DIY Remix: Koi Fish $5 Bucket Stool DIY : 11 Steps

Check out the short video I made of this DIY above.

I was wondering what would embossing and inlaying concrete look like. So I used Homemade Modern's bucket stool DIY as a project to try it out on. I ended up with stool that had a Koi fish inlay design.

For more of my weird DIY's check out my blog: Home Tree Atlas

Step 1: Materials

You'll need:

1 1/4 inch dowels
A bucket
Cardboard
Packing tape
Exacto knife
Sandpaper
And 2 colors of concrete. I used normal concrete and a bag of white concrete. You can also buy concrete dye and use it with white concrete.
A print out of a design, I found mine online

Step 2: Cutting Out the Template

Cut out your print out, then trace it onto a sheet of cardboard. I did this twice so I could get a thick mold for the concrete.

Step 3: Save the Leftovers

You can save the scrap pieces of the cut out, and use them to create embossed concrete pieces. Find my DIY for that here.

Step 4: Glueing It Together

After you have your pieces cut out, then you'll need to glue them together. Since the bottom of my bucket wasn't flat, I needed to cut a circle from the cardboard.

Step 5: Waterproofing

Take the packing tape and cover the whole piece. This will protect it from the wet cement.

Step 6: Pouring the Cement

You will want a bit of a wet mix of cement. So that it will nicely cover the design.

Before you pour in the cement, make a mark 3 inches from the bottom of the bucket, so you'll know when to stop pouring. Also make a mark 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of your dowels, so you'll know how far to push them in.

Step 7: The Stool Legs

Push in the dowels, and spread them evenly around the bucket. Since mine wanted to float up, I taped them to the bucket.

Tap and shake the bucket gently to get the air bubbles out.

Step 8: Getting the Stool Out

Let it dry for over 20+ hours.

I had to break my stool out. But you should be able to bend the sides of the bucket to loosen it and pull it out.

Step 9: The Inlay

The next step is pouring the colored/white cement into the inlay. Again you'll want a wet mix. Use a tooth pick to push the cement around making sure it gets in all of the corners of the design.