Create & Decorate With Cement Containers

5 Materials
$20
3 Days
Medium

I wanted to play with cement. This is my first attempt of concrete creating.

Make sure you get a bag of the finest cement. I found this bag of cement at Home Depot. I used Portland 1-11.

I picked these containers up awhile ago at Dollar General. I recommend squares or circles in multiple sizes. Plastic worked perfectly in this project. You will need two pieces per bowl. One for the outside and one to make an insert for the inside. In my case I will be using six of them.

You need to have vegetable oil and paper towels. I put a thin layer in all six of the insides of the containers that I will be using.

Then I put a thin layer of oil on the outsides. Try not to miss an area. This will make for a smooth release.

Now, grab your 5 gallon bucket and mix concrete with water according to the cement directions. I did a third of the bucket with cement and added water and used a thick wood painter stirrer. I would recommend for the next one to use an eclectic drill with paint stirrer attachment.

it takes muscle my way.

Also, I want to note to place something on the ground like a drop cloth, Bisquine, or old tablecloth. Dollartree has plastic ones that can be thrown out after.

Time to put the cement into the bowl. I used a plastic cup and scooped it out. I filled it up about half way up.

I took one of the smaller containers and set it in the center.

I wanted to make sure it set perfectly but not all the way to the bottom. I used rocks to hold it in place. Continued to do this with the other pieces.

Here they are all ready for the drying time. I left them out to dry overnight.

The next morning I removed the bowls from each of them. You can see that they are half dried so need to set out for another day.

I ended up letting them dry completely for a total of 3 days. You may need longer depending on your climate where you live.

They can be decorated with just about anything.

I hope you enjoyed my take on cement bowls. If I missed anything please just ask.

IG Dreamoakdecor

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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 4 questions
  • Virginia Virginia on Apr 14, 2021

    Can you keep/use these cement bowls outside in the weather? Or would rain/snow ruin them?

  • Gwyn Dean Gwyn Dean on Apr 14, 2022

    I really like this. How were you able to get the top edge so smooth and flat?❓❓

  • Teresa Cuoghi Edens Teresa Cuoghi Edens on Apr 15, 2022

    why would you not use them for outdoors? They lend themselves perfectly to that extent. They are very nice!

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4 of 22 comments
  • Teresa Cuoghi Edens Teresa Cuoghi Edens on Apr 13, 2022

    You forgot to put wooden dowels or drill holes while they were wet. That's ok for not really foliage and plants but you need drainage holes for real plants. But they are very cute! I made a huge hypertufa planter about 20 years ago ad it is still going strong. It's cement for goodness' sakes.

    • As stated they are bowls for decorating. It did not even cross my mind to put live plants in them. Especially using them indoors.

  • Leslie Leslie on Apr 14, 2022

    Rapid Set is a great cement to use for making containers and sculpture.

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