1) For beginners, working inside a mold is easier. 2) As long as you have the proper mold or sub-structor there's no limit on the vertical. 3) You can use cardboard boxes, place the whole box in a plastic bag and wrap sides with duct tape. Depending on the size, you may need cinder blocks or something similar to brace the sides. valolson1, Nice pot, really goes well with that palm! You can also use this to make round candle holders. You either cut out while still green or use styrofoam pieces to make openings in each bowl. Make sure you place a piece of styrofoam in the bottom of one bowl mold for the top opening. After 24 hours unmold, gently wire brush the two bowls, cement the two halves together with the same recipe, spritz with water and let sit for 20 minutes in the shade then gently wire brush to blend where the join is. Spritz with water, wrap in plastic and leave to cure for 24 hours. Make sure the top opening is big enough for a pillar candle and to have room to put your hand or a pair of tongs in there to remove the candle. My friend put a small, shallow glass dish in her's for the candle drips.

Well, I've done several projects since my first inquiry. I used a hosta leaf, appropriated from a friends garden while he was on vacation, but the mix must have been too dry for it had some surface bubbles and mild flaking of surface concrete. The next effort, a crambe leaf, used a looser mix but it was so runny, I had to blot some of the moisture that ran off the edges with paper towels. It developed a crack along the midrib before it was dry. I didn't unmold it at that time. In an effort to reduce surface bubbles, I next tried a leaf with some Sakrete Fast Setting Cement Patcher. It set up so fast, I could hardly pat, pat, pat. It did have a nice surface though. I used some of it to patch the crack in the prior day's crambe leaf...reinforced with fiberglass tape. That seemed to save the crambe. I won't be using that again, though I wonder what would happen if I added some of that to the standard 1:3 mix. Next I tried a couple of test leaves with mortar mix to see if I could get a smoother surface with fewer bubbles. I made a thin cast, only about 1/2 inch thick. I thought it had a very nice surface with few tolerable, small bubbles and the consistancy seemed to be finer than when I used the silica sand in my original project. I'm very tempted to try a large project with the mortar mix but that raises a whole bunch of new questions. Is it as strong as the 1:3 portland to sand mix? Should I use a fortifier? Do I spray and cure it as other mixes? I really hope someone can comment on the mortar mix. Now my last question is really a dumb one. When do you paint your leaves? After they've cured. What if you paint them before? I've seen threads where someone showed a picture of a just unmolded leaf and the next day showed it painted. Thanks, everyone, for sharing your thoughts and expertise. These projects have been so much fun I'm WAY behind in my housework, not that I care, mind you. Fleur

We use a wide variety of commercial releases but for old concrete you can try this homebrew combination. First, seal the surface if possible. It will keep anything from penetrating and forming a bond. The best choice depends on the nature of the piece and whether or not it must remain "as is". If yes, then seal with something that will be removeable and will not permenently affect the surface. Painting on liquid soap or a light wax for example. These can always be removed later with water or alcohol. If not, then a more aggresive release like oil, Pam, Shellac, etc. (these penetrate concrete and will be there for a long time as well as altering the appearance of the original). Once you have applied a sealant, one of the best releases for POP is a very fine coating of a dry powder...baby powder works great. Dust it all over while the sealant is damp or tacky and it will form a lightly bonded layer that very little will ever stick to. It also leaves the POP mold clean on the inside, where oil alone can impart and leave a layer inside the mold that never quite sets properly and may lose a lot of detail by coming off when the original is removed. Take a look at the Reynold Advanced Materials page on the link below. They have a lot of different releases for different situations and are great people to go to for advice. They are really knowledgable and helpful. Even put on hands on" seminars at their locations. Hope this helps, best of luck and let us know how it turns out. Here is a link that might be useful: Molding & Casting Supplies & Info...

I've been at work , so not able to respond to this thread. I've been doing concrete and mosaic projects for close to ten years now. The history stones birdbath mold is a well built sturdy one. It would be a good choice for a beginner. The basin however has got a raised ring of leaves going around the middle so it would be a challenge to mosaic. Something smoother would be better. If you look on ebay you'll find a lot of choices. Sand casting is a moldless fairly easy way to do what ever shape you like. By covering your sand cast shape with a thin layer of plastic you'll get a smoother form to mosaic onto.If you are gong to make these for your self then a thin set, or standard mortar mix will be a good way to go. If you were to sell these then you would want to make them as cost effectively as possible to recoup as large a profit as possible. I have several mosaic birdbaths I've made for myself. The amount of time involved making these will make it hard for this to be profitable. The cost of the cement if you made it by scratch would be maybe 5-10.00 per birdbath. the mortar and mosaic materials, grout and sealer will all vary depending on the mosaic choices you use. The time to do this is another thing though. I've sold lots of different creations but it just doesn't make sense for you to spend your time doing it unless you get a good return. If you can, make a couple for your self then monitor your costs and the number of hours spent. I would only make more on a consignment basis. I regularily have people wanting to buy my stuff but when I tell them what I would charge they back off. In regards to the Rianna method, this will give you the freedom of making any shape you like. Again though, it is not a fast way of making things and wether you'd make enough is doubtful. Rianna says she certainly isn't making tons, it's a labor of love sometimes. I'm making a 4 foot girl using this method. I'll use 4 rolls of mesh at 18.00 per roll by the time I am done. I just have the head and a hand left to do in the mesh and it's taken me maybe a dozen hours so it'll likely be 15 when I'm done. Then the cementing, mosaicing grouting and sealing. This project will cost me 100.00-125.00 I think by the time I'm done. Maybe 40 hours involved. I'll enjoy having my sculpture in my garden . I'm not trying to discourage you but the profit potential in this is not high. Make some gorgeous creations and just enjoy them for your own use is what I'd recommend. Cindy