I’m loving mixed metals this year, and incorporating lots of gold, silver, and copper into my Christmas decor. Instead of straight up glam though, I’m going for a rustic look. I love the juxtaposition of the cement in these star ornaments and the little bit of gold, silver and copper leaf.
To make them, I used some cement (remember to buy cement and not concrete, not the same -learned the hard way on one of my last cement projects), cooking spray, stars, and a star ice cube tray.
Just mix up the cement, spray your mould and straws with a little cooking spray oil, and then fill them up. Be careful to push the cement all the way into the corners and tap your mould to try and get everything all nice and even. Then, just push the straws into the wet cement, and all the way down to the bottom of the mould. Let it set over night.
The next day remove the straws -carefully. And then, let the stars dry the rest of the day in the moulds. Patience, patience.
I’m not going to lie to you. I had a little trouble. I maybe should have done a few things a little differently. I might not have mixed my concrete long enough, or carefully enough. Next time, a bigger container for mixing and a little more vim and vigour might be in order. I also maybe should have pushed the concrete into the corners more carefully, I’m thinking a wooden skewer next time to take no chances. Lastly, I would make sure to leave a little larger border for my straw holes next time, and maybe even remove them a little sooner…but then again not too soon. I did have a few causalities…and I have to admit my first reaction was that this was a project fail.
But, since I really needed a new post on the blog, cough, I persevered. I used the best ones -about seven out of twelve worked, and added some guilding paste, aka silver/copper/gold leaf glue. After it set, I added some different metallic leaf to them.
Then I used a little twine to make them into Christmas tree ornaments. And then…I kind of fell in love with them.
I will definitely make some more, and I will definitely use my tips, and they will definitely hopefully turn out perfectly, and I will definitely give you an update.
With cement star Christmas ornaments with metallic leaf, life really is a party!
This post is linked up at The Inspiration Gallery, and The Weekend Retreat Link Party.
I love them just the way they are! Thanks for sharing 🙂