Concrete & Pebble Bath Set: Toothbrush Stand, Soap Stand, Soap Dispenser

I like things made from concrete, because concrete can looks interesting and it is an environmentally friendly and durable material. Concrete is not just for sidewalks and so on. You can do really cool things with it and decorate the interior of your house.

One day I decided to get rid of the plastic accessories in my bathroom and replace them with a bath set made from concrete (of course made by myself). But I wanted not just to cast it all out of concrete in simple molds, but to do something original. At my disposal where pebbles, and I decided to use them. In my opinion, concrete and pebbles are a great combination.

In my first instruction, I want to show you how to make an original bath set from concrete and pebbles. This set includes toothbrush stand, soap stand and soap dispenser.

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Step 1: Tools and Materials

You need:

cement (preferably high strength);

sand (fine);

water;

pebble of different sizes: about 5 cm long (for the soap stand), small flat about 1-2 cm in size (for decorating the surface of the toothbrush stand and the soap dispenser), elongated flat about 4 cm long (for decorating the middle of the soap dispenser), round 3-3.2 cm in diameter (to fill the container in the toothbrush stand);

primer for cement;

acrylic varnish;

crushed shells (for decoration);

instant glue;

a plastic bag;

foil;

a plastic round container (a mold for the toothbrush stand and soap dispenser) - diameter 10 cm, height 14 cm (it will be sawn);

a mold for the soap stand (rectangular shape) - length 17 cm, width 8-9 cm, height 6-7 cm;

a plastic transparent round bottle for liquid soap with a dispenser - height to the dispenser 12 cm, diameter 8 cm or less (remove the stickers, if your bottle is a little larger in diameter, then heat it a little carefully on the sides with hot air from a hair dryer or a heater and it will decrease a little the size of your plastic bottle);

styrofoam (to make containers for toothbrushes and pebbles);

a knife;

sandpaper;

single and double stick tapes;

a brush;

a container for making concrete;

a spoon for mixing and pouring concrete;

a saw (to saw a plastic round container);

a load (I used a bag with pebbles);

a ruler;

a pencil;

scissors.

Step 2: Preparing the Mold for the Toothbrush Stand

Pick up small flat pebbles about 1-2 cm in size and lay out 3 patterns, each 11 cm long. Cut three strips of 11 cm from double stick tape. Stick the pebble patterns to the stick strips, then stick to the inner wall of the plastic round container on three sides, keeping a distance of 1 cm to the bottom.

Cut two shapes out of the styrofoam:

I - round with a diameter of 3.5 cm and a height of 12 cm (to form a container for pebbles);

II - in the form of a comma with a width of 7 cm and a height of 12 cm (to form a container for toothbrushes).

Check if the styrofoam shapes are suitable: place the shapes in the plastic round container, press the round shape against the wall, there should be at least 1 cm space around the comma shape (between the comma shape and the walls of the plastic round container, and also between the two styrofoam shapes). If the space is less than 1 cm, then reduce the size of the styrofoam shapes by cutting off the excess. Subsequently, this space will fill the concrete. The strength of the toothbrush stand depends on the thickness of this space.

Wrap the styrofoam shapes in foil, trying to form as even edge as possible. Fix the foil with stick tape.

Cut a piece of double stick tape with a width of 1.5-2 cm and a length of 12 cm and glue it to the foil of round styrofoam shape.

Place the round styrofoam shape in the plastic round container and glue it to the wall so that there is a distance 2 cm between the bottom of the plastic round container and the bottom of the round styrofoam shape - this is necessary to form the bottom of the pebble container. At the place of contact with the wall of the plastic round container, a gap will be formed. Through this gap pebbles, placed in this container, will be visible.

Step 3: Making the Toothbrush Stand

Make concrete: mix cement and sand with a ratio of 1 : 1, add water to get a slightly liquid concrete.

Pour concrete into the prepared mold (plastic round container) to reach a height of 2 cm - to the bottom of the round styrofoam shape. Then place the comma shape in the mold. Pour in concrete, holding the comma shape so that its upper part is level with the upper part of the round shape, and also that there is at least 1 cm of space around. Put a load on it (otherwise it will float).

Leave the cement to harden and dry for several days.

Remove the styrofoam shapes. Carefully sew the mold (plastic round container) where the round shape was glued to the wall, as well as the bottom (in diameter). Pull out the toothbrush stand.

Sand the edges and around the pebbles, remove the remaining leaves, rinse with water.

To decorate, glue the crushed shells along the edges using instant glue.

Primer, varnish.

Step 4: Making the Soap Stand

Place a plastic bag in the mold for the soap stand.

Of course, you can simply pour the concrete into this mold, and then stick the pebbles, but then the top of the pebbles will not be at exactly the same height, which means that as a result you will get not a perfectly flat surface for soap. I suggest you do it differently.

Put the 5 cm long pebbles into the mold (1 layer) so that the part of the pebbles on which the soap will lie is at the bottom of the mold (as a result, a perfectly smooth surface for the soap will be formed). Try to choose pebbles so that they fit the mold tightly.

So that during the use of the soap excess moisture drains, and the soap dries faster, the pebbles should rise above the concrete base of the soap stand. To do this, add some sand between the pebbles in the mold. Sweep the sand onto the pebbles with a brush. A layer of sand should reach the middle of the pebbles.

Make concrete as in the previous step (1 : 1).

Spray pebbles with water and pour concrete. Concrete should completely cover the pebbles.

Leave the cement to harden and dry for several days.

Pull the soap stand out of the mold. Sand and rinse.

To decorate, glue the crushed shells using instant glue.

Primer and varnish.

Step 5: Making the Soap Dispenser

Make patterns from the pebbles and stick them to the inner wall of the plastic round container using double stick tape. Since the plastic container has already been sawn on one side, this sticking is not difficult.

Slide the sawn edges of the plastic container and stick tape around (so that cement does not flow out).

Unscrew the dispenser of the plastic bottle and close the hole with stick tape (so that concrete does not get inside).

Make concrete as in the previous steps (1: 1). Spray pebbles with water. Pour concrete into the prepared mold - 2 cm (formation of the bottom). Then place the plastic bottle for liquid soap inside in the center. Then hold this plastic bottle all the time so that it remains in the center and the place for screwing the dispenser is over the mold (over the concrete). Pour in concrete until it fills the mold. Put a load on the bottle, fix it using stick tape or fill it with water.

Leave the cement to harden and dry for several days.

Cut the tape and push the walls of the plastic round container apart. Pull out the soap dispenser.

Sand the edges and around the pebbles, rinse with water, let it dry.

To decorate, glue the crushed shells with instant glue.

Primer, varnish.

Screw the dispenser of the plastic bottle.

Step 6: Final Details

Select the nice round pebbles to fill the container for pebbles at the toothbrush stand. Varnish them and let dry. Then put them in the container for pebbles.

Put a toothbrush in the toothbrush stand.

Put the soap on the soap stand.

Pour liquid soap into the soap dispenser.

Enjoy the work done.