Concrete Crafts

A friend and I made concrete birdbaths. My first attempt (the orange one) didn't work out so well because it wasn't thick enough. My second attempt (green one with orange veins) is much better. Here is how you do it. Buy a bag of sand and arrange it in a hill. Make the hill as high as you want your bird bath to be deep. Cover the hill of sand with plastic (I used a plastic bag cut in half so it was single ply). Put a big leaf over the hill on top of the plastic. You can use rhubarb or burdock or pumpkin or any kind of leaf you care to use. I used burdock. If the leaf extends lower than the beginning of the stem, trim the leaf until it is even with stem. If your leaf has a hole in it, patch the hole with another leaf piece. Take off your rings and bracelets and roll up your sleeves. Mix a bag of vinyl patch with water. Put the water in first and then add the vinyl patch so it doesn't get as lumpy. Mix it thoroughly. I found it best to use a large and low container. Scoop the cement on top of the leaf. Use the entire amount on cement on one leaf. Spread the cement to the ends of the leaf. Make sure the cement is thicker at the center of the leaf than the leaf edges. Allow the cement to dry for at least a week. If you have it outside, protect the cement from rain by covering it with plastic. When the week is up, turn it over and peel the leaf off the cement. If the leaf won't come off, use a scrub brush to brush it off. Let the bird bath air out a day or two. Paint with acrylic paint. Spray with Krylon clear spray. Set on a plant stand. Voila! A bath for birds is complete.