A Real Glass Act

Need a little sparkle in your life? Create great outdoor projects with Home's new Sparkle Stone mosaic glass tiles. Light simply dances off of the beautiful natural glass and stone. Available in four dazzling mosaic colours: Coast, Iron, Beach and Bark. Can you ever have too much sparkle in your life? I think not.

Tray Chic!

The classic serving tray for outdoors is enhanced with sparkle stone for a real sensory delight.

• Inside tray size: 131⁄2" x 19" (20 tiles wide 29 tiles long plus 1⁄8" grout joint around the outside edges).
• Cut tile with scissors and arrange on aflat surface to confirm the finished insidesize of the tray. Cut sides and end piecesfrom 1" x 4" pine with mitred corners to enclose the finished inside size.
• Mark the position of hand-holds (11⁄4" x 6" with round corners) in the centre of the two end pieces, 1" down from the top edge.
• Drill a pilot hole in the centre of the hole and cut out with a jigsaw or scroll saw and sand edges smooth. Glue and nail the sides and ends together.
• Cut the plywood bottom flush with outside edges of tray, glue and nail in place. Fill nail holes and sand all surfaces smooth.
• Prime and paint as desired (colour shown: Beauti-Tone Playhouse).
• Apply adhesive to bottom of tray, set tile in place and press flat. Allow to cure overnight. Following the 'How to grout' instructions. Clean excess grout from painted surfaces.

Materials Required:

• 1" x 4" pine (6 feet)
• 1⁄4" good-one-side plywood (15" x 21")
• Sparkle Stone mosaic glass tile, Beach (2 sheets) 2778-476
• unsanded grout, Antique 1690-307
• ceramic wall tile adhesive 2036-004
• adhesive spreader 1⁄8" notch 2032-231
• carpenters glue 2020-182
• jigsaw 1268-533 or scroll saw 1345-057
• sandpaper 1060-176

Coast Guard

Simple, yet stunning coasters to protect your furniture, beautifully.

Materials required:

• Sparkle Stone mosaic glass tile, Bark (1 sheet) 2778-479
• 1⁄8" hardboard
• ceramic wall tile adhesive 2036-004
• adhesive spreader 2032-231
• unsanded grout, Sahara 1690-824
• scissors 4464-314

Cut the size of coaster desired from the tile sheet with scissors or a utility knife (size shown: 6 x 6 tiles, approx. 4"square). Trim the tile backing flush to the tile edges. Cut the 1⁄8" hardboard to match the size of your coaster. Apply adhesive to hardboard with notched trowel and set tile in place. Let stand overnight or until adhesive is cured. Following the "How to grout" instructions.

How To Grout

Tools:

• rubber grout float 1078-746 (for smaller projects use a rubber kitchen spatula 4140-249)
• grout finishing sponge 1610-073
• grout sealer 4574-278

Here's How!

1. Mix an appropriate amount of dry grout and water to achieve a smooth, but not runny, consistency (add more dry grout if it's too runny).
2. Apply grout with the rubber float, forcing grout into the joints between tiles and coating the edges. Reserve a small amount of grout to fill any voids that appear after sponging.
3. Remove excess grout and wait for it to begin to set.
4. When the centres of the tiles become hazy, wipe the surface gently with a damp finishing sponge.
5. Rinse and repeat the process until the surface is clear of grout. If any voids appear, fill with the reserved grout.
6. When the surface is dull and dry, polish with a clean dry cloth. Apply sealer.

Note: Typically, unsanded grout is used for wall applications, with thin tile and narrow grout joints (1⁄8" or less). Sanded grout is used for floor applications, with thick tile and joints larger than 1⁄8".