Sorry. Found it.

Ok, my only question is "What is a water bath?" Why do you put leaves in water bath? Do you have to clean the leaves BEFORE the water bath? Wouldn't the water bath soak them off?

Thank you.

As strange as it sounds, the longer concrete stay "wet" the stronger it will be. Many people totally submerge their leaves in water for the first 1-2 days. You do not have to remove the real leaf beforehand. But, my curiosity as to how it turned out is more than I can take. I don't submerge my leaves - I just spray them with water and then wrap them in plastic. I will spray with water every day, wrap in plastic - do this for about 2 days depending on the size of the project.

I can't tell you the scientific reason for this, but it is true.

Carol

Ah. Thanks!!! Guess I'll have to go curb shopping for a kiddie pool....

doone, a kiddie pool works and so does a wheel barrel. Mine is cracked so I line it with plastic sheeting.

Trust me on this, the water bath won't soak the leaf off. You're in for an hour or so of intense and absorbing leaf-picking. Do the fingernail test (poke it with your fingernail--if it gives it's not ready) before you turn the leaf and start picking it off. If you pick off your leaf too soon you'll lose detail.

Have fun!

Deb (who has to learn everything the hard way)

doone, Water bath is to leach out the lime from planters, mainly. Some plants are sensitive to the lime in the portland cement. I throw my leaves in too before I paint or stain them. That's to leach out the lime not for curing the leaves.
I remove the real leaf mold anywhere from 8 to 48 hours depending on the size of the leaf. Some real leaves can stick (hairy or ruffled) to your cement leaf. Let the cement leaf harden up or cure completely before trying to remove. You can use pins, dental picks, needles to remove the leaf and veins if your going to paint soon. You can also let the leaf rot away.
Make sure you buy cement and not concrete. Billie

Pins? Dental picks? Needles? Now you tell me!!!

I suppose anything stronger (like a tooth brush or wire brush) would remove all the detail?

You can use a toothbrush after the leaf is cured but not a wire brush unless you want the striations from the wire brush. Even a toothbrush depends on how hard you brush.
Why worry about the pins or dentals pick now. Didn't you just make the leaves today? You only use the pins and picks after the leaf has cured (hardened) to remove anything that sticks. Sometimes it's the whole leaf, like a hollyhock will stick like crazy and sometimes it's just a few veins.
I see from the other thread that you didn't buy straight cement but some kind of mix. What did you buy? How big were the leaves that you cast and how thick is the mix on the leaf? I just made some small ones today for a jewelry project and I'll remove the real leaf tomorrow morning. The largest is about 2". Let's see some pics! Billie