DIY Cement Leaves

My mother is to thank for this project. She went to a lesson on how to make these cement leaves. When she came to visit me in the summer of 2011, we made them together.

The leaves can be used in the house or in the yard. You can make them flat or curved. They are not difficult to make. Our biggest challenge last summer was the heat. It must have been at least one hundred degrees while we were working on this project. In order to make the concrete leaves you will need: concrete, dirt, a board, large leaves. Hosta leaves work well for the project.

First, lay out the boards and make piles on the dirt. The height of the pile will determine the depth of the finished product. If you would like a bowl, make a large pile with steep sides. If you want something flat, like a paving stone, keep the dirt flat on the board. lay the leaves on top of the piles.

Next mix the cement. If you are thinking of doing this project, you should use Quikcrete. It is a moldable, fast drying concrete. You can add dye to make the concrete different colors, but we decided that we preferred to leave the concrete grey.

Put the cement on top of the leaves. You can make it as thick as you will like. Thicker is stronger, but it takes longer to dry. We made ours about a half an inch thick. If you want smooth edges, you can cut around the cement once it has set, but before it dries completely. We left ours rough. I used gloves, which I would recommend if you do not want to spend hours cleaning cement from your fingernails.

We let our leaves dry for about twenty-four hours. Depending on the conditions it could take longer than that. The leaves now adorn the garden. I also gave one to my neighbor since he let us use some of his leaves. This is a fun quick project.

Happy Homemaking!