Concrete & Brass Trays

I love making things, period. But every so often, a project like these Concrete & Brass Trays come along and gets me extra, uber excited. These projects usually involve trying a new technique + the project actually turning out! And as a maker, can you really ask for more than that?!

Concrete & Brass Trays : How to Make Them!

I’ll be the first to admit not every project turns out, which totally sucks, but I think those failed projects lead to new discoveries and sometimes a better end result in the long run. I’m hoping to share some of those #fails soon, so stay tuned–should be amusing!

These concrete & brass trays are one of those projects that actually turned out a little better than I’d even planned for. I’d never worked with concrete before, so I was a little gun-shy to get started. I looked at tons of projects from bloggers who had already taken the plunge, like this one from Homey Oh My! & this one from Fall for DIY (Two of my fave bloggers BTW!)

In the end, I discovered concrete is actually not so scary to work with! It’s quite fascinating how a mixture so thin and seemingly weak, hardens up to be so dense. Seems like a “duh!” moment, but nonetheless it’s pretty cool.

Here’s a peek into how to make the concrete trays. For the full tutorial though click over to Sugar & Cloth!

A Few Tips From a Concrete Mixer Who’s Been There:

• When creating the mold, make certain there are no gaps between the bottom piece and the side strips. Pull that duct tape extra tight! It’ll make for less weird bumps to sand down later.
• When mixing up the concrete, I used a ratio of 2 parts concrete to 1 part water which is double the amount of water the package recommends. I found it needed to be this runny though in order to form a smooth top surface while curing. Don’t worry it still sets up solid.
• This might seem like a no-brainer, but don’t pour your unused concrete down the drain! Pour the leftovers in a can, let harden and then toss.

Check out more of my Sugar & Cloth DIY projects here!

Follow