Miscellaneous!!!!!

Glenda they are really really nice, you are doing great work!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I really am enjoying doing these this year. I hope to find some more useful leaves this week and get some more done. I still have some brug leaves that I want to do, but I am finding that they stick like glue to the cement. So I have some parting compound that we got for hypertufa work, and I am going to try that and see if the leaves come off better. It is SUCH a pain to try and get out all the little pieces of leaf! Also have two or three smaller gunnera leaves yet to do.
I have even gotten brave and listed 2 on E-Bay. Will see how that goes. If nothing else, I'm having fun and I have quite a few gifts ready for birthdays, Xmas, etc.
Thanks again.

Glenda

Glenda what do you mean by parting compound? I do a fair bit of tufa stuff but haven't heard of it.If you aren't in a rush just leave the leaves out in the rain over the winter and they should pretty much rot off over time. I often leave mine to get very decayed and then use the hose with a strong blast of water to spray off lots of the decayed leaf.Just don't do it too soon or you will wash off the top surface of the leaf and loose some detail.
Cindy

Glenda
Good for you for listing them on e-bay,
What is your e-bay sellers name?
hope they go for a great price,
I didn't get to make any more leaves this year we were just to busy redoing the back yard, with adding my screen room,, new flower bed
but hopefully next year I will be back on track on making them for gifts.
Hope my gunnera plant winters over, as that is what I bought it for and it grew really great this summer, gave it a good winter mulch,,

Wilma

Cindy, parting compound is something that is used for cement. Hubby made a wood form a couple of years ago to make outdoor pots with, but we found that the cement stuck too much. So we bought a big container of this cement parting compound. Haven't used it yet though. You just paint in on, let it dry for 10 minutes, then do whatever you want to do. I Hope to try it with a gunnera leaf this coming week, that is if my leaves are still okay. I have been so busy doing other leaves that the gunnera are still out there waiting for me.
I left my big gunnera leaves out last year in the rain, and there was no way in heck that the rest of those leaves was coming off. It took a lot of work to get everything picked out, and I used a high pressure washer too.

ggd

Parting compound is a mold release agent.

Beautiful work Glenda.
What kind of cement do you buy to make your leaves?

Starrz: I use 3 cups fine sand, and 2 cups PORTLAND cement. Don't use regular mortar mix as it has gravel, etc in it and doesn't make for a fine enough mixture. You can also buy white Portland but I find it is just too expensive, unless there is a specific project you want to work on.

ggd

Thanks Glenda..
I've written the mix ratio down.
I would like to try this someday.

Cheers,
Carol

Love your leaves Glenda. cheers April

Thanks April. I have been having great fun with them!!!!

Glenda

I used the parting compound on two large brugmansia leaves two days ago, and just now took the leaves off. Worked wonderfully, except for the major rib down the centre of the leaf, but that is no problem to dig out. There is absolutely nothing of the leaf left on the cement, and the detail is incredible. I don't think all leaves need this. My hydrangea and elephant ear leaves have come out with no problem. But I will try the parting compound on more brugmansia leaves, and I will definitely use it on the gunnera leaves.

GLenda

Thanks Glenda. Taking notes. Have no idea when I will ever find the time, but intenrtions are there.

Well, after saying that the parting compound worked great, I am a little uncertain now if the smell of it will take a long time to come off. I think it smells like there is maybe diesel fuel in the compound, and of course, that will transfer onto the cement. I am leaving those leaves outside in the rain to see if the smell will actually go away over a period of time. IF it doesn't, then the parting compound is a bad choice. I have used PAM spray on molds for hypertufa, so maybe it will work on the very fine leaves too. I guess I will have to try that next! I am still very pleased with the good detail on the cement using the parting compound.

Glenda