Great Job on your birdbath and all your leaves as well!
Thanks for sharing the photos!
Laurel

That is beautiful. I love how you laid out your leaves. I know what you mean about making it too big. I made one over a round snow sled and even if I could keep the cat out of it, it is way to big and deep. lol

Carey

Very nice! I love the delicate look of the leaves.

Wow, I love that leaf that you used for the imprint. You did a great job on painting the bowl and your toes.
What color is that on your toes? lol! Billie

Sue, I love your birdbath bowl. The feathery texture of the leaf imprints and blue & green color make me think of peacock feathers. It's lovely.

Deb

Very nice. I've been planning on trying a birdbath but wasn't sure what to use for a mold. Did you just pile up sand, lay thin sheet of plastic, place your leaves and spread hypertufa over it? How thick is it? More info please.

Thank You.
Pam

Thanks for kind comments everyone.

Pam, I drew a circle the size I wanted the upper rim of the bowl on my work surface. Spread damp sand in it in a pleasing mound. Covered it with plastic. Sprayed the plastic with spray adhesive to hold all the leaves in the position I wanted. THey slipped off the mound if they weren't glued on a little. Starting in the middle I patted the concrete mix over the leaves making the first layer about a half inch thick. I used mesh drywall tape as a reinforcing middle layer, then covered it with more mix. It goes from about 1/2 to nearly 1 inch in the middle. As you can see in the pic, I got carried away a abit and forgot to keep my original circle in mind and it ended up not exactly round. I didn't use hypertufa because I wanted all the fine leaf veins to show and thought straight concrete would be better for that. I used one of the straight-from-the-bag mixes that I just added water to--can't remember exactly which one.

I agree with what so many have said on this forum--just give it a try and you will find out what works for you.
Sue