Although concrete has long since lost its reputation for being boring, there are still people who are skeptical about the gray building material. It can have a really beautiful and modern look and in this way enhance both indoor and outdoor areas. If you like the chic and subtle minimalist style, you're sure to find some great ones in today's articleIdeas with concretefind to theSpice up the garden a little. We will show you a few instructions with which you can make concrete figures for the garden yourself.
Make your own concrete figures for the garden using homemade molds
Angels, stars, hearts and many other shapes and figures can be wonderfully crafted withConcrete for the garden. If small figures are enough for you, for example to make a mobile out of them or simply as decoration for the patio or garden table, you can use normal cookie cutters for this purpose. But if you would like to place a few larger eye-catchers in the garden, you can also make your own shapes using simple cardboard. This is how you can make figures out of concrete yourself:
You need:
- Cement or craft cement (cement for crafts is finer and more fluid and produces smoother surfaces)
- Water
- thick cardboard
- thin cardboard (e.g. from muesli or cornflakes packaging)
- thick tape
- Scissors
- Hot glue
- fine sandpaper
If you would like to make figures out of concrete yourself, first draw the desired shape on the thick cardboard. For this purpose, you can also search for any image on the Internet, print it out, cut it out and use it as a template. Once you have drawn your motif, place strips of thin cardboard along the outline. Because the cardboard is thin, it is easy to bend. Using the adhesive tape, stick the resulting support walls to the base (thick cardboard) on both sides. Make sure that these walls are stable and do not bend later due to the weight of the concrete
Then prepare the concrete according to package instructions by mixing cement and water. A ratio of 2:1 is usually chosen. Also, make sure you add the cement to the water and not the other way around. The finished onePour concreteNow in your form. Then shake it gently or tap it on the table to remove any air bubbles. Then let the concrete dry for at least 24 hours, remove the cardboard and, if necessary, sand any sharp edges smooth with the sandpaper.
Make your own concrete garden figures for planting
How about making your own concrete figures for the garden that you can also plant? A simple Styrofoam head is the basis for the following concrete DIY, which will make even beginners feel like true artists. This is how you can make the decoration out of concrete:
- Styrofoam head
- Messer
- Pencil
- Water
- Bucket and object for stirring (old spoon, stick, etc.)
- Gloves
- Metallrohr
- tape
- plant
- Concrete mix (e.g. craft concrete)
Restoring the concrete figure:
If you want to make such figures out of concrete yourself, you first have to create the upper part of the headmade of Styrofoamcut off and hollow out. You can then use a metal tube to poke a hole through the center of the head. The hole allows excess water to drain out later after watering. Then mix the concrete, put on gloves and start spreading the concrete on your head. The layer should be around 1 – 1.5 cm thick. Try to remember where the eyes and nose were originally.
With more concrete you can now create the eyes, nose and eyebrows. For the nose, first form a small ball out of concrete and press it onto the spot on the head where the nose was originally located. Then use your hands to make a nose out of the ball. Whenever the concrete becomes too dry to mold, you can wet your hands with a little water and continue working. Create a face using a pencil and additional concrete, moving, adding, or otherwise reshaping the layer of concrete on the head as needed.
Finally, fill the inside of the head with concrete. If you want, you can also create a base around the neck to make the planter stand more stable later. To do this, place the head on a piece of cling film and add the concrete around the neck. Allow the concrete to dry. If you want, you can still create the moss effect by grinding fake moss in a blender until it becomes powdery. Then spread napkin glue here and there on the head and the moss powder on top. This decorative effect is not waterproof!
Tipp:You can also alternatively like for thatMoos GraffitiUse real moss and buttermilk and use it to design the head if you make such figures out of concrete yourself. With a little luck, real moss will form and grow on the head.
Make your own figures out of concrete – elves for Christmas
It's not just in the warmer seasons that you want a beautifully decorated garden. Even in winter it should be nice to look at and what's moreat Christmas timefit. The trendy onesDecorate gnomesMany gardens have been in winter for a few years now. Below we will show you a creative and friendly variant of such concrete sculptures for the garden. If you would like to make the concrete figures yourself, you will need:
- concrete mix
- Sheer tights
- Gloves
- Yarn or string
- Paper cup, bottom cut out
Make the concrete decoration yourself
This is how you can make the concrete figures yourself: Cut a stocking from the tights. Then cut a strip from the open side so that you get a ring, which you put aside for now. Now roll up the stocking over the bottom part of the cup. With its help you can now more easily fill the stocking with concrete. Now fill the stocking with concrete until you reach the desired size.
Finally, pull the stocking upthe pointed hatof the gnome. Tie the stocking and press the lower, spherical part of the future gnome so that there is enough concrete in the pointed hat. There should be no air. Take the stocking ring from before, dip it briefly into concrete and push the stocking cap through it so that it lies loosely on the gnome. Then, using your fingers on the side of the gnome, take a portion of the concrete and twist it in to form a bulb that will be the nose. Tie off the tuber with a piece of twine or string. Hang the concrete sculptures to dry for at least 24 hours and cut off the stocking above the knot. These cute concrete figures are so easy to make yourself!
These gnomes are also a great and modern alternative if you want to make garden gnomes out of concrete yourself.
Cute garden decoration made of concrete and wire - minimalist chicks
You can also make eggs in a pretty similar way to the gnome. A balloon can also be used instead of a stump. Fill it with the concrete mix and hang it up to dry. It is an advantage if the balloon or stocking rests a little on the ground so that there is a flat surface for setting it up. Immediately after you have hung the stocking or balloon with concrete, you should attach the wire to it.
ItForm wireFirst wave them for a cockscomb and make the feet of the chicks from two other pieces. Insert the wire into the concrete and allow everything to dry for at least 24 hours. Then remove the stocking or balloon, whereupon you can decorate any area outside or inside with the new garden sculpture. The perfect garden decoration for Easter!
Make your own mushrooms as figures out of concrete
Mushrooms are really popularGarden figures, because they make the garden look even more natural and are simply likeable. They are real eye-catchers, especially in groups under a tree or in a corner of the garden. Would you like to make your own mushrooms as a concrete decoration? Then use these instructions:
- old, flat bowl for the mushroom umbrella
- large plastic bottle for the mushroom stem, cut open at the top and bottom
- Document
- concrete mix
- Clear film
Make your own mushrooms as concrete figures for the garden:
Would you like those?Make your own sculptures, first line the inside of the bowl with the foil. This makes it easier to remove the concrete from the bowl later. Then add concrete to the bowl and shape it like a mushroom umbrella. Then insert the bottle into the middle of this umbrella. But don't push it in too deep. She shouldn't get through to the other side. Now fill the bottle with concrete to create a stem and let the concrete dry for a few days.
It's best to remove the bottle first. If necessary, you can also cut these with a knife for this purpose. Now take the mushroom cap out of the bowl and remove the foil. Your mushroom is ready. You can also paint this to make it look even more like a real mushroom.
Make your own caterpillar for planting as a sculpture
You can create a playful and at the same time practical decoration made of concrete figures for the garden with caterpillars that can be planted with small plants. They look particularly pretty in pairs, with only one of themfor plantingis thought. But of course you can put as many in the garden as you want and design them according to your ideas. It's so easy to make the caterpillars yourself as concrete figures:
- large foil as a base
- concrete mix
- Plastic bottles, bottom cut off
- small old bowl
- PVC pipe, cut into pieces
- Paint brush
- Colors for painting
- optional: additional sand
Make caterpillars out of concrete
Here's how you can make the caterpillars yourself as figures out of concrete: Lay the foil on the floor as a base. If you want your caterpillar to look like it's just crossing small bumps, you can now place two small piles of sand on the foil. Then spread a strip of concrete over your base and over the sand piles and smooth it out. Then take the bowl and gently press it into the concrete several times side by side to secure the spherical parts of the caterpillar body. If necessary, you can trace the outline of the bowl with a sharp object.
Now use a pointed object (e.g. a knife) to move along the outline of the bowl in a wave pattern to create the shapeTo shape the caterpillar body. Then carefully remove the excess concrete from the sides. Don't forget to leave a tail tip. Then use one of the pieces of pipe to make a hole in the first circle, remove the concrete from the tube and put it back into the circle. Repeat this with the other circles intended for planting. Leave your head out.
Then put the bottles over it and shape the tail. Then add more concrete around the bottles and then also on the free circles from which you form balls. Once you are happy with the height and width of your bead, fill a small bowl with water, dip a brush into it and use this moisture to smooth the concrete surface. Allow the concrete to dry for a few days.
Then remove the bottles and pieces of pipe and use concrete to form small balls for the caterpillar's eyes and legs. Once this concrete has dried, you can paint the caterpillar. To do this, apply a white paint as a primer and let it dry. Then you can paint the body green and the eyes and legs orange. When this paint has also dried, apply a second coat of paint if necessary. Then you can plant the pots.
Make your own concrete decoration for the garden without a plant container
Make figures out of concrete yourself – tip:If you would like to make a caterpillar with concrete that should not be planted, you can use one for this purposeUse tights. Cut a stocking and fill it with concrete. Then separate the individual balls with string and tie them around the stocking. Then let the concrete dry, then remove the string and tights and move on to creating the feet and eyes and painting as you did for the other caterpillar.
