Thanks for the updates and glad you're feeling better.

Nice balls, dear!

How long does one take to make?

The flu didn't last long, thank goodness. I think it threw me for a loop because #1) wasn't expecting it and #2) hadn't been sick like that for a long long time. Mostly it just plain got in the way of the fun stuff I wanted to do. ;-)

The first couple of balls I did in halves. Did one half of the first layer, let it set overnight, then turned it and did the second half. After that half set overnight, I turned it back over and did a second layer (half of the ball again), waited 24 hrs., turned it over, then did the other half. That was four sessions and four days.

The last ball I did in two sessions, once I figured out that if I added the air-filled baggies to the bowl my ball was sitting on. Did the first layer (whole ball), waited 24 hours, then did the second layer.

The one I did using the mold also took two sessions. Lined both molds during the first session, then only waited a couple of hours to fill with styrofoam and to add a top coating of mortar to "glue" the two halves together. I waited just over 24 hours to unmold. Your mileage may vary on the timing for that sort of thing. It felt just about right for my circumstances-- everything was well set, but not so hard that rasping the seams was difficult.

Nancy

Looks like loads of fun!

Goodness Golly Miss Molly what smooth ball's you popped out!!!I love love love the face tho...Where did you get the face mold?And the horns what you gonna do with them?Good job on everything Glad your'e back to speed!

Wow, great balls. Thanks for all the info on how you did them!!

Glad you are back posting. Hope you can stay a while this time (while still working enough to eat LOL)

Maria

Thanks so much for posting the step-by-step. I bought a bag of Quickcrete to do stepping stones and a large styrofoam ball but I've been procrastinating LOL!

Yippeee you're back!!! Great tutorial! Love your dog!!!

Wow Mad! Looks like way too much work for me.
You really love the process though, I'm not so much for the prep part of my projects. Great work!

Hazie

Great job. you did really good, and the pics are great.This cement work is addictive. You should post this over in the hypertufa forum too.
Cindy

I admire your work! I have bought all the ingredients for tufa..portland cement, peat, and pearlite, but I haven't gotten the time to get it started yet. Your post really makes me wanna get into it!!

I wish I had more time to play in the cement, I've made a few stepping stones and leaf castings, but never ventured into balls......they look so smooth! Love em! Love the face mold too, what are your plans for it?

aw mad...you made yur balls well!!!! They turned out really good!!!! I made a few bowls lately but havent used a mold...that is way cool!!! Glad the flu didn't keep you down for to long...hope work picks up!!!

Mad, love your balls. I don't know if I could do it but I love yours. How heavy are the balls?

Barb

Thanks everyone ;-)

hrsg: It is fun! It's messy, though. Not loving that part-- it would be tons easier if I had a real backyard and garage to mess around in.

Annie: I got the face mold at www.dickblick.com. I think it was only a couple of dollars. They had some other ethnic faces molds and some of the smaller ones. Not exactly sure what I am going to do with the horns yet-- just have some vague ideas about them.

Maria: Thanks... and you're welcome. I'm trying to get back here more. Had a bit of a delay this time around-- some due to lack of sleep and playing catchup and some of it having to do with playing catchup in my garden. Oh man, I don't think I will ever get that sucker in shape. My Calla Lily plants are doing great, though-- finally!

crystal01: Go for it! I was going to use the styrofoam balls, but those larger ones (8" I think) are like nine bucks over here. I have to admit, I've been surprised at how well the plain rubber ball has worked out. At $.99, they are a real bargain.

Hazie: Yeah, I do love the process. I *hate* the cleanup, though. It's getting easier as I figure out better ways of doing things. Still and all, it's messy messy messy!

klinger: Thanks Cindy. Reading posts like yours, both here and for a long time over at the Hypertufa forum, were so helpful. I'm not sure I would've ever tried it on my own without all that help. Thanks for the suggestion about posting over there. I owe them for sure. They can learn from my bloopers as well as from all of the good, solid information.

bamasusanna: Dig in! You really should get busy with it or you will drive yourself nuts with the "what ifs." I'm not sure if this is going to be a long term thing for me like it's turned out to be for Cindy, but I've wanted to do it for so long. Be sure to get yourself a facemask or three. A respirator would be even better if you can swing it. You don't want to be breathing this stuff.

squirrellycanadian: Leaf castings! Oh man, now there's something I'd love to try. You're braver than me! My balls have quite a few lumps and bumps, especially the first two. I think the mosaic will cover most of that up, though. The last one turned out pretty good (lump-wise) and I think practice will help make it better. The one I did with the mold was really smooth and would've been even better with a better mold release agent. I just need to figure out how to deal with the seams, because you can really tell it was there. Not sure yet what I am going to do with the face-- right now I am thinking it would be fun to have a whole forest of faces hanging on little poles amongst the plants.

chickeemama: You made some cement bowls? So where are your pictures??? Thanks, I'm glad I wasn't laid flat for a long time, too. ;-)

crafty_lady: Thanks! I bet you could do this if it was something you wanted to do. It's kind of a pain, but I am finding some satisfaction in it, too. I haven't weighed the balls. I think the heaviest one is lighter than a regular bowling ball. A couple of them are very light.

calamity_j: Thanks! Hey, that Davey is a great dog. A little monster at times, but overall a sweetheart.

Davey doing what he loves: running hard
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Davey doing what he does most: checking for any action in the vicinity-- anything that might require him to run
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That is one heck of a tutorial, MAD. I am blown away w/your talent, but, of course, you do your research, so why would we expect anything but perfection from you. I am REALLY anxious to see these puppies mosaiced. Congratulations on a very successful project.

Thanks slow

MAD....thanks so much for sharing your "adventures in concrete" with us! I enjoyed looking at all the pictures, and reading all your comments/descriptions. Very good! You got a lot done!
I'm been enjoying experimenting with concrete some more, too....and need to get some pictures uploaded to share....

Pictures, give us some for sure. Can't wait to see what you've been doing!

I would encourage you all totry doing some freeform carving of faces. It is not that difficult and the results can be a gas. These are the first two I attempted. http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/chad/face_2.jpg these were both just straight mortar mix that was left over from working on my pizza oven. It has been a long but very cool and rewarding project.

Here is a link that might be useful:

GETOUTTATOWN! That's fabulous, JAN. What a wonderful project, and it looks daunting, to say the least. This looks like a man's project - would never attempt something so huge. It looks great. Had any pizza from it yet - baked bread? I love bread baked on an outside oven. Thanks for sharing.

I saw this at a road side place in San Antonio. It was just one of those things I had to have a picture of. Maybe you could do something along this line with your faces..

Janprimus, those are fabulous!! So did you cast a block of cement then just begin carving? FABULOUS!! Thank you so much for sharing. I love the natural rocks-- I may have to start going that way, because I just can't find (or afford) the ceramic stuff I'm dying to use.

Thanks for uploading that picture, Bama. I gouged out that hole in my face with the idea of hanging it on a pole or something. I like this idea much better.

Nancy