Heart-shaped things are popular this time of
year so here’s something fun for you to make for your gardening Valentine.
What You Need:
2” thick piece of packing foam around 8” x
12”. Styrofoam will work also but is
more expensive.
A corrugated cardboard box with cover flaps
at least 15” long
Small saw
Hot glue gun
Duct tape
Marker
Scissors
Motor or vegetable oil
Old paint brush
mud gloves
plastic mixing bucket and plastic to cover
work surface.
Your favorite hypertufa recipe. Here’s mine:
You can also make this out of Sand Topping Concrete
Mix but it will be heavier!
What You Do:
1. Draw a free-form heat shape on the pieces
of packing foam and cut out with a small saw.
This will become the base of your mold.
2. Next cut the two long long flaps off of
the top of your cardboard box. Trim them
down to no more than 6” wide. The
narrower your strips of cardboard, the shallower your planter. Note” Be certain
the corrugation is running parallel to the 6 inch wide of the cardboard. This will allow you to easily roll up the two
strips. Rolling the two cardboard strips makes it easier to form the sides of
the mold.
3.
Place one end of the first cardboard strip in the center “V” of your
heart-shaped foam. Run it up and around
the top of the heart down to the point and cut the strip
where it meets the point. Repeat for the other side of the heart with
the second cardboard strip.
4. Hot
glue the two strips onto the foam base. Use the duct tape to seal the bottom edge
where the cardboard meets the foam and the two joints where the cardboard flaps
meet.
Your mold is now ready for casting.
5.
Cover your work surface with plastic sheeting and put on your mud
gloves.
Coat the inside of your heart mold with oil
using an old paintbrush. This will serve
as a release agent for your planter.
6. Mix
up hypertufa or concrete to a clay-like consistency. Remember, add water sparingly!
7. Pat
a 1” thick layer of the material across the bottom of your mold. Then begin
pressing it against the sides of the mold by the handful until you reach the
top edge of the mold. Try to keep your sides
thinner than the bottom. The finished planter will look nicer and weigh less. Three
quarters of an inch is a good thickness.
It helps to look at a ruler so you really know just how thick this is.
8. The
top edge is very important because it is where you grab the planter to pick it
up.
Pay careful attention to the appearance of
the top edge, making it consistent and smooth.
9. At
this point you can punch drainage holes in the bottom with a pencil. It might be smarter to leave the bottom
intact while you use the planter inside as a cachepot and then punch a drainage
hole later in spring when you put the planter outside. Allow the planter to become stiff and cure
for three to four days.
10.
When your planter is completely hard, remove the mold and discard
it. Use a brick to smooth rough edges to
shape the planter as you please.
11. Take a trip to the grocery store or
greenhouse for small plants featuring reds, pinks and whites and plant up your Valentine
container.
TIP: You can ornament the out side of
your planter by cutting out small hearts from extra cardboard and hot gluing
them to the insides of your mold. Do
this BEFORE you coat the mold with oil.
TIP: Make heart shapes from extra tufa or concrete and skewer with wire
to make decorative picks to go with your planter.
