I believe what you do is tip the icecream maker sorta at a sideways angle and let it turn like a cement mixer. I use a rock tumbler and always add a drop of dish soap to make sure my glass/tile/china gets a good cleaning so it adheres better. I tumble/rinse/dry and glue.

Yep - NOPE - I don't tumble everything - just glass from bottles and those green florist vases. What CALAM said - turn it on its side in my kitchen sink, and let it run w/just enough water to about an inch above the glass for 30 min., or until you're happy w/the feel of it. Hey,girlie, I've been waiting to see if you started the project that you said you were starting on Wed. The activity on this site comes and goes. Most everyone, I imagine, is busy in their gardens. I surely am - killing myself planting. W/be back to mosaicing when everything is planted.

Thanks for the information. Yes, slow, I did start a flower pot. It doesn't look very good and I ended up using it as a chance to try different adhesives and cutting of the glass. I still need to practice cutting the glass because my cuts are going in all different directions. I am still reading books and I know what I will do next. I think I would rather do it with tile than glass. I appreciate all the help y'all gave me. We finished our very small garden last week and finally got rain yesterday.

I have virtually no mosaic experience, but when I made my backsplash last month, I softened the edges of the glass by filling an empty plastic sour cream container about 3/4 full of pieces, adding water to cover and a squirt of dish soap. Then I shook it, sometimes really hard and sometimes sorta haphazard, for about five minutes. Then I'd pour off the water and let the pieces dry on a rag. The little sharp edges collect in the bottom into sand and the other pieces are much less sharp (no ice cream maker).

I also bought a stone in the tile cutting area of Lowes for about 8 bucks that you can use to sand down rough edges after you've just made a cut. It worked really well on the pieces I had to cut down further to fit into a specific spot.

The key is to have a watertight container that is quite sturdy or to wrap it in a rag or something. I got a very gentle shower at one point because my container lid
started to leak a bit.

Good luck. Try posting this rock tumbler/ice cream maker question as the subject of your post and maybe you'll get more advice.

I went to Wimberley with my group of girl friends. Great shopping and there happened to be a festival going on. The other ladies shopped downtown for clothes and gifts but I veered off into an old nearby thrift shop and bought a huge box of plates and saucers that have a thick heavy 24K gold rim, all for . . . $12. We stayed in a large old home on a secluded acreage and everyone brought lots of food. The pool was gorgeous and the weather was superb. I am refreshed and ready to jump back into mosaics.

Oh, SILVA: Every time you mention Wimberley, I get homesick for that area. I LOVE Wimberley. So - do you have a project in mind for your new 24K gold edged shards? Anxious to see what you'll be up to next. All I can see is miles and miles of flower gardening left to do.

No project in mind. All I can think about right now is my glass head. But I have used some gold plate rims in the past and it really adds something special, doesn't it? I'll have to give it some thought. Right now, what I have going on is: the head (for myself), a large glass counter for a day spa that I will do with translucent tiles and mirrors, I have several real guitars to do, and then I have that Wedi that I am anxious to do something with, plus I have that kiln sitting out in the shed calling my name and I want to learn how to do some metallic tiles in it.

Makes me tired just reading your "to do" list. I'm so tired right now from enlarging a flowerbed I could die. Going to the swing w/a glass of lemonade to rest.