Cement Photo Stand
Intro: Cement Photo Stand
Memories, photos and more. Photos are an integral part of our lives. Family, friends, nature and more. In this project I tried to blend together the simple technique with everything handmade from scratch (including the moulds) and share with you a simple technique to make your photo stand look just as attractive as the photos. NOTE - For display purposes I've picked up some pictures of advertisements.
STEP 1: Getting Cement Ready
I bought this White Portland Cement. Then, added approximately 2 cups in a mixing bowl. Added water carefully until it mixed well without any lumps and was semi-liquid in consistency.
STEP 2: Making Plastic Moulds
On the drawer liner I cut 2 X 5 inches strips. Total 4. Then making a roughly 2 inches diameter I folded in circles and sealed it with a masking tape.
STEP 3: Bamboo Dowel Sticks
Then, I cut 4 bamboo sticks 2.5 inches long.
STEP 4: Filling the Moulds With Cement
Carefully filled up all the moulds with the cement and then inserted the bamboo stick in the centre. Let it dry overnight.
STEP 5: Cement Moulds Readiness
Having left the moulds overnight the cement had dried completely. Then, I removed the moulds carefully. As expected there was some cement on the edges. I sanded the stand cautiously and got it ready. Since I chose the liner with some carved designs on it, this got imprinted on the mould surface.
STEP 6: Painting the Moulds
At the cement didn't look pure white, I decided to have white as the base paint. I painted all the 4 moulds and let it dry in the hot sun.
STEP 7: Designing the Moulds
I then ran over some paints using a paint stick directly and randomly on the moulds with colors like green, grey and yellow. Let it dry completely in the hot sun.
STEP 8: Cutting the Photo Slit
Then, with the help of a small knife, I cut a small slit on the bamboo stick in the centre just like a screw slit for adding the photographs. Unfortunately I ended up hurting my fingers two times (:-(, this happens on such projects lol :-)) Note - I wasn't able to fully make the slit due to 2 small cuts on my fingers and so I let the pictures just sit on the bamboo stick. But that was not my goal lol :-)
STEP 9: Decorating the Photos
As a final step I added some photos (dummy images) to the stand. I plan to expanding this project to make few more such decorative photo stands.
Thanks for your time!