How to Make Your Own Concrete Vase Part 1

I don't know about you but every time I go to a handmade fair there are always a few vendors selling concrete vases. I drool over them until I see the price! Then I quickly set them back down and continue on my way.

I just had to see if I could figure out how to make my own concrete vase for pennies on the dollar.

I learned a few things along the way and I'm happy to share my experiment tips with you!!

This will actually be a 2 part post, one is about concrete and the other cement. Yep they are 2 different products! Who knew?!

I'm also showing you a way to make your own mold in this post.

The Supply List:

• Peel and Stick Vinyl Floor Tile
• Utility Knife
• Duct Tape
• Printer
• Pen/Pencil
• Concrete Mix
• Bucket and Stir Stick

First, let's design the mold. I'm using part of a design I found in the Silhouette design store. I liked the geometric base to this.

*You don't need a CAMEO for this project! The software is free too so this is a no expensive cutting machine required craft.

Open the design in Studio, this is the full design. We don't need all of it.

It's currently one big group, so right click to pull up the shortcut menu and ungroup it. Delete the dark purple portion.

The light purple group is all one bundle right now, we'll have to ungroup it again.

Only the handle needs to be deleted. I also rotated the design to fit a standard letter size paper.

We only need the outline, so I eliminated the purple color so I'm not wasting printer ink.

Make the line color black and also add line weight so the lines actually print. Those features are in the top right-hand corner.

Now you're good to print the box shape out.

Next, grab that peel and stick floor tile. It's actually a 12" x 12" tile but I practiced a bit first with other shapes.

Flip it over so you can draw on the white paper backing.

I already cut the box shape out of paper. As you can see I didn't need the full original printed design. That was designed for paper and we don't need the overlapping portions.

Trace the outline onto the tile. I made tick marks at the triangle tips so we can draw them back in.

Use a straight edge to connect the marks and create the triangles.

Now that the design is fully transferred onto the tile, grab your utility knife.

Score over the outside lines until you cut it completely through. I found it was easier to start with light pressure and went over it a few times increasing pressure each time.

Now you have the outline of the box. Cut the inside triangles but only score them, you don't want to cut all the way through the backing this time.

You can gently snap the lines you just scored so you can assemble the mold. The decorative layer of the vinyl tile is what is holding the sections together.

I realized that I didn't need this section anymore, it's another overlap piece only needed if you're making this out of paper.

Fold the shape together to create the mold.

Pull out that trusty duct tape and start taping the mold together. You're going to want to make it nice and strong so don't be afraid to layer.

Make sure the top of the mold creates a nice square box. We're ready to make the concrete mix now!

This is the concrete mix I used. It's sold at your local hardware store and it's fairly inexpensive, but DANG it's heavy!!

I hope you've been working out so you can move this bag around. I luckily lift toddlers all day long so I'm saying that counts.

Here's a lesson I learned quickly after opening it. Concrete mix contains little rocks in it! I didn't know that. I decided to move forward and mix some up but I did head back to the store afterward...see part 2 of this post.

I added roughly 4 cups of mix to about 1 cup of water. You want it to be about the same consistency as cake batter.

Pour some concrete mix into your mold, don't fill it all the way to the top.

I used a scrap piece of wood coated in cooking spray to create the inner portion of the mold. Push it into the concrete mold in the center but don't push it all the way down.

Now you wait. The hardest part!!!It needs to set up overnight, I pulled the wood out early the next morning and left it to set up for another few hours.

Once the concrete has fully hardened, cut away the mold (just the one unattached section and around the bottom should do it. You'll be able to reuse the mold again if you want.

The top was a little rough so I took a sanding block and smoothed it out.

Your vase is done!! I went the extra step to make it into a faux succulent arrangement.

Pop some floral foam into the center and add your faux stems. I used some moss to cover the foam attached with a dab of hot glue.

It turned out so cute!! So similar to the ones I see in the stores for much more money.

Can you tell which one I made vs the store-bought versions?

You can see the concrete is a rougher texture than the other two. I would probably only use the concrete mix for large outdoor planters in the future. See part two for what I recommend for indoor projects like this.

Ok, come on over to read part two!!