Here's a fun project just in time for spring. If you think you might need some help on this one, you can enroll in our springreative workshop and we'll show you how to make this house container.
Visit
peaceinmygarden.com for more info and to enroll.
What you need:
Fresh batch of hypertufa using your favorite
recipe. Here is mine using recycled
paper :
http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html
One- inch foam insulation board or recycled
styrofoam packing containers
Plastic mixing container
Mud gloves
Trowel
Two-inch common nails
Baking spray
Keyhole saw
Hot glue gun
Plastic drop cloth
What you do:
1. Measure and cut
out these dimensions from the one-inch piece of foam board using the keyhole
saw:
1 base piece- 14” x 10”
2 side pieces: 8” x
10
Position the
rectangles so the 10 inch dimension is up and down. Place a mark at 6 inches from the bottom up
on both sides and draw a line. Fin the
mid pint at 4 “ and draw a straight line up to the top edge of these
rectangles. Connect the line from this
center point at the top down to either side to get the angel for the roofline
and cut with the saw.
2 front and back pieces: 6” x 14”
2. Cut
out 2” x 3” rectangles of foam for
windows and a piece, 4.5” x 3 for a door. I didn’t want my windows and doors
one-inch thick so I cut each in half vertically so they were only ½” thick. This is easily done with the saw. Use a
hot glue gun to attach them to the inside sides of your house mold.
3. Put the four sides
of the house together using three nails at each corner. The nail will go through the 6” x 14” pieces
and into the sides of the angled pieces.
Then attached the base pieces using nails all the way around the house
shape. Wrap duct
tape around the house mold to help it stay together while you are working.
4. Cover your work
surface with the plastic drop cloth, put on the mud gloves and mix up your
hypertufa.
5. Spray the inside
of your house mold with baking spray.
6. Beginning at a
bottom inside edge build the walls of the house handful by handful, packing the
hypertufa firmly against the mold sides.
Continue this process until you reach the top edges of the mold.
7. The
top edge or rim of your house container need to be packed and formed densely
since it must withstand being picked up and handled, Firmly press the top edge of the container
all the way around with four fingers on the inside of the container and your
thumbs on the outside. Put in one or two drainage holes in the
bottom with your finger.
8. Allow the new
container to harden and cure for two full days. Then take out the nails from the base and sides.
Carefully remove the mold pieces. If you are lucky you will be able to
reuse this mold.
9. Smooth rough edges
with a gloved hand or your trowel. Let the container dry out for a week and it
is ready to plant up with your favorite container plants.
