Concrete Bookends & Tealights

We were so pleased with our first concrete project that we decided to make more! Concrete really lends itself to creative expression.
The same weekend I (vicki) found the silicone bundt pan we used for our concrete lamp, I also found these vintage 1971 statues. At .50 cents for the pair, I knew they were coming home with me as I thought they might lend themselves to a concrete makeover of some sort.
Watch our how-to video.
Materials/Tools:


- Concrete (already sifted of large rocks)


- Plastic mixing bowls


- Trowel


- Water


- Plastic building bricks (We used faux Duplos)


- Plexiglass scrap


- Hardware cloth


- Tin snips


- Gloves


- Rockler Gluing Brush


- Plastic wrap


- Quikcrete Quick-setting cement


- Vintage statues (there are lots of these on eBay)


- Flat gray spray paint


- White Milk Paint


- T-shirt rags
Create the concrete molds. Lay statues on side to determine height and width of mold.
Cut the hardware cloth slightly smaller than the interior of the mold but about one inch taller. Bend the extra length into an “L” shape.
Mix up the concrete. Place the mold onto a scrap of plexiglass. Spread a thin layer of concrete into the mold and lay the hardware cloth into the mold with the short part of the “L” facing up and even with the side of the mold. Continue to add concrete evenly into the mold one brick high.
Remove from mold 20 hours later.
Place this piece vertically into the mold with the exposed edge of the hardware cloth at the bottom, add the statue and adjust the size of the mold.
Add a thin layer of concrete to the molds.
Place vertical concrete and statues back. Add concrete to the base and smooth.
We removed the bookends from the molds and noticed they need a little extra concrete in some places. We used a quick-setting cement to fill in.
I fully intended for the bookends to live on top of my piano since they are music themed, but for some reason they ended up staying at Steph’s house! :)


The tea light candleholders were so easy and the foam insert actually worked quite well. Once you start working with concrete, you will start to see everyday objects in terms of their concrete casting potential.
To see how we made the tea lights and watch a how-to video- visit our website!
Mother Daughter Projects
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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