Make Concrete Orbs, Balls & Spheres

Maybe it’s possible… insanity linked to concrete obsession. Oh well, whatever makes you happy; and these Orbs surely do, not to mention the way they accent the garden! Come join my obsession and make Concrete Orbs Balls & Spheres!

The Awesomeness of the Shape:

Did you realize that a sphere is practically perfect?! Yes, it fits in a cube perfectly, and has so many interesting traits.

Yes, I know; I am a little sphere obsessed. I’ll let you in on a little secret; I also teach how drawing, especially the geometrics behind perspective. This shape is so amazing but also quite complex. I am sure students think I am trying to torture them, but it’s a vital skill to master of your want to really be able to draw well, don’t you agree?!

The Magical Geometry:

Take a look; this form has the same dimension no matter where you slice it. I had that realization when showing how to draw it inside of a cube. Ok, don’t worry, you won’t have to draw it! That interesting fact spurred ideas to easily crafting it. Drawing to design; such a ‘Da Vinci’ novel idea!

Making Orbs with concrete has two options; working inside of a form or outside of a form. When using the inside of a mold, it isn’t necessary to have an entire mold since you can reuse the portion since it’s all the same dimension; the great thing.

This Rock Orb is so easy since it allows you to work in a hollow way and shift it to continue as you like.

How ingenious is that?! The possibilities of material are also endless. I made a mold quite easily with my method since having flexibility is key when trying to unmold concrete.

Embeds are especially fun! This little jewel hollow orb is still in the development stage but will be posted soon! Check back soon!

Add a bit of glass and it’s now a Geode Planter – a rock garden for a table or small space!

Another Method:

These Monster Concrete Eggs are cast in a similar way but much more finicky since they are cast inside balloons. (do be aware that always using the proper mix is key)

Go ahead and Wrap!

Discovering the ability to stiffen string/rope to make a light fixture lead to this design using concrete and an inflatable mold (ball). It was my first many years ago and they become Snowmen in winter.

Adding some natural leaf details takes it up a notch or two in this Rope and Leaf Orb (tutorial coming soon).

Can you see a pattern here? One design leads to another… to another. If you ‘let’ yourself dream, there really is no end to ideas! This Concrete Voronoi Orb is a bit of a hybrid of wrapping and layering. I love it’s unique ‘cheesy’ quality!

Adding Outside the form:

If you don’t have/want to make a mold you can easily find round inflatable balls etc to use to cast over. This allows for all kinds of sizes as this smallish one; The Concrete Candle Orb and the addition of the metallic inside sets it off.

‘Go big or go home’ is the motto here. This Giant Concrete Orb about 24″ diameter! And I’m thinking it should look like some meteor that fell to earth!

Adding great textures:

Who say that you need the outside to be boring & flat or even perfectly round?! There’s an abundance of leaves and amazing textures depending on your leaves. This Lacy Leaves Concrete Circle throws wonderful shapes of light.

Who would think that these leaves were cabbage?! Think ‘outside the box’ or concrete orb! Another massive 24″ Gigantic Concrete Leaf Orb.

Itching to Make Concrete Orbs Ball & Spheres? Do be aware that not all concrete is the same and it’s very important to use the right one; here’s help and also some quick tricks for crafting. Links to all full tutorials above.

Thanks to Quikrete and RapidSet Cementall and Sakrete for making great mixes… please send me some, I am always in need…