Inspirational, life, Listen, living, Mayan Calendar, Peace

The End

12/20/2012 Tile Gypsy Leave a comment

THE END was a constant fear growing up and It kept me up at night with worry. Sadly, my mother thought it was nonsense and would tell me to go back to bed.

Maybe she was scared too.

I still notice minor bouts of unknown mind terror … which obviously makes it a constant, never knowing what each new day will bring. Yoga helps.

But this time it’s different … It’s a universal announcement that puts us all in the same boat of unknowing and for once in a lifetime … your ego can’t help you get past it. Stop kidding yourself.

Just goes to show you how effective an egotistical state of mind really is. Or not.

When my life flashes before my eyes, I hope to relive all of the amazing, wonderful, loving, beautiful, tragic, joyful, shocking, stupid, sad, terrifying, surreal and excellent adventures that I have been blessed to experience, in this amazing life of mine.

Overwhelming love to my beautiful children, my glorious grandchildren, my true friends and sistas, family (I know you’re out there), all of the 0/2/4 legged creatures that have graced my path and then there’s Rob … my best friend, my one true love and the better half of my life, who shows me everyday what true friendship, kindness, fun and unconditional love really means. My cup runneth over.

To all of you and the powers that be …
I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU for everything! It’s been a blast!

frog — The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. ~Henry Ward Beecher

P.S. If we’re here tomorrow … I still love and thank you!

Cheers!

crafts, mosaic tile, Mosaic Tile Projects

How To Mosaic Tile Revisited

03/31/2011 Tile Gypsy Leave a comment

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. – Albert Einstein

Basic instruction for indoor mosaic tile construction:

Cut pieces to size – wear safety glasses.
Glue pieces to the a prepared surface like this one with Mastic (it’s not concrete)
Let the glued pieces dry for at least 24 hours
Prepare grout according to instructions – put on gloves
Grout the piece filling in all the gaps but avoiding delicate objects
Then clean off the wet grout until it’s shiny
Dispose of unused grout properly … meaning NOT DOWN THE DRAIN – you’ll be sorry.
Let the cleaned piece dry for another 24 hours and polish with a soft cloth as needed
Seal with grout sealer found at any tile or home improvement store

Start with a base and found pieces

Attach the random pieces to the base with mastic found at the home improvement store.

Let the glued pieces dry for 24 hours and grout.

Wipe grout off and keep polishing until clean. Let dry 24 hours. Seal with grout sealer.

Art disturbs, science reassures. ~Georges Braque

Grout, mosaic tile

A Grout of a Different Color

02/01/2011 Tile Gypsy 3 Comments

So how does this whole custom grout color thing work?

I’ve tried using various paints, acrylic and the like, to customize a grout color but I wasn’t happy with the shiny bubble gum look after the grout dried. Turned to grout pigment and it works great. We use to sell it at the shop and may still again … just not right now:(

Bright Blue Grout

Brown Grout Pigment

Grassy Green Grout Pigment

Plum Grout Pigment

Red Rose Grout Pigment

Sandstone Grout Pigment

Terr Cotta Grout Pigment

Yellow Grout Pigment

Grout pigments are highly concentrated and small amounts should be added incrementally until the desired color intensity is reached.

Grout Pigment Directions:

Use one teaspoon of dry colorant for every 8 ounces of grout. Sanded grout is preferred in most of my projects.
Dissolve pigment in water (or grout additive) before mixing with dry grout.
Mix well, give it a sec
Grout
Pray a little.
Clean, polish, seal.