Cement & Wire Stands
It’s already September, which means the first day of school is coming up for students. I remember going shopping for all my school supplies, picking out my binders and pee chees to match. I loved visiting the office supply store with my Mom and my sister…roaming the aisles to pick out my supplies. :) But when it came for junior high, and high school…the most exciting part was figuring out how you were going to decorate your locker. I remember one year everything in my locker was pink. Weird, cause I’m not much of a pink person now. :)
So instead of a new locker to decorate, I had a new desk to accessorize a few months back. I decided to go minimal and modern. I picked out some cement accessories from FMC Design on Etsy which are gorgeous. I love the pencil holder and tray I bought, and maybe will extend my collection with a concrete canister soon! :)
So with this new cement theme in mind, I slowly gathered materials to create some cement wire stands using Merchant & Mills Provision Pins and Silicon Ice Cube Trays. The result? Awesome-ness. :)
Since this was the first time I’ve worked with cement (on my own) of course I roped my friends into getting their hands dirty with me!
Photo disclaimer: I look completely disheveled in these photos. This craft was done after a full day of cleaning, organizing, and moving at the Craft Cabin. It was hot and there were more spider webs than I would like to discuss. So please don’t judge me from my sweaty, dirty appearance. :)
MATERIALS
- Merchant & Mills Provision Pins
- Square silicon ice cube trays
- Template
- Masking tape
- Square piece of cardboard
- Paint stick
- Mask
- Small bucket or container
- Quickrete Portland Cement
- Quickrete Play Sand
- Water
TIME TO COMPLETE
1 hour to mix and pour. Overnight + a few days to completely set the cement.
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1:
To hold your pins in an upright position, and still be able to remove the cardboard without disturbing the pins we created a little cardboard brace. To make this, print out the template, trace it onto your cardboard, and cut out along the dotted lines.
Step 2:
Now get ready to get dirty!
This process was pretty comical. It took three of us ladies to move the concrete bag from my car trunk to the ground. :) This sucker was HEAVY. None the less, we got it done cause we are rock-stars.
Using a couple plastic cups, scoop out 1 part concrete, and 2 parts sand. Mix up those two dry materials before you add your water.
When you are all mixed, add your water slowly until you get a super thick milkshake like consistency. You should feel a little give when you stir it up.
Note: Always wear your mask when you are dealing with the concrete powder. You don’t want to inhale it, and it will pretty much get everywhere. This super hot photo was POST scooping of the powder. :)
Step 3:
Now carefully pour your concrete mixture into the silicone trays. The one pack of Provision Pins is eight, so there was enough for all squares except the center one. Do something creative with that extra one! We stuck a scrabble tile in it. :)
Step 4:
Carefully center your cardboard template on top of the silicon tray. Insert your pins into each of the squares and set aside to dry.
Step 5:
We let ours dry about a day and a half and they were pretty much set up. They are really easy to get out of the tray, just wiggle them a little and they’ll shimmy out.
Use them for displaying postcards, photos, or even table place cards. I think they turned out super cute, and there is one already adorning my desk at work!
my husband and i pour concrete for a living, we love this but he said you can really jazz these up by adding color to them. we add color to our driveways…were on angies list too i guess thats a good thing.anyways try adding color, home depot or lowes would have some i think… Danielle jalbert and Brian too
Thanks for the tip Danielle!
you should bend the metal wire into a little hook at the end so that when the concrete/cement is set, the wire won’t pull out.
Fantastic idea Susan!! Next time I’ll try that for sure.
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Great idea! Thanks for sharing, especially with nitty-gritty detailed equipment list (helpful).
FYI, the mask will be more effective if worn over your nose and mouth.
LOL! :) Yes…I did have it over my mouth at one point.
Cool idea for many things
Hi there. Great post. Can you mix dye to colour the cement?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried it myself, but I took a class once and they said you can. I would try one of these probably: http://www.lowes.com/Asphalt-Concrete-Masonry/Concrete-Cement-Stucco-Mix/Cement-Color-Mix/_/N-1z0uda9/pl#!
Great idea
Clever idea. What about decorating the bases with paint effects? I can see that being popular for wedding and event place settings if they looked a little more elegant.
I guess they could even be decorated with material, made into dolls even – no end to the ideas you can come up with.
Well done!
You can use dry pigments to color cement. Tempera powder works as well as grout color powders. I have a friend that made the most beautiful tiles for his house using concrete and dry pigment.
Why do you not fill the center square?
Good observation. :) I only had a set number of pins.
Great little project, although I would say you should definitely bend the base of the provision pins in an L shape before putting into cement mixture. The way you have it now, if you wiggle or pick them up by the pins, over time the pins will just slide right out, because the cement is not a glue.
That’s a great idea!! Thanks for suggesting it.
Interesting.
I would love to try this with other silicone shapes too! I am going to have so much fun making a mess!
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Wow what an awesome idea! Thank you for the instructions. I am so going to try this!!!
Look good to me x
No need to apologize for your photo, although people can be mean, judge mental, and harsh you are a natural beauty and I really think more women should post all natural in the moment photos.
To help the concrete slide out of the mold I suggest using petroleum jelly or oil and rub it around just like you were greasing a cake pan
That’s a great tip!
Why mix sand with the quick crete?
Good question. This was the technique I was taught in a concrete casting class. I think it has to do with the strength of the final product.
That is awesome!
Thanks Debra! :)