Ideas for cement crafts for a summer residence and how to make figures with your own hands
Using cement, you can make not only paths, but also decorative crafts, figurines that will decorate your flower garden. It is not necessary to buy ready-made figurines in the store, you can make them with your own hands - this is a simple and interesting creative process. Let's see what ingredients are needed to make a craft for giving cement with our own hands, and what needs to be done to get a beautiful decorative sculpture in the end.
How to make figures with your own hands step by step
Cement is a versatile material from which you can create a figurine of any complexity. Summer visitors make flower pots, plant figurines or fairy tale characters for plots. Mushrooms and gnomes are popular. Cement, as a material, is not capricious, but certain rules must be followed in order for the figurine to be beautiful and durable.
Preparation of the solution
First, you need to find a solution. The main components of the solution are the cement itself, water, sand and tile adhesive... Cement is mixed with sand in a ratio of one to two, and glue is added to this solution in an amount equal to the amount of cement. Water is added in small portions to achieve a thick but plastic consistency.
Additives
In addition to the main components, auxiliary ingredients are added to the concrete solution, which will help to achieve the desired consistency and improve the quality of the mixture.
PVA glue
Adding ordinary PVA glue to the solution helps to improve its quality. Concrete with the addition of glue turns out to be plastic and instantly sets, taking the desired shape. It is added to the mixture in an amount equal to five to ten percent of the volume of the mixture. PVA glue will increase the plasticity of concrete in an uncured form, but the hardness of the finished product itself will decrease due to this.
liquid glass
Liquid glass, when added to the composition of the solution, helps to increase tightness. However, concrete with the addition of liquid glass hardens faster, the time during which the cement-concrete mortar remains plastic is reduced.
Plasticizer
Plasticizers are special agents that serve to make cement-concrete mortar flowable and workable. They are used to reduce the water/cement ratio and to make the mix easier to compact. Additionally, plasticizers add a mixture of strength, water resistance, and frost resistance.
HYPERTUF
Hypertuff can be used as a substitute for concrete mix when creating pots or figurines for the garden. It is obtained by adding peat or perlite to the mixture.It is a less resistant material than concrete. However, a solution with the addition of peat will turn out to be much more plastic, it will be easier for it to give the shape we need.
Powder detergent or dishwashing liquid
Ordinary washing powder, shampoo, dishwashing detergents act on the cement-concrete mixture as a plasticizer. A spoonful of powder is enough to increase the plasticity of cement.
putty
Putty is useful to increase the smoothness of the surface of our product. It is applied to the finished frozen figurine. After drying, the putty becomes hard and firmly adheres to the cement.
What paint can be used
It is not enough to mold a figurine of the right shape for it to decorate a flower garden. In addition, it should be painted in colorful colors. No paint is suitable for this purpose, as not all types of colorants can interact with concrete.
It is important to choose the right paint for our purpose.
Acrylic
Acrylic paint is one of the most popular and excellent concrete colorants. It is characterized by excellent adhesion to concrete, so it adheres well to the figure for a long time without the need for touch-ups. Acrylic paints are elastic and not subject to cracking, they dry quickly on the surface. They are hard-wearing and have a wide range of colors.
For the floor
A special concrete floor paint will also work for our purpose. It contains many binders, due to which such a dye has high strength, and is also firmly fixed on the concrete surface.
Aerosol cans
Another option is aerosol dyes in special boxes. This paint is usually used in graffiti, but it is also ideal for painting cement figures. They are characterized by their resistance and stability, as well as their quick drying.
Facade
Special facade paints are used to protect concrete surfaces and increase their service life. They adhere perfectly to the cement and maintain their integrity over a long period of time. Resistant to humidity and fire, hardly fades under prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays. Dirt resistant and easy to clean.
Preparation for staining
There are two options for painting a cement figure. The first is to add the pigment directly when preparing the solution. This method is suitable if you plan to make the figurine a solid color.
The second option is to paint the finished figure. After creating the mortar of the product and shaping it, allow the figure to cure for three to four days. After that, you can start painting the figure. For greater reliability of adhesion to the surface, acetone should be added to the dye in a volume equal to about ten percent of the total volume of the dye liquid.
How to paint correctly
If you add the dye directly at the stage of preparing the solution, then gradually pour the paint into the finished mixture, constantly stirring, until you get the shade you need.
If you are painting a ready-made craft, then after it is completely solidified, carefully apply the paint, giving the figure the desired pattern. When the figure is painted, it should be allowed to dry a little, then the surface is varnished.
How to find or make a frame for a sculpture
To create the frame of our future machine, we need copper wire. It should be flexible, but strong enough. The optimal wire thickness for creating a frame is eight millimeters.After creating the framework, a concrete solution is applied to it.
Concrete drinker
You can make a figure without using a frame, provided it is thin and small. So you can make a waterer for birds. We need a large wide burdock leaf, which we moisten in water. After that, it must be pressed into a previously prepared sand slide. We put our solution on top. In the middle we insert a small piece of pipe, into which we also pour cement. Let the figurine freeze by covering it with plastic. As a result, you will get an original bird waterer in the shape of a leaf, with a printed natural pattern ready for use.
Tips and tricks from experienced craftsmen
Before proceeding directly to the creation of figures, consider their location on the site. Crafts should be the same size to look good in the garden. There should be some distance between them to avoid obstructions. At the same time, do not make the products too small, otherwise they simply will not be visible among the plants.
Interesting garden figurine ideas
Here are some popular and interesting decorative figurine ideas to decorate your garden.
gnomes
Concrete dwarfs are very popular - guardians of the summer garden. To create a gnome-like contraption, you will need a metal bar, stocking, ropes, and concrete mortar. The mixture is poured into the bottom. In the stocking itself, you need to insert a reinforcement for greater strength. Twisting the rope, we will make the legs and nose of the gnome. We hang it from the top of the cap and leave to dry. Then we will polish it again with liquid cement and paint it.
swan
Take a thick rectangular plastic bottle, cut off the side edge of it, insert a stem in the form of a gooseneck into the lid. Pour the solution inside the bottle and cover the outside of the bottle and stem to get the correct shape. For the wings we use an iron mesh as a frame, for the tail - several short metal rods.
frog princess
Take a piece of polyurethane foam, carefully cut out a frog of the shape we need. It will serve as the base, which must be covered in several layers with a solution. Then everything is standard - let the solution dry, polish and paint.
flower bed in the shape of a hand
An original small flowerbed can be made using an ordinary rubber glove. Fill it with cement, let it harden, then remove the rubber glove itself. Paint in the desired color and the craft is ready.
Animals
Polyurethane foam is a universal frame with which you can make a sculpture of any shape. It all depends on how nicely you create the shape by cutting the foam. Cover the finished form with cement and let it harden, then polish and paint.
Mushrooms
A mushroom shaped sculpture frame can be made of wire and welded mesh. Twist two rings of yarn tightly, cut the netting for the leg and the cap. Twist and secure to wire. You can immediately attach several mushrooms to the base. Then it's standard - cover the frame with a mixture, let it harden, polish and paint.
leaf fall
We lay large sheets on a sand slide, press them into the sand, carefully cover them with a concrete mixture, let them harden. At the exit, concrete sheets with a printed pattern are obtained.
Examples of work for the garden
Here is a selection of interesting decorative figures for a summer cottage that you can do yourself.
