terrific! Love the bold bright colors.
Vickie

You are such a perfectionist!!! The grout color is Perfect!!! I scored these plates yesterday and will cut em up for a bowling ball...well, cement ball....and will be using blue grout!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:182970}}

WOW!!! That is one incredibly beautiful BB! Your mosaic work is meticulous and I love the color combo! TFS

That's too pretty to put out in the weather! Fabulous!

The bowling ball is beautiful and it was fun to see the plates un broken too. Calamity J, love your plate find too.
kathy

WOW WOW WOW!!! TFS.

daisyme & calamity...how many plates does it take to do a bb? I've been collecting also for my first mosaic project...do both of you do anything with the edges after you break them? Thanks in advance! Jeanne S.

I use a mosaic tile tool called a nipper and snip the plate up...and with these beauties, I'll be probably using my Taurus 3 ring saw as it will let me use the little butterflies in the center of the plate too....then I use my rock tumbler and fill it 3/4full of dishes, add water to just over the plate pcs, then a drop of dish soap, then tumble it for about 20-30min...dry pcs and they are spoothed on the edges...better for when I grout,,,as the dishes can be wicked sharp!!! Too many cuts from this so now I tumble....I haven't done a ball in a while so forget how many dishes I use...it really depends on certain factors too, if the whole plate is usable, or just certain pcs, like the border....sometimes they have a lip(underside of the plate) that deters the use of some of the pattern...as it is just too uneven...but what I do is add 1/2marbles and other plates that match the plates I want to use, so I get a real assortment...sometimes I gotta save plates for a while to get enough to do a project...I've even bought one plate cuz I liked it and then spent months looking for stuff to add to the colors so I could use it!!! I will suggest to anyone, that it is a good idea to bring your bowling ball in for the winter as they can freeze and crack...no matter how well you seal them...I have learned this the hard way!!! PLEASE consider this, it is a shame to do all that hard work and have it ruined!!! PLUS another biggy warning is to use only porceline dishes, NOT ceramic, as they chip when wet and freezing...plus they can fade(the pattern) under harsh summer sun!!! Okay...now that I have poo poo'd some enthusiasm....sorry!!! But being a MOM...I have a knack for it!!!lol! Enjoy and don't let the shards get in you eyes, kids!!!

Hey, I was SURE I answered this today, but I must not have sent it. I think I used just the edges of 3 large and 3 smaller plates on that ball. I still actually have the 4 plates shown left over for another project. I never trim the edges off, though I know that Flag does sometimes. I don't have a grinder or the patience, but it does sometimes make a difference.

Calamity, good score! I can hardly wait to see your project using those great plates!

Thanks for the info, ladies...I think I want to try something on this old fountain I posted yesterday...the rectangular center is what I would mosaic...the brown you see is cement or something...whatever got broke off so I am going to try to chisel that off.. so background pc is "even." I think the fountain is made of marble or some kind of rock, so I hope chisel-ing will work! Oh, who knows what will happen??? And today I tried the pump & it worked!!! WOW...that is a $2 bargain! Anyway, I appreciate you answering my questions! Jeanne S.
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THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing! I woke Carol up to show her your creation! Normally she would have been mad at me for waking her up but when she saw your beautiful creation, she said that we HAVE to create one! Well done! TFS Bear Hugs! Kirk

Oh, Kirk. You're so funny. You did NOT wake Carol up to show her that ball. LOL I'm glad you like it though! You are the first person I remember seeing here when I first came to GW, by the way. Do you remember I told you that I thought you were "famous"? (grin)

Jeannes, I'm not sure you need to even off that center by chipping. You don't want to lose that great score to breakage. The surface doesn't look to be too much deeper in one place than the other. Couldn't you just build up the thinset in the lower places?

I never worry about my plate edges, though I'll eventually get an ice cream maker when I see one to use as a tumbler and tumble as Calamity does. I've never been cut by plate edges. Depending on the plate I sometimes just break them up with a hammer (and my personal preference is to nip off any white usually) and the footers on the bottom, and I sometimes nip the whole plate up with a Lipponit nipper trying to save things like Calamity's butterflys. I can usually nip carefully enough to save them whole, but if they break...hey, it's a mosaic...I use them anyway.

Kelly, my grout sealer is a liquid. Just ask for it at Lowes or Home Depot. I brush it on.

I picked up two more BBs this weekend and some plates. I'm really tempted to start another one right away instead of the birdhouses I'm needing to do for Christmas sales. BBs are addicting!

Just when I think I've seen them all .... a beautiful creation like this pops up! Beautiful, daisyme! Kudos! ~tenderlee