Two weeks ago, I had Friday off work for my annual now-totally-non-boozy luncheon with Dishy(Ex)Boss.

I had a bit of time at my disposal in the morning, so decided it was time to have a crack at the concrete supplies!

Washed Sydney sand, dingo grey cement and terracotta oxide.

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I’d been diverting materials from the recycling and had a mind to make some tealight holders in a sort of Nakagin Capsule tower capsule shape, and pretty much whatever else revealed itself to me along the way!

potential moulds

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The mix!

3 parts sand + 1 part cement + 1 part water

Note to Future Self: in class I used almost 1.5 parts water to get this result, this took less than 1 part – go carefully!

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First moulds filled!

I made liberal use of plastic wrap for the centre holes, particularly where they were made from something other than plastic. Two weeks in and it seems like everything remained intact – good to know that I can make use of cardboard tubes and other non-plastic items to create shapes.

I didn’t really think this process entirely through and was scrambling to find items to hold down the centres and keep them embedded – they’re wont to float to the top if not restrained.

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And eep! I realised I had more mix than I had moulds, so quickly freestyled a little house mould from leftover bits of milk carton and tape. I didn’t measure, so hopefully reasonably straight!

I have such an enthusiasm for wee concrete houses – and have many favourited on etsy.

Despite the double taping, water started seeping through the edges, so more cling wrap to the rescue. Then it got all wobbly because the milk cartons are not super-stable, so I braced the bottom with a couple of brackets from the random hardware junk tub.

Another note to Future Self: milk cartons are not going to give you the hard edges you want unless you add bracing / support.

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And in all the excitement, completely forgot to add in the oxide, which I was hoping to use for a marble effect on some. Ah well, next time!

As before, I watered for a week and let sit for 2 weeks.

Am excited to see the results when I un-mould on Xmas Eve!

Totally fun, very simple and I will definitely repeat. I’ve bought a hot glue gun and some melamine board, so I can get a bit more creative with the moulds and shapes.

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And after three long weeks, I un-moulded (de-moulded?) the wee pots from my class …

LtoR: plain grey and grey with black oxide marbelling

LtoR: grey with black oxide marbelling and plain grey

So glossy!

I’m super-pleased with them. Definitely keeps the motivation up to keep playing around.