Oh, I thought I'd use the two bigger ones as bird baths and two of the smaller ones to hold birdseed. The one in the middle is flat so thought I would just place that one in the garden. Here's a photo of the Happy Couple in Canada! I'm so proud of my wife! :o)
{{gwi:128091}}

Those are gorgeous! I'd be excited too!
I don't think I'd put them on the ground, because if someone stepped on them and broke them I'd be heartbroken.

I'm anxious to see what you end up doing with them.

Oooooohhhh, I think those are gorgeous too. Love the idea of using them as a birdbath and then displaying them above ground. How about hanging them on your porch walls or the little ones, just using the decorative plate stands. As for painting them, I don't have a clue, never did that before. Those turned out fantastic.

Ohhh, those are just wonderful. Love them. Obviously you two are a match made in heaven. Congratulations!

I've painted my cement stepping stones, and no problem at all. Sealed them afterwards too. But for some reason, I think these leaves look super just the way they are. And I don't usually like plain ol' cement!

Karen

Hi,

I've been lurking around now for about a week (sorry). I kind of feel like I was eavesdropping. Anyway, I love those leaves and just had to comment about how lucky you are. I also paint, so if you decide to paint them I would use the acrylic wash like on the website. or you could paint the whole leaf a dark color,let it dry and then drybrush over it with a lighter color. That way the viens would be more prominent. ok Thanks for letting me put my 2 cents in.
Lisa

you are so lucky!!!!!. I want to try making some of those too. I love them!!!!!

They are so pretty!! Birdbaths sound like a good idea and the smaller ones as birdfeeders is perfect! I would try and paint them too. Your wife did an awesome job!!
Janet

What a very special gift from your wife.She gave of herself and made something that she knew would appeal to you. Actually it appeals to every gardener and art lover out there!
I might consider leaning the large one against something like a pot and placing the smaller ones close by in a new garden vignette. (sorry mosquito country here)
I love to dry brush did one brick fireplace and an entire house that was Halloween orange and black brick UGH-ly! . The dry brushing made it look like old plaster and was very soothing. Of course youll be using greens and maybe a splash or oranges or other colors.
OR,just add some antiquing and wipe it off!
Thanks for sharing the love!

I'd love to have some, you're lucky she made those for you, how sweet! I've seen them plain and painted,the ones I first saw were painted green and pink I think,and were beautiful. And huge! I'd like some for a birdbath.

What about putting them on different height stumps. You could put the bigger ones on higher stumps for birdbaths and scatter the others in between on smaller stumps. With the flat leaf you could paint it and do a trompe loiel (I know I didn't spell that right) effect. I haven't ever used concrete stain. I wonder if you would need to be careful with whatever coloration you used as it might leach off and be harmful to the birds.

Those are awesome Kirk! Your Wife did an excellent job. There is a link at the top of this forums main page called "Hypertufa". If you click on that you'll discover a whole new world of cement creations. (Hypertufa is a combination of cement, peat moss and perlite, or several other ingredients) You should find a wealth of suggestions for displaying, painting and sealing your wonderful leaves. Just like this forum, questions are welcomed and cheerfully answered. Have fun! Kathy

If you do a search over at the Hypertufa forum there are quite a few posts with info on painting concrete leaves :)

Thanks for the great suggestions and ideas! I'm so anxious to get started. I never knew what Hypertufa meant so never went over to that forum! I thought it was some kind of plant! Ha! LOL I visited it today. What great ideas. I'm already thinking of other projects to do from it!!! Thanks for letting me know about it! My wife is pulling out acrylic paint as we speak! I'm headed to the hardware store for concrete sealer. We're going to have fun doing this project together! BTW, my wife so appreciated your kind words! Made her day! Kirk

Several years ago I made a large one and I used outdoor stain to paint mine and it still looks wonderful. I have purple and green stains that my paint store mixed up for me using the minwax indoor color solutions but used outdoor stain base. I use this for my decks etc... I never used any sealer afterwards and as I said it still looks great.

I didn't paint mine but used Thompson's water sealer on it which gave it a pearly, glossy type finish. You will need to seal anything that will be holding water. You will really love the hypertufa forum. The pictures of faux bois are amazing. It used to be a very active forum but has slowed down a lot the last year or so.

WOW! Those are Awesome! Tell your DW that if she wants to send some to Ohio I'll take some! It's good to know that there are other men out there like my DH. You obviously adore your wife as much as mine adores me! I just bet that your wife thinks you're the best guy ever like I think about mine too!

Post pics When they're done!

~~Mimi

How totally cool are those? I am indeed jealous. Maybe she could go into business making them. ;)

WOW thy r so nice... I want one or two or ect.... lol. You and youre wife look so sweet together, and so happy.

First I want to say, that is so awesome that your wife did something so incredible for you. I guess I didn't feel that creative after sleep deprivation, let alone THAT motivated! LOL She is truly a keeper.

The leaves look so nice just the way they are, so anything else you do to them would just be icing on the cake.

Second, that picture of you two is a totally awesome picture! That needs to be enlarged & framed in a nice weathered wood frame.

Beautiful couple, beautiful surroundings, beautiful sentiments---and---beautiful work. I wish she would make me a DVD, step by step , of how she did this. I am such a visual person. Barely made it out of High School !!

Thank you for sharing.

Cece

Wow!! I'd love to be able to do that!! What cool stuff you could make.

Tropicalfreak

Those are so beautiful! Is this "recipe" listed in this forum somewhere?
I made one last year with that concrete patch, but it never hardened.

What a wonderful couple you are!
Best regards,
Lori

Hi Lori, If you go to the Hypertufa forum (link listed on top of Garden Junk page) and then type in "How to Make Concrete Leaves", you'll see some links. Also, up above under my initial posting is a link of how-tos. My wife said it was sooo much fun! Good luck! Kirk

First of all, WELCOME LISA. And don't apologize for lurking for a week. I think most of us originally lurked far longer than that before we posted. Now please don't be a stranger and post more, and find some pix for us since we are obsessed with seeing photos.
In my post on the stepping stone subject, I mentioned that the mold maker said she uses just regular housepaint most of the time. And when I asked her how she got some of her wonderful subtle coloring and highlights, she said she often just uses her fingers to blend in another color. Highlighting the veins on Kirk's new leaves would look wonderful I think. Concrete sealer really holds the color well too. I poured some from the jug I bought into a spray bottle and do it that way. I sure like the idea of putting the big leaves on stumps if used for birdbaths, or leaning them against something just for decor. Our water here is so "hard" that it tends to leave heavy deposits on stuff and messes it up.

Karen

Those are beautiful. What a wonderful wife you have ;o) I have to say that you're always "raising the bar"...now I have to start figuring out which of my Hosta Elegans I'll clip a leaf from LOL. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. Beautiful!

Great job on the leaves.

I paint my leaves with acrylic paints & then do a clear spray on them. Follow the link to see some of the cement leaves & what I did with them. I have a birdbath that the birds love sitting on a sewer pipe yet to be painted, birdfeeder leaf, & made a cascading leaf fountain. I sold some at a nursery this year. I give them as gifts to lay in their garden & they are on coffee tables & such inside the house.

I just planted rhubarb this year just to get the leaves because they are my favorite. Elephant ears make pretty leaves too.

Here is a link that might be useful: cement leaves

WOW, Cacbeary, beautiful leaves! Can't wait to show my wife. Your other photos are soooooooo beautiful too! Thanks for the insights!!! Kirk