Uh oh. I got my hands on some concrete and sorta maybe went crazy and am making ALL the things concrete. CAN. NOT. STOP. Not all of my projects have been successful, but I’m in love with the pieces that worked. Today I’m sharing my Concrete Honey Bear. He’s so cute.
Let’s jump right into it. This is how I made him:
Supplies:
– Roughly 3 cups of Quikrete 5000 Concrete
– 1 Honey Bear bottle
– One 3/4 inch wide by 12 inch high piece of PVC pipe
– Water
– Duct Tape
– Shovel/stick to mix the concrete.
– Large container to mix concrete (we used two 5 gallon buckets)
– Pliers, wire cutters, and blade to peel off plastic
Directions:
– Prep your boney bear bottle. Clean it.
– This part is sort of optional: cut the top off the bottle. I did this so I could fit the PVC pipe into the bear.
– Use duct tape to seal off one end of your PVC pipe piece.
– It’s time to pour your concrete! Safety note: wear gloves/eye protection/dust filter mask for this process. I also suggest doing this process with a friend, makes it so much easier (also, the concrete bag is 80 pounds and I couldn’t even move, ha, my husband helped with that). Mix your concrete together with water. I’m not positive how much water I used, but slowly add water until the mixture is slushy. Add more concrete if it get’s too watery. If you’ve never mixed concrete before, I really recommend watching this video by Quikrete.
– Pour the prepped concrete into the bear.
– Push the PVC pipe (with the duct tape portion as the base) into the concrete bear. You’ll have a bit of concrete pour out. Tap the base of the bear on the ground to get air bubble out. If the pipe starts to float to the top, tape it down. Clean up the top of the bear (it’s a bit messy).
– Optional: I chose to remove the PVC pipe after the concrete had set for about 45 minutes. I’m not sure if I’d do this again, but I wanted it out. You can keep it in, if you’d like. I’m 99% sure it will be really hard to remove once the concrete is dry.
– 30 to 45 minutes after the pour, smooth out the top of the bear’s head.
– Let Honey Bear dry for 2 + days. I took this bear out after 24 hours, and he still had a few lose pieces on the back. Needed more time. Still looks cute!
– Onto the pain in the buns portion of this DIY: Take the plastic off your concrete honey bear. I admit this killed me. Lots of swearing, etc. BUT, I did it. Using pliers, a wire cutter, and a blade. Tips: Use the blade to cut some lines on the back. Use the wire cutters to snip little pieces to get a portion of the plastic to start peeling. Use the pliers to twist off (I’m talking actually twisting the pliers) to pull off the plastic. I worked on creating one big line on the back. I was able to pull it off… after a bit of work.
– You’re done! It’s now a cute kitschy pencil holder…. or bud vase? I think I’ll be putting a little succulent in it and putting him outside. Yes, that’s cute.
ALSO, new blog post on Better Homes and Gardens. Can you guess what it’s about? Yeah. Concrete. You gotta check out my Outdoor Concrete Stool/Table.
– Chelsey
Tags: concrete, diy, honey bear bottle, pencil holder, plastic, succulent planter, tutorial, vase
Categories: diy, For The Outdoors
Does quikrete come in smaller size?
Would ‘lubing’ the inside of the bear help? Like a good spray with vegetable oil?
Could a bigger-than-3/4″ PVC be used for a lighter and roomier vase?
Thank you!
So I haven’t used this specific Quikrete, but it’s a lot smaller and ships from Amazon! http://amzn.to/2rIA5UE
And I like the idea for the PVC!
Thank you! I have added that to my amazon cart….with a myriad of other stuff.
This is so awesome! It's crazy all the molds you can find for concrete crafts. I hadn't thought of a honey bear though. too cute.
Adorable! Thank you so much for sharing your directions and tips for success. I will make this cute dude as soon as I finish the honey.
Enjoy! Also, love your paintings. 🙂
I saw this on Tumblr and just discovered your blog and I love it! I've spray painted honey bears but never thought of using concrete so I'll definitely try it out. Keep up your DIYs 🙂
Thank you!
I am in love with this! I've been saving an empty honey bear for ages; now I know its fate!
Love it! This is a really creative way of using concrete. I still have to try my hand at a concrete project and this looks so easy. Thanks for sharing!
this is my favourite thing on the internet today!!
He is so cool – like a little tribal figure somehow – reminds me of Easter Island! I have a collection of honey bears – i just KNEW the perfect craft project would come along sooner or later for them. Thank you! Daisy
Perfect! Share a photo if you create one. <3
how cute!! love the idea of the succulent in it!
Oh my goodness, he is so, so adorable!
omg, I love this and am going to make it! I kind of want to pour concrete into all sorts of shapes… 🙂
Awesome! What a creative idea:-)