Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Playing with Cement


Though in NYC I was a frequent cement-graffiti reader (I used to wonder about the hearts and initials and dates I saw scrawled all over the sidewalks) and a one-time cement-graffiti maker...

(Corner of Clinton & Livingston, Brooklyn Heights)

...I had yet to really use concrete for anything.  Enter a quick outdoor project- a cement planter for my dad. I grabbed a 20 lb bag of quick set cement from the Home Depot, a bucket to mix it in (using a paint stirrer), cooking spray, and two plastic bowls to use as molds.

There are recipes out there for planters that add pearlite and peat moss to the cement, but I decided to keep my first attempt simple.  Cement only.  First I sprayed down my plastic bowls with cooking spray (to make sure the planter would slide right out once it dried) and then I mixed the dry cement with some water.  Wearing protective eyewear and gloves, of course.  From what I understand, cement poisoning is no joke.


Then, I dumped the wet cement into my larger bowl.  Once it was all in, I smushed the other bowl on top to shape the planter...


...and then let it dry for a day.  24 hours later, it slid out of the bowls easily and I was able to fill it up with flowers!


Seriously so simple!  I'm excited to try more shapes & sizes!  Stay tuned and stay homey!

1 comment:

  1. What a great gift! Looks so easy too! Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!

    ReplyDelete

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