I feel privileged to have been part of this. I went a bit out of my comfort zone, playing with cement. It took me a while to get used to getting dirty in the garden, now I could care less how dirty I get. The germaphobia has diminished enough that I don't spend half a day scrubbing dirt from under my nails. If I didn't have allergies and sensitive skin, I doubt I would have missed so many opportunities to create something interesting - something that is also useful is definitely a plus.
I even worked on my cement planters one day before changing clothes. My one pair of yellow pants are a favorite, but I couldn't resist mixing up some cement before getting changed. Then I didn't want to go back in the house, so I got a few spots of cement on my pants. May be time to get another pair - I always have to have one pair of yellow pants or a yellow dress. I was even thinking I'd like a yellow cement planter. Gold yellow.
This weekend, I need to figure out how to get one of my nursery pots extracted from one of my experimental planters. I don't think I gave it a good coat of oil before the draping. This planter already has a tenant ready to move in, so I don't want to give up. Might have to get the roommate to go Xacto knife on that nursery pot.
I need to pick up at least one more can of paint for some ideas I have. Might even get a small can of gold paint. And more paintbrushes.
David, are you using any kind of sealer/sealant before you paint?
@qwilter, I am not sure your answer about the amount of dry cement needed for your planters. I use a small coffee can to scoop dry cement out of a HD bucket. When I am starting a new planter, I have to use 4 full to overflowing cans of cement for soaking the cloth in my dishpan bucket. I like to have enough cement to play with the cloth until all sides and crevices look and feel so saturated that I can't see any hint of the cloth color. Then I let it sit a while in the cement mixing bucket - maybe ten minutes. I play with it a minute just before I drape. When that cloth is draped, I use what is left over in the cement mixing bucket to paint layers of cement on other planters. It hasn't been enough to make another planter, not when the cloth is terrycloth.
I don't know what other people use to measure their cement, but I thought that most people know approximately the size of the small coffee cans - although I can definitely make a point to look, because I haven't memorized it. And it's probably not nice to assume that all small coffee cans are the same size. I don't pay much attention to coffee cans and when I bought coffee regularly, it was in bags, from Starbucks or Boyers. The roommate is an everyday coffee drinker, so he gets the small cans. I don't enjoy everyday coffee, and since I'm not working, I only drink it now when I am out somewhere and it is available. Still crave a strong cup of Starbucks at least once a week, but it becomes reality only every few months.
The bags of cement I use are 60 or 80lb bags. With all my mistakes and being sloppy (Because I can and it hasn't killed me.), I am half way through the second bag of cement. It looks like I make my planters thicker than others do, so I have not yet approximated how many planters I can use per bag, if that was what you wanted to know. David would probably have a better idea.
