Concrete Garden Orbs

MadeByBarb
by MadeByBarb
3 Materials
$5
1 Hour
Easy
Use some old yarn or fabric strips to make these light weight concrete garden orbs. They make great accents to the garden as they stand up to all weather. This is my own original design, and quite simple.
These great concrete orbs can be made with any fabric or yarn as long as it is wide enough and can absorb some concrete. You can use a rotary cutter to cut strips of fleece or use some chunky yarn. (complete detailed instructions here)
The 'stiffener' in this project is portland cement. It is the active ingredient in concrete and usually some aggregate is added. Here, we will be using the fibres as the aggregate.
As a form for this project you can use any inflatable balloon or beach ball. Make a resting place for them on a bucket and have them ready before mixing any concrete.
Get suited up with a dust mask and gloves to mix a slurry of portland cement and water. It should be of a fairly fluid consistency.
Take your long strips or yarn and dampen it. Once dampened submerge it in the concrete and squeeze to allow it to absorb the cement. Do not lose the end in the mix.
Once it is quite 'concretey' pull it through your fingers and wrap around the form in a random way trying to evenly space the lines. The more dense the wrapping; the more strong the shape. Leave a place for the beach ball to be pulled out.
The thin cement will chip away afterward. Let is cure in a shady place. Spraying with water will help strengthen the concrete.
Poke the balloon or deflate the beach ball. The transparent nature of these makes for great use of fairy lights as well.
Simple shapes accent the texture of the garden quite well. I love how they can be combined as well. For more options see here
These will be easy to move and can be made in any size... Awesome!
Suggested materials:
  • Yarn or fabric strips   (general store)
  • Portland Cement   (Hardware/home improvement store)
  • Some inflatable balloon or beachball
MadeByBarb
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 11 questions
  • Nancy Nancy on Jun 09, 2020

    Have anyone tried adding die to the concrete?

  • Tina Tina on Aug 22, 2020

    I would like to try making these with a stem. Like allium flowers. Any ideas how to attach a stem? I have some green plastic coated metal garden stakes which I could use but not sure how.

  • Osw51494386 Osw51494386 on Oct 01, 2021

    Hi Barb,

    Love your stuff but can't decide what to do first. Where did yu get your round latex balloons?I'm finding really big ones, and they're not cheap.

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