Well, my mirror for my One Room Challenge master bedroom update came in this weekend and looks GREAT! I also exchanged the 6’x9′ jute rug I initially ordered for the 8’x10′ version and that also came in this weekend. The mirror is up but the rug is going to be a bit of a beast to put down, involving bed and mattress moving, but as soon as they’re down I can’t wait to show them both to you!
Today is another Home Depot Gift Challenge and we have a special treat in store for y’all with this one!!! $100 buckaroos to Home Depot for a lucky reader! Oh yeah! Make sure you enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the post!
This month’s challenge forced me, and alot of the other girls, to work with something we hadn’t yet…concrete! We were tasked to make something for a father with it, since it’s Father’s Day this month. I LOVE the look of concrete and have always wanted to dabble in it, but figured it’d be best to take baby steps in the beginning and do something small and simple. If you’ve been around here, you may know I am a weirdo and collect bottlecaps, so why not put some of them to use? I decided to make a sort of trivet for my father-in-law and all his fish-frying and shrimp-boiling activities on their porch.
**This challenge is not sponsored in any way by Home Depot, we just love them and pretty much live there so we’d thought this would be fun**
**affiliate links included for your convenience, click here to see my full disclosure policy
There are only five supplies I used:
– 1 bag of concrete (I used Quickrete fast-setting)
– small bucket or two
– water
– paint stirrer
– assorted bottlecaps – I used different colored caps from our beloved Shiner Brewing Co.
– sealant (we’ll discuss this below)
I put about 2″ of concrete in my bucket, then poured water in gradually while stirring until it was just slightly soupy. I wanted mine a little less thin but I added too much water at first so I had to add more concrete. So start with the smallest amount you need, knowing you may need to adjust with more.
It makes a ton of bubbles with all that mixing so tap the bucket down on the ground until no more bubbles come up.
I grabbed two of these buckets, so before I started, I arranged the caps on the bottom of one so I knew where they needed to go and how many I needed. So when my concrete was ready, I knew where they needed to go already. The concrete started to get thicker after about five minutes or so, so make sure they’re where they need to be before then. To make sure they were level, I put my second bucket on top of them and pressed lightly for just a few seconds.
After about 30 minutes or so, the top had hardened enough so that I could wipe off the tops of the caps. I wasn’t sure if the concrete/water/haze would come off after it dried so I went ahead and wiped them (it does wipe off after it’s dried, fyi). After about 24 hours, my concrete was completely dry and the trivet popped right out of the bucket.
Like I mentioned, my trivet came out a bit thicker than I wanted it to (~2″) so I figured maybe they can use it as a little plant stand too if it’s too cumbersome during cookouts.
Now, I knew that without being sealed, these caps would rust in like a week down here, so I put the trivet back in the bucket, and poured some lacquer over the top, thinking it’d dry in a nice even layer and I’d be done. Aaaaaand then it partially soaked in and around it, took the paint off the caps, then didn’t dry at all. After a whole week, still wet and blue and red ink smeared all over. Ruined. So yeah, I should have taken the time to research what would actually work, and then just brush it on. But you win some and you lose some, right? But now I get to make some more, plus one or two for myself too now!
I’m excited to keep playing around with concrete projects, and also use a proper sealer on them ;)
Now, Make sure you visit the other TEN amazing concrete projects from this month!
And Enter to win a $100 Home Depot Gift Card!!!
Check out my projects from the other Home Depot Gift Challenges here!
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I like the plant trivet idea! It came out great!
Thank you Roxanne!! This month’s projects are sooooo good!
This is such a fun idea Emily! I always used to collect bottlecaps on camping trips growing up, this would have been the perfect project for all of them.
I could probably make 1000 of these with all mine ;)
Love this trivet. It turned out awesome!
Thank you Jona!!
Cute idea!! I love the bottlecap idea, they look great. So bummed for you that the sealer ruined it!! I wouldn’t have known that either! Man, I had no idea concrete would seriously be so crazy to work with!! Phew!
Luckily it’s easy enough to make some more, especially since we have almost a whole bag of concrete left (why don’t the sell it in smaller amounts?!?) and I have plenty of caps :) I love that you forced us to play with it, my mind is churning for more ideas!
Cool idea and it turned out great!
Thanks Shelly!!
Looks great! What a great idea…and perfect for a Dad’s day gift.
It may be more of a gift for the mother-in-law to protect her porch ;)
What a great idea! I collect bottle caps too so this would be a great project to use some up! Bummer about the sealer not working – I did that with planter I made over – I tried spraying an enamel top coat over my spray painted planter but then it immediately started cracking the paint for some reason – eep!
Why is that sort of stuff soooo finicky?!? I never know what to use when and where. Grrrr.
Concrete is a finicky beast!! But I wouldn’t even have known you had issues with it. Your trivet turned out fabulous and such a clever idea, Emily!! Looking forward to next month.:)
I was super scared of working with it so I kept my project pretty dang simple. It’s the stupid lacquer I had the most issues with! I think some of us need a re-do of this month’s project ;) And you tell Adam he may be our next participant each month!
My husband would love this for Father’s Day!
Awesome! I hope he loves it if you make it :)
this is so cute, have to make these this weekend, thanks
They really were so quick to make, dry in a day!
Very cute and clever idea to use all the bottle caps that always seem to be hanging around.
No shortage of those around here! ;) Thanks Carmody!!
Darn you, sealer! Talk about a learning experience this month! This is a super cute project — now go make some more! I’m looking forward to diving in again.
Ugh, I now. But I am too, and I REALLY want to see yours when it is successful!!
Oh, as a repurposer I LOVE THIS! GREAT JOB!
I hoard so I can repurpose ;) Thanks Deborah!!
How cool is this! Such a creative idea! I bet your FIL would love it!
Thanks Sarah!!! Any reason to use Shiner caps ;)
Great project, Emily! So sorry about the lacquer, but this project is a definite keeper!
Thanks Amy!!
I love these challenges that you ladies put together and the ideas that you all come up with is amazing! Thanks for sharing all you learned from making this Emily and thanks for linking up at TALENTED TUESDAY link party!
Aw, thank you!! And thanks for hosting!!
You have excellent taste in beer. I have a bunch of Shiner Christmas beer caps in my collection too ;)
The Cheer has always been my favorite! Although, the new Prickly Pear is giving it a run for its money :)
What an awesome use for bottle caps Emily. I love the Texas flag too. Thanks for sharing at The Creative Circle. Hope to see you this week! xoxo
Thanks so much Kathy! I’ll be there :)
So what sealing product and method was successful?
I haven’t had time to make another one and try other methods Susan, sorry :/ Maybe just regular concrete sealant? I think that’s what I’ll try when I do make them again. If you try something and it works I’d love to know! :)