Nothing to laugh at DAVO.
It's pretty much perfect.
Very nice shape.
Great work!

That's your first attempt at making anything? I wouldn't have believed it. It looks dynamite. Good job.

I can't believe what they want for these things at a garden center. Highway robbery!

Well, now that you've taken that 1st step, dive right in and keep 'em comming. Won't be long before you're completely addicted like everyone else here.

Fabulous work, especially for your first lantern. Elegant simplicity. Thanks for sharing, keep 'em coming, I'd love to see more.
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QLT

Very nice. It goes so well in the garden. Some of the most common items make the best and cheapest molds.
Paws

I love it, I need one too, lol! I would never have thought to use a light fixture as a roof mold, that was so clever of you :)

Diana

Why would anyone laugh? That's a great lantern! Isn't it fun to make something so cool from found objects? I cruise the Dollar store and the thrift shops looking for plastic ware and lighting stuff to cast. Ever since I cast my first lantern, I swear I look at things differently...everything gets reviewed for castability.

Deb

Thank you so much for posting the photos!! I haven't been brave enough to try anything yet. I was going to start with a planter or a toad house and work my way up to lanterns for my garden. You make it look so easy!! Did you mortar the individual pieces together or just stack them?

Ooooo - I'm getting anxious to try it..... And I agree with you Deb - now that I've been dreaming of tufa I'm always picturing how things would look coated or filled with tufa!

H-n-H

Everything is just dry stacked. I want to make a few varied parts for each section so I can change things up now and then.

btw,

Thanks all for the kind words (oh..and not laughing :^)

Davo

I feel inspired!!
Thank you for the posting!! am going to try and make one this week!

I'm curious, when did you carve the holes in the lantern and on the base. I've never made anything but a couple of troughs. I'm going to try leaf casting in a couple of weeks after DS's baseball season is done.

I, too, need to know how to get the little windows in the lantern. I've been digging in the recycling bin and garage for molds - how fun. I want to try it this weekend so somebody please help soon!! :)

Thanks!

As far as carving went....

The leg arches were actually 'started' after a few days while that section was still in the bowl mold. I did some general measurements and figured where the center of each arch would be. I then cut a 1/2 circle-ish template for the curve out of paper. I gently put the paper up to the tufa and marked the curves with a felt marker on the inside. Over the next few days I then used the tip of a very fine pointed screwdriver and slowly/carefully/gently/gingerly started carving/scratching/scraping out the openings.

This being my very first project I was very worried about breaking things. I started getting a pretty good feel for how aggressive I could be without over doing it. Obviously as the days went on and it started to solidify more I could go at it a bit harder. I was most likely being overly careful but I knew one overly zealous move and it would break or crack and all would be for not.

I was able to basically fully excavate the leg arcs while still in the mold with touchups later after removed.

Now the windows were started all after that section was removed from the mold (2 or 3 days as I recall).

Like the legs I cut a window template from paper, did some measurement for placement and drew on the "outside" with a felt pen to mark out the windows.

I started cutting the windows out with the tiny screw driver but soon switched to a dremel tool with a drill bit style fitting. I was able to be pretty aggressive by this point and just worked my way thru the tufa until each window popped out. I then used the dremel and screwdriver to touch up the opening to my liking.

The windows took me a few days. I was not in any hurry. Once things hardened up I was not worried about getting them done before thing got too hard as the dremel tool worked thru it easily anyway.

btw when I first removed the sections from their molds and they were not fully cured yet,I GENTLY went over each piece with steel wool to roughen thing up and remove the "plastic sheeting crease/fold lines"

"hope that wasn't to confusing"

DAVO

I love that roof shape, that modest little rounded square is what made it all flow together.
Laugh?
I'm laughing at myself for not seizing more time to do fun things, it's just all grind around here lately.
GH- (just finished refinishing one wood floor and nearly wanted to burn the house down instead as it dragged on so long!)

I'm just sick , I want to try doing some tufa too. How do you get the pieces to stay together/ are they glued?The lantern is what I would like to make. Does the weight of them keep them from falling.Also how do you color the cement?
Thank you

Your lantern is inspiring. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Very nice lantern! I like how you showed all the molds you used. I have not made a lantern yet. Just seems way too involved, but you made it more understandable. I just saw some dremel bits for masonary that I want for my flexable shaft. They looked like blue burrs, but they cost soo much!
Jo

This is exactly what I want to make and I had no clue where to start. Thank you Davo for taking the time to post the pictures and instructions. Well done!!

That roof and all the rest of the pieces are sized perfectly! Great lantern!

Jean

Wow, that is a pretty ambitious 1st project and you pulled it off beautifully! I like the rough text you created with the steel wool - it makes it look more like lava rock/natural stone. Very nice job! I have not tried a lantern yet myself, but some others that have posted instructions make "negative" space molds for the openings in the legs and the windows with styrofoam - that might save you a bit of carving next time. Then you can just do some clean up carving to make it look less cast and more carved - like this peice does already. Good work - I can't wait to see more!

WOW! Just excellent. The proportions couldn't be better. Looks absolutely like the "real deal"...nice work, even for a pro!

Totally awesome Davo! I must try that!
J

Davo, great lantern, you mentioned a few days lapsed while working on your lantern, don't forget to let your tufa soak for some time or it will not hold up, did you spray with water as you were working? I did a leaf when I first started and I didn't give it the water bath and the edges of the leaf crumble as time goes on.
bonnie

I have yet to try to make anything- I guess I'm a lurker- but I think it's great! I'd be very pleased with the results!

M{{gwi:65796}}y tufa is very poorly proportioned but I'll try again lol