Happy New Year amsoniared, Where have you been hiding out?

There doesn't seem to be enough interest to make a separate forum. I just did a search on the entire site for sandcasting and there have only been 15 threads since 2004.
Leaf casting has a little more interest. Plus there isn't much in these two different techniques that changes. In sandcasting, you imprint into a container of damp, tamped sand and pour your cement mix (or sometimes metal in my case) into the imprint. In leaf casting, you either work on a flat surface or on a damp sand bed that you shape to give contours to your leaf. Then place your cement mix on the back of the leaf.
It's a shame that this forum has the title "hypertufa", though that's what we were doing primarily when this forum was forumed. Good Grief, remember Spike?? This forum is bascially everything with cement as an ingredient...hypertufa, concrete, mortar, papercrete and other cement stuff. Billie

Happy New Year to you, too! I have been so busy with my gardens and my casting - it has actually turned into a business! - that I haven't had time to do anything but lurk once in a while.
I actually meant just leaf casting. I call it sandcasting, since a bed of sand is used to help the form of the leaf, even though you are correct, sandcasting is technically different. I have seen that term used on a lot of casters' websites, too. Artistic license, I guess! (But, yes, I started out by making hypertufa, too.)

How's the business going? Is it primarily leaf castings? Billie

Well, I do art & craft shows in my area, and I'm doing very well. I have to work full time at a "real" job, so I don't know if I could do enough to make a living, but very few people in my area ever heard of leaf casting ( I get really tired of explaining the process,though!), plus the way I paint them makes them very unique, which is a good selling point. I'd post some pics, but I haven't figured out how yet!

I wrote to the garden web contact about asking how to get something n FAQs once, and never got an answer. I'm not sure anyone is paying attention excdpt to collect royalties on advertising.
kathy

Hey Billie...I would really like to know more about your sand/metal casting. Do you have a website, another forum that might have some examples?

Thanks.
Anne
aart@cybersol.com

Anne, Nope, no web site. I learned how to do the sand metal casting in school a couple of semester ago. We did water casting, ice casting, wood & cuttlebone (cuttlebone is a fish (dried? baked?) and it's found in the bird supplies. It's that white thing they put in parakeet cages for them to bite??)casting. I have a workshop at home but I only do the casting outside in nice weather. I've been taking silversmithing at school for the past couple of semesters.
Aggggggh, I'm late for the dentist!! Later. billie

I don't spend much time on this forum because I can never find anything on sand casting. I would be interested in a forum for that...

I would think it would have at least as much interest as, say, lucky bamboo! ( Nothing against the lucky bamboo fans - got some myself!). But how does one suggest a new forum?
Snickerdoodle, what do you sandcast? As I said, I use it as a description for leaf casting, but it is technically a little different. I'm interested if other 'leafers' call it that.

Billie....how was the dentist?
Could you post some of your creations.

I too learned sand casting with aluminum in Jr. High ages and ages ago, learned silvercasting in High School then took a class at the art institute years later.

Right now I am doing rustic leaves cast with mortar mix in silicone molds that I made, but would love to learn more about other ways to cast.

Maybe we should suggest a 'Leafers' forum. I like that name!! Or just 'Leaf Casting'.

This hypertufa forum doesn't seem to get much action.

Because we could all learn different techniques and maybe some of the tips and tricks would translate between techniques.

Not sure how to suggest it to the powers that rule..but there must be a contact somewhere. And if we get no response..we can just post that stuff here anyway :)

Anne aka aartwmich

Best dentist ever! I had a great dentist but she passed away. Next one I tried did terrible work. This man is fast, he gives needles that you don't feel and doesn't try to push you to get this new treatment or product.
BUT Cement people, (cause we all use cement right?) you can post anything on this forum. I believe if you do a search through past threads you'll find information on sandcasting and leaf casting. There are/were all kinds of experiments going on using non-standard ingredients.
I keep posting this, the forum was started when we were doing Hypertufa but it's grown and changed. I like that you can do a search and find all things "cement" in one spot.
I got a new camera for christmas and I'll take some photos.
Later, I'm off to a car club meeting. Billie

I like the "Leafers" title, Anne! I also thought that maybe some of the leaf casters don't post here because they think the forum is all hypertufa.
I just remember, quite a while ago, that some new people who looked at the site misunderstood when the leaf casters showed their creations, they thought they were all made from hypertufa, too. So I thought maybe they would prefer a separation between the two....But, if most everyone likes it this way, that's OK too. I like to read about everything else, anyway.

nanci

OK I sent a message about a new forum, we'll see if I get a response.

Billie..do post some pics of your metal work...maybe in a thread called...."Billies sand cast metal".... What is it you are casting, leaves?

Now going to try to embed a pic from flikr.....Please excuse my experimenting :)

Thsi is a screen shot of the message I sent...can't read it tho...will have to use higher res thus larger file size, can be hard on dialup..... for anything with text in the future
{{gwi:75753}}

My rustic rhubarb during paint sampling, you can see the silicone mold on the mold mother in the background.
{{gwi:75754}}

Well that worked ...good! Been along time since I frequented GardenWeb, used a different web storage space for pics back then.

OK enough screwin around...I appreciate your patience :)

Haven't heard anything about a new forum yet, Anne? Well, we'll give it more time. Anyway, I think I figured out how to post a link to my pics...here it is...

nanci

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.flickr.com/photos/natureartist