Thank you, Teresa. I was at an estate sale over the weekend and I saw lots of handmade doilies. I didn't think coffee table either lol. I didn't buy one because I knew the lady and she wouldn't like her pretties being covered in cement.

Teresa, not to be off topic, but see you also enjoy Iris and daylilies. After quickly visiting the Iris forum this morning (I never know if I'll get back here to the forums based on work load), I thought it would be fun to show Iris. I did a search and found an Iris show in Indianapolis this coming Saturday. Is there a charge to enter? [Have you ever come to Indy to show Iris or do you just stick to Kentucky show?] (Sorry I didn't post this on the Iris forum, but was concerned with busy that I wouldn't find my way back to where I had posted.)

I have only enter one time in Bowling Green, KY. I did win a blue ribbon for a beardless

You should try it, the shows are nice and you meet other interesting plant people. You learn a lot too. I don't think I would drive that far. The transporting of iris is tricky.

Here's a few of my creations. I started with hypertufa many years ago but I really love working with cloth and cement. I have been working on a 5 foot tall version on the castle to plant succulents in. I will post pictures of the process when I finish in a week or two.
Japanese tufa box

Cloth "towel" planters (cut from a $1WalMart bath towel, draped over a paint can)


Cloth "exercise ball" planter (circle cut in heavy felt)

Fairy castle (Made with hardware cloth frame draped with felt)

Dee, you are very artistic and creative! Love them all.

Could you explain more about the excerise ball? At least I could use it for something lol. Did you spray it with pam? Was it felt from a fabric store? Like on a bolt?

@DomehomeDee they are exquisite! What kind of paint or color did you use to get the purple? Did you put it in your mix, or paint exterior?

For the exercise ball planter I had found some heavy red felt (after Christmas) on the sale table at the fabric store. Any fabric that will absorb well, mostly cotton, will work. The heavier the better, bath towels work well or terry cloth on a bolt.
I draped a garbage bag over the ball, or over anything else for that matter. You mix portland cement into a slurry then dip the damp material into the cement and squeeze it through with your hands (always wear gloves with cement) then drape it over the ball. Once it is dry you can paint on more coats of cement to make it stronger. With the exercise ball I used some aviary wire as a second coat to strengthen the ball since it is so big. Then I painted two more coats of cement on. Don't forget a drainage hole!

I just use ordinary acrylic paints, or the outdoor acrylics from the craft store, on most of my outdoor projects. It lasts as long as anything else and you can get it in more colors. I just paint it on after and then seal the whole thing with a tile/stone/cement sealer from the hardware store.

The paint can ones are really easy and fast to make. Just cut your towel into a square piece, squeeze in the cement, and drape over a paint can or small bucket. The folds in the towel create extra strength to the design. Then paint on more coats to cover the fabric well.

Dee

I'm looking at that stacking planter Dave has on the homepage and wondering if I could come up with a form to make a stacking towel planter.
Maybe I could get buy one section and use it as the mold. That one Dave has is really pricey for plastic, it would be pretty cool to have a cement one for a tenth of the cost!
Dee

Dee, these aren't stackable but cool, I have a barrel ready to start on, hopefully next fall
I've seen several at the sustainable garden shop near here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I really like the natural look of cement, or even wood. I do plastic buckets in the greenhouse but out in the garden I want it to look natural.
The barrel idea is a good one, especially when space is an issue.
I'm more of a flower/succulent gardener than a vegetable gardener.

I was thinking maybe cement cloth could cover those somehow
The one at the shop down the road has succulents in it and beautiful

These are being posted for the upcoming 4th of July, and for perhaps inspirational ideas to others, since I myself have garnered a few ideas here:

not yet planted:

Do you guys suggest any books to help a beginner? I cannot find a local class

bluegrassmom said:Do you guys suggest any books to help a beginner? I cannot find a local class

Read the whole cloth and cement thread. It's as long as a book and has a lot of advice from folks trials with different ways of making things with cement. Don't be shy. Buy a bag of Portland cement and just play! You can mix paper or just about anything. I have used straight up Portland only or have even mixed in horse manure. Hey it worked! Cement is very very easy. Give it a go.

There are more than 15 books listed on Amazon.
Martha Stewart has posted steps as well.
I have read a lot online but my favorite is from this tutorial by garden.org Chris aka @goldfinch4
You might contact here for questions as well.

http://garden.org/ideas/view/g...

Great advice Marilyn! Also, you can almost darn near get a degree off of you tube. All kinds of videos up there with advice.

Just go for it! I use straight portland cement watered down just enough to get it soaked into the cloth. For poured cement projects I use 1/3 to 1/2 cement and mix in sand and/or gravel, or perlite, or vermiculite.. I have had a few tufa projects crack so using a higher portland amount is safer in our warm southwest environment. I've never had any of my material projects crack, and frankly I find them easier to work with.

Thanks for the call out @CDsSister! Here are some hypertufa containers I've made over the years.

Just a pinch pot

Wow, you have been busy! Are those hardy succulents? What do you use to make the large rectangle container at the top? It looks like it has short legs.

I've probably made and sold about 500 containers since I've been doing this. Yes, all the succulents are sempervivum and sedum, hardy here in my zone 4. Only one of the containers has legs - the 4th from the top. I made a box using blue building-type styrofoam to make that one.