The paint used was probably iridescent or pearlized acrylic paint. Don't know what happened to the link I posted above. I use a damp pile of sand in a shallow box. Some people lay a clear piece of plastic (dry cleaner bag) over the sand. Place leaf with the back of the leaf facing up on the sand mound. Shape sand the way you want the final shape of the leaf. Remember you are working in reverse, so if you want the tip of the leaf to point down the damp sand at the tip of the leaf has to point up. When you place the mix on the back of the leaf start in the middle, down the center vein, and pat the mix to move it toward the edge. Depending on the size of the leaf you can put down one layer, lay down a layer of mesh tape that they use for dry wall, then add another layer of QuikWall.

Ooops! I fogot one thing....Thank you, Louisiana Greetings, for the link to your tufa leaf photo. It's gorgeous! I'd love to know what you chose to color the leaf, as it seems to have stayed very vivid and rich. If that's off-topic to this thread, feel free to email me directly! Perhaps if I had access to something that large, the overall scale of the intentional 'defects'created by tufa recipes wouldn't seem so overwhelming to me? The hosta leaf I cast was only about 10" long, and maybe 5" or so wide, so every pit seemed ENORMOUS! LOL! Happy Tufa-ing! - Lisa

Rainsend, my experience trying to do what you want involves lots of skinny leaves breaking off in your hands.... no matter how much fiber you use. Look at the picture below (and the 3 following it) to see what I finally did. It is not a leaf cast but it did turn out to be very pretty. The first photo shows the initial result and the next 3 show different views of the same paint job. I do not have a picture of the final product - the same paint job with a coating of exterior urethane that added darkness to the reddish color and a slight amber to the lighter areas. I did this by coating the leaf with as "even" a coat of white cement (quickwall in this case) as I could get. ooops, I forgot an important step. FIRST, lay out a sheet of heavy clean plastic on a big sturdy table. Wad up a small amount of paper and decide how much to put under the center section of the leaf to give it alittle depth but still be able to put the leaf fronds flat on the table. It doesn't take much padding here - and JUST under the center vein area. NOW pick up the leaf and put it somewhere else and spray it with spray adhesive. I had some 10 year old can of stencil adhesive but I think anything would work. Next, go back to your clean plastic on the table and carefully (extra hands help here) lay the leaf down on the wads of paper and arrange each frond so it is separate from the others and push down so the adhesive makes the leaf parts stick to the plastic on the table. Get this all looking like you want and gently press down every edge so concrete won't seep under the leaf. NOW you can go back to spreading white cement very carefully on every part of your leaf. Try not to get much smeared off the leaf because you are going to have to clean up every bit before you go on. When you are happy with your white cement coating (at least a quarter of an inch thick.... more on the big solid parts of the leaf), get all the edges like you want. Because you surely will have made a mess somewhere, now sprinkle clean sand over the plastic sheet and between every separate leaf part. DO NOT get much sand on top of the white cement). Let all this dry for awhile. I waited about an hour. Mix up a big pan of gray concrete and color it whatever color you want. I added a small amount of red powder (concrete colorant) someone gave me to try. I used a hypertufa recipe(on the dry side... not runny ) because this piece was going to get too heavy with just solid concrete. The rest is easy and quick. You dump the colored (could be gray - just not white) mix over the leaf and pat it gently around so it covers everything and mounds up to the shape and thickness you want. Because the middle of this leaf is so deep, you need to have about a 2 to 4 inch thickness. Because you are using a mix that doesn't run, you can use your hands to give it a basic overall shape you like. All that sand you poured on the plastic will give the front of your piece a nice sandy finish which you will brush off later. check out the photos and see if this would work for you Laura Here is a link that might be useful: try here

Finally something I'm familiar with! First: I suspect your cement:sand ratio is off. I'm not an expert but it seems to me that you have too much cement (or not enough sand) in the mix. This could result in an easily eroded finish. Perhaps try at least doubling the amount of sand. I assume you're measuring the concrete ingredients by volume? Second: Was the concrete fully cured when you tried to wash it? Remember concrete has to cure, it doesn't dry like plaster. Third: I never, ever try to brush or wash off leaf remnants from my leaf castings. It's too easy to ruin the detailing. If you set the cured casting outside the leaf remnants will weather off on their own thus preserving the leaf impression. And last: In the Fall the sugar content in the leaves of some plants greatly increases. This higher sugar content can effect the curing process of the concrete resulting in holes, rough surfaces and/or powdery finishes. There's nothing you can do it about, it's nature. This sugar effect is often used in the concrete industry to add "age" to cast items. Sugar can be sprinkled in/on the mold or actually mixed in with the concrete to intentionally cause "bubbles" to form. These bubbles will cause the cured concrete to flake and erode thus resulting in the impression of age. Be aware that mixing sugar in with the concrete can result in a weaker finished product because of the bubbles or pockets produced. Hope something here helps. Let us know how any future castings turn out. Have you tried using vinyl patch cement for leaf casting? Talk about preserving detail! WOW! And the finished casting is lighter in weight than a regular mortar one.