Thrifty Find - Garden Stones

I ran into my sister's in law sister at Home Depot some time ago. We got to chatting about yard work and such and she mentioned that she had these "things" in her yard that were really heavy, flat and kind of round but she thought they were ugly and wanted to get rid of them. I assumed they were garden stones. Whatever they were, they were free so I told her I would be happy to take them off of her hands. That weekend I sent my son over to her house to pick them up and this is what he brought back.

She was right about the ugly part. I have to admit I have never seen anything like them and I'm not sure what to do with them. I'm thinking either a mosaic, or paint them bright colors. I even thought about painting them with glow in the dark paint. I'm planning on doing some landscaping this year and will use them somehow but am not am not sure exactly where. 

I love mosaics so I am thinking about going this route. Using a single tile color for each one that follows the shape of the stepping stone is a thought. It would be easy to do and be a little more fun than just paint. I would love to get some ideas because I am stumped. 

If anyone has an idea of what I can do with them I would love to hear it. Please help.

Cheers!!

Barbara

Not Your Grandma's Mosaic Tile

The choices for mosaic tile have really grown in the last several years. Gone are the days when ceramic, porcelain, marble, granite and slate were all you had to choose from. Today you can select from a new variety of materials including glass, metal, seashells, wood, cork and leather in a wide array of colors, shapes and sizes. I'm particularly drawn to leather tiles because it's just so unexpected. The deep rich colors and textures are so warm and would be a sure conversation starter when used in any application. I would buy it in a heartbeat if I found it at the right price. I could see using it as an inlay on a table or perhaps framed with molding on a wall. This stuff is pricey so using it sparingly is the key. Here are a few exiting alternatives to traditional stone and ceramic tile. What applications would you use some of these exiting new products? 

  

Best Tile - glass tile Chestnut Rose

                              

AmCork Cork wall tile

Glass Tile Store - Loft Curve stainless steel and marble

Nappa Tile - Fauna Faux Leather wall tile 

Pedulla Tiles - Mosaic ceramic tile

Glass Tile Oasis Brushed Aluminum Tile

Lyric Tile Sea Shell mosaic tile

Glass Tile Oasis wood mosaic tile

Nappa Tile - Dare Faux Leather wall tile

Best Tile Padua - Sunrise glass tile

Lyric Tile Sea Shell mosaic

AmCork cork wall tile

TileShowroom.com - Glass tile

Best Tile Calypso ceramic tile

Happy Accidents

After months of trying to decide on what accent tile to use for my bathroom shower I opted for a watery blue glass and marble mosaic tile. They were $12 bucks a sq ft so I could only afford a few sheets. A few days later my contractor and I were all set to install the tile and when I opened the box I realized it was the wrong tile. Oh man! Now I would have to put my project on hold and go back to store to sort it out. Before I did I decided to see how it looked in the bathroom. Good decision, because it looked great. It is at least as beautiful if not more so than what I had previously chosen. It has white frosted and gray glass tiles with marble and silver metallic accents. It tied the grays in well with the white and would work with any color I painted the bathroom. Also, if I remembered correctly, it was a little more expensive than what I had picked. 

I am glad the store made the mistake and chose the tile for me. The lesson I learned with this experience is that you should  always check what you purchase before you leave the store. Second lesson learned was check to see if what you got is at least as good if not better than what you wanted. You could be surprised by the outcome. It worked out well for me this time, but I won't make that mistake again.