Colorants User Guide

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Watch the Video For Karen’s Tips, Tricks and Tactics
For Your New Colorants!

Printable Guide
The most popular question in my Mosaic Mentoring Facebook group of 48k members is “What color grout?”

There was a need for an easy way to purchase quality colorants so when I found out one of the world’s leading color concrete pigment experts was my neighbor from 40 years ago, I had to reach out.

With over 42 years of experience and a passion for color, he knows color! He also produces the world’s strongest black pigment BK 555 (triple five) We have teamed up to bring you an exciting new collection of fine-quality powder pigments in an inspiring array of beautiful colors.

General Colorants
Mixing Guide

When mixing colorants, it’s important to first decide how saturated you want your color. There is a maximum load for each colorant listed on the bottle. The maximum load is the highest percentage of pigment you can add to a powder cement product (grout, thin set, or concrete) to obtain the most saturated color.

For full saturation, mix max load of colorants, then test. If it needs to be a touch darker, you can add a little more until you get the color desired.

YOU MUST MIX YOUR DRY CEMENT-BASED PRODUCTS AND COLORANT TOGETHER FIRST BEFORE ADDING WATER

What you will need
      • Scale to measure in grams (Amazon)
      • Measuring spoons and cups (I recommend metal)
      • Large container for mixing
      • Small container for testing color (I recommend silicone)
      • Large and small spatula (I recommend silicone for large and Italian metal for small)
      • Ziplock baggies
      • Dropper or syringe for water
Mixing suggestions
      • Shake powdered colorant and cement base in a ziplock baggie until very well mixed.
      • Scoop out a small amount into a small silicone cup, add drops of water and mix to determine color. (Remember it will always dry lighter)
      • If you are satisfied, then transfer the amount you need from the baggie into a mixing bowl and add water slowly until it is peanut butter consistency.
Color mixing

When mixing colorants to create new color combinations, mix them dry before adding them to your concrete base and liquid. I recommend you create a small sample board to ensure you get the color you want.

Safety and clean up

A particulate (N95) mask is recommended. Avoid contact with skin and clothes. Wash with water.

Printable Guide

Play, create, have fun and

Meet Rainbow Colorants Founder, Karen

Karen Sasine has always been an artist. Her passion for color and pattern started very early with a love of textiles and design, which led her to earn a BA degree in art.

Mosaics found her in 2002 and has proven to be a perfect medium with its variety of materials and styles. Over the past 23 years, as she has honed her mosaic art skills, sharing her knowledge through teaching and mentoring has brought her immense joy.

In 2015, in the interest of spreading her love of mosaics, Karen created the Facebook group Mosaic Mentoring. Today that group’s membership has over 48,000 people, beginners and professionals alike, exploring, learning, and sharing their mosaics knowledge freely.

Karen's Portfolio
Karen Sasine

A Little Love For Our Colorants

I recently purchased some grout colorants from Karen Sasine. These colorants are a life changer. They are intense and come in 24 different colors with possiblity of getting even more color variants by mixing 2 or more colors together. Experimenting and creating color samples for future reference is convenient and lots of fun. They come with instructions of how to mix colors to grout.  Karen is also always ready to answer questions and help via chat or messenger. I would highly recomend these colorants to fellow mosaic artists.

Jilla Simmons

Artist

As an artist with many ideas and not knowing where to start, I recently contacted Karen when I was trying to figure out how to make progress on feeling healthier after a long illness and get some art projects in the works. I felt overwhelmed at where to begin. After my first phone call with Karen I felt I had a plan I could easily stick to. Karen listened to what I wanted to accomplish and offered precise steps for me to work towards in a manageable way. She is a very good listener with ideas that really resonated with me. Karen is knowledgeable about making changes in my diet to attain more energy and balance. She then made sure I knew what it would take to work on and complete. Being able to complete a few things on my list has propelled me to keep working and completing tasks. She also told me I could ask questions and let her know I was working on my goals via messaging. I felt this accountability really helped me to stay on task. Having Karen offer some direction has kick started me towards accomplishing things I recently only thought about. Karen’s art degree as well as health and coaching were evident in her knowledge to offer suggestions in a very professional way. I highly recommend Karen for anyone looking to take your art to the next level and achieve art goals and feel healthier and more balanced.
Barb Arne

Artist

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