FACETED HYPERTUFA CACHEPOT

Faceted Hypertufa Container

Here’s a nice, simple project for the winter months.  It will make a make a great little cachepot for fresh flowers and a perfect pot for small herbs in spring. 

What You Need

1 ¼”pink (Home Depot) or blue (Lowes) insulation foam 

    White Styrofoam blocks from shipping cartons can work but will take a bit more preparation.

X-acto knife

Small keyhole saw

3” common nails

baking spray

Plastic mixing bowl

Mud gloves

Mason’s trowel

plastic covered work surface

Freshly mixed hypertufa.  Here’s a simple recipe;

http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html

What You Do

1.  Measure four 5” x 6” rectangles from the sheet of insulation foam for the sides of your mold and one 7 1/2’ square for the base of the mold.

2.  Measure in 1 ¼” from the left side and draw a line of each of the four side pieces of the mold. Draw a rectangle on the right side of each piece.  Draw an “X” from corner to corner of the rectangle and then a cross from center to center.  Cut each section of this rectangle using the X-acto knife.  The blade tip should always be pointing inward and held at a 45 degree angle. Cutting in this way on each side of each shape, a faceted piece of foam will pop out for each one.  When you are finished, you will have a beautifully faceted surface. 

3. Assemble the four sides of the mold using 2 or 3 common nails in an overlapping fashion so the resulting mold has four equal sides. 

 4. Attached the base of the mold to the sides using common nails. Spray the inside of the mold with baking spray.

5.  Mix your hypertufa to a clay-like consistency and pack the mold starting at a corner in the base and building brick-layer style around the mold until you reach the top. Sides should be between ½’ to ¾” thick. Poke a hold in the bottom with your finger for drainage if desired. Use your hand to smooth and round the edge of the cachepot along the top. Allow to set and cure for three to four days.  

6. When the hypertufa is hard to the touch, remove the bottom of the mold first and then each of the sides.  If you are careful, you will be able to use this mold repeatedly.

7. Cleanup rough edges with the edge of the trowel and then rinse the cashepot with water to remove dust.  Allow to dry and then put it to use by slipping a glass filled with water into it for fresh flowers or potting it up with a living plant.