Cement Leaf Candleholder

Last week I had fun taking my niece-once-removed and daughter to a local nature preserve to make a craft of cement leaf candleholders.

After mounding up a pile of sand in a box or aluminum tin, they sprayed a large leaf with cooking oil, front and back, and then placed it on the mound of sand with the veins up.

                             

Then they used the little tin candleholders to cut into the leaf in various spots, cookie-cutter style and upside down.

Then, using large tongue depressor-type craft sticks or paint stirrers, they spread some wet cement over the leaf, shaping the edges according to the edge of the leaf. The teacher compared it to spreading frosting on a cake.

We brought our creations home and waited patiently for two days before we tried to lift them from the sand. This is what it was supposed to look like:

This is what reality was:

We learned the hard way that you have to frost this cake rather thickly. We just didn't have thick enough cement for it to hold together.

But...now we know the technique and we can try it again if we want to. So, all is not lost.