Beach Pail Container
While lolling on the beach this summer, I
watched a couple of kids building a sand castle. They were packing brightly colored plastic
pails with damp sand to create circular blocks to build their fortress wall. It occurred to me that these plastic pails
would make excellent molds for planting containers and I found a nice blue one
at discount store for under $3. You can
put a wire handle on the container in keeping with the pail idea and kids would
love to help you with this project!
What You Need
-Large plastic sand pail- don’t worry about
the design on it, look for one of good size that is smaller at the bottom and wider at
the top.
- plastic to cover your work surface
-a pair of mud gloves
-baking spray
-cross-cut shredded paper, preferably white
office memos
1 bag sand-topping concrete mix
- plastic mix tub or large 5 gallon pail
-heavy wire for the handle and a large nail
-beads for decoration if desired
-and the little shovel that comes with the
pail
What You Do
1. Spread out the protective plastic over
your work surface and put on gloves.
2. Fill your plastic pail mold three times
with shredded paper. Dump the buckets of
paper shred into the mixing tub or large pail.
3. Fill the bucket to the brim with hot water
and pour over the paper in the large pail.
4.
With the gloves on, mix n’ mash the paper into a smooth mush.
5. Add
sand-topping concrete mix 1 cup at a time until you end up with a gray
clay-like mass that resembles gray hamburger, around 5-6 cups.
6.
Spray the inside of the plastic pail with the none-stick spray and pack
the hypertufa into the container from the bottom up. ¾” is a good thickness for the walls of the
container.
7. Squeeze
the rim to round it off and crimp edge with your finger or a stick. Poke a drainage hole in the bottom as well.
8. If
you’d like to add a handle, poke two holes opposite from one another about 1”
down from the top rim of the pail using a large nail.
9.
Allow to cure for three days.
When hard, remove from pail and burnish rough edges with a gloved hand.
10.
Accessorize and plant up your sand pail container.
Tip:
Use small brads and a hammer to add decoration to the sides.
