This is the rhubarb leaf that I made. As you can see the veins in rhubarb are very thick, which made it not easy for them to release from the cement. Thus, I broke some of it. Which was very sad and why the second photo has bits at the top of the leaf. I also used mortar because I wanted a smooth textured leaf. This may be why it crumbled so easily. I will try this again with regular cement. After the curing, I will attempt to fix these breaks and the large crack in the top of the leaf on the right.
When you make a cement leaf here are a few things that I learned. You place a nice pile of sand or whatever under the plastic that you place the leaf on. I have poked several leaves when making my piles and seeing if the pile is right for the leaf. Then, you cut your wire. I think that if you used that tiny holed chicken wire (not sure what it is called, but we don't have any and so I use this stuff!) it might be easier to work with! I also sprayed the pumpkin leaf with cooking oil this time. It will be interesting to see what happens! LOL.
You put a layer of cement on top of the leaf, if the cement is too dry it will not glop well. I like a really gooky type! I have also learned to NOT put the first layer of cement clear to the edge (does not always work, though). On top of that you put the screening material and then glop on more cement. This is where you go to the edge of the leaf...sometimes! Then you cover it and let rest for about 3 days. We'll see what they look like then! The long part is the curing time, which most sites suggest is 3o days!!!!!! You know, it is pretty hard to find places to stash these things! And after unwrapping the rhubarb leaf, Jon asked, "Mom, what are you going to do with it?" I replied, "Not sure, but it is pretty cool!"
And last but not least, a cat! Maxwell, reclining in an out of the way spot..keeping an eye on things.
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