The Spackle Concept

I've had lots of annoyances trying to mosaic my first butterfly because the mortar I spread over my hardware cloth wasn't perfectly even. Ironically, I haven't had this similar problem as I'm working on Mr. Sea. I think because he's a larger piece, he was easier to really keep smooth in the mortar stage. That and, because he's a larger piece, I'm finding it easier to adjust for slight tilts in some of the tiles.

But these butterflies become a terrible pain when I can't get a tile to set right because there's a bump in the underlying mortar. So I'm trying something a little different for my second one. I took a putty knife and some thinset and basically "spackled" the butterfly wings. I'm letting it dry good, and then I'll lightly sand over it to get the surface even more smooth.

I have no idea whether or not this will help. I will keep you posted!

Oh, and I'll be posting pictures on my first butterfly as soon as I grout it!