Hello Friends!  I’m back to share a lovely piece I made for my garden.

The inspiration came from a picture in a flea market gardening magazine I was reading several years ago.  It was a rain filled, square concrete block with a heart shape embedded in it.  As I recall, it looked aged with its worn corners and heavily pebbled concrete. You could easily imagine it being a pleasant little surprise one might find in their grandma’s garden that had been catching water for years. While I could never duplicate the one in the magazine, I’m pretty pleased with the result I got.

After a long search for an inexpensive heart shape to use for this project, I finally found a puffed heart cake pan at a flea market a couple months ago for six bucks. Then all that was needed was scrap wood and concrete and it was a go.

First, a line was drawn on the cake pan and some of the excess was cut off with tin snips. The sharp metal edges were ground smooth.

Screw together a wooden box frame mold and attach a bottom as was done in https://glassictouch.com/2015/09/08/a-new-concrete-boot-scraper/ .  The inside dimensions of mine were 12″W 14″L. Drill drain holes in the bottom.  Brush the inside of the box with diesel fuel to prevent the concrete from sticking.

I found it handy to center and lay the box mold over an upright 5 gallon bucket. Concrete was mixed per instructions on the bag.  I left the concrete kind of thick and scooped it in the box. Not wanting a real smooth top, it was leveled out roughly with the bottom of a jar and my fingertips and was approximately 2 ½” thick.  The back of the cake pan was sprayed with cooking spray, pushed down evenly, about half way, into the wet concrete, weighed down with rocks, and left to dry for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, remove the cake pan, and with an extra pair of hands, unmold by standing the frame on its side and unscrewing the back first.  Lay it down and remove the sides. Let it dry for at least another 24 hours.

That’s it.  Some water, a few rocks, and sun happy miniature water plants (Amazon) brought it to life. It’s tucked in among the flowers in my garden for the bees and butterflies to enjoy, and hopefully begin its own aging process. 

I hope you found this project fun.  Share if you like.  

I’ve recently used my frame and cake pan again – there’s another project coming!

Enjoy your weekend!