WHAT INSPIRED ME?

If you have seen a couple of my other Instructables, you will have noticed that I love obscure materials such as pallet wood, concrete and metal. I love using these in weird but wonderful projects such as phone holders, lamps and jewellery. This is my second Concrete Candle holder. This is the first completed project out of many.

I had a few cans left after my girlfriend came over, and decided to make something using them. Of course casting concrete came to mind and what better than half a can of cement to hold your candles?

WHAT WILL YOU NEED?

- Empty cola or pop can.

- tin opener

- Concrete (cement sand and water)

- Three jars, one for sand, water and cement.

- something to mix with

- A candle

- Scissors

Step 1: Making the Mould

STEP ONE - MAKING THE MOULD

This is the part that you can change. Find any sized can and then using a sharp pair off tin opener, begin to cut off the top of the can. Depending on the type of tin opener, it will be either very easy or very hard.

When the top is off, place the can under warm water to clean the insides, but be careful the edges will be very sharp and if you place your fingers inside you will cut them!

Once the can is dry, use some sharp scissors to cut the can in half until you reach the bottom part. This is more dense resulting in a stronger material. So you don't need to cut it off. You are left with the half of the can. Use some scissors to cut out a square about 40mm by 40mm out of the can you cut away use rape to secure it to the top where you cut the lid off. This will ensure you don't lose any concrete mix in the third process.

Step 2: Mixing the Concrete

STEP TWO - MIXING THE CONCRETE

Depending on what materials you have depends on this step. You can get all sorts of colours, finishes, tones and types of concrete. Snow-Crete looks great as its white tone is modern but rustic. I used plain cement, sand and concrete. But you can get ready mixed concrete which is much better.

Empty about one cup of cement into a bucket. Empty one cup of sand into the same bucket and then mix until you get a nice grey coloured mixture. When you are happy with the colour, add one cup of water. Mix well until you get a smooth thick liquid. If you don't think it looks as thick as in the pictures, add more sand or cement mix.

You can add different chemicals to the paint such as pain, stones, glass or dyes. This enhances the dull grey colour of your concrete.

Step 3: Pouring the Concrete

STEP THREE - POURING THE CONCRETE

The difficulty of Pouring the concrete depends on what you are pouring the concrete mix into. If the container/mould is small and narrow, it will be difficult. If the container/mould is large then pouring will be an easy process.

When the concrete has been mixed and you're happy with the overall consistency, you are ready to pour. Place the bucket close if not over your mould, using your mixing tool, begin to push a bit of the mix In to the mould. Only add about 2cm then tap the mould onto the table to ensure the bottom us covered completely. Begin to add more until your mould is 3/4 full.

Place two candles into the concrete and make sure you add a little force so the candles flush with the top of the concrete. You may need to add a little weight onto the candle as the bubbles seem to push the candle out of its original place.

Bang the mould onto the work surface softly until the top surface becomes smooth and flat. Feel free to add your own touch here. You can make it smooth, rough, uneven or tapered.

Step 4: Waiting....and Waiting

STEP FOUR - WAITING...

When you have finished pouring the concrete into the mould and you are happy with the positioning of the candles, then just sit back and wait for the concrete to set. Depending on the amount of water you added, the time taken for the concrete to set will either be between 2-24hours. But if you put a lot of water in the mix, your concrete will be very soft, and may even crumble. Wait a day and check to see if the concrete has set.

Step 5: Finished!!!!

FINISHED!!!!

When the concrete has set, take the mould off. You can do this by either using scissors and cutting the metal can. When the mould is off, use a small brush to get rid of any unwanted concrete.

Well-done! you have done it! You have made your every own concrete candle holder.

You can really have fun with this, change the size, shape and depth of the can and the colour or type of concrete.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! Please favourite and follow my account. Ill be adding different projects every week. Comment below if you have an idea for me to try, a feature I can improve it just to tell me what you think. Thank you!