Hi Carrie
I have every shade of brown going from light tan to dark chocolate and none of them turn pink.
Your best bet is find a place that provides concrete pigment to the pros.
Many of the pigments offered to us crafters as suitable for concrete are not that good.
You will also find the really good stuff to be cheaper than the crap flogged to us unsuspecting crafters.:)

Which particular colour brown did you want?

Here is a link that might be useful: Concrete colours

shrubs n bulbs, where would I find this product? I like the Sand Tan and Goldenrod.
David, the cement color that I bought was Sakrete brand and the color was sold as "brown" the color that resulted was pinkish, and adding "charcoal" and / or "buff" only gave colors that would best be described as maroon. I would have thought that cement color sold at Home Depot by the bags of cement would not have been for crafters?

I have gotten some really nice colors in powder form from my local Ready Mix Concrete guys. Some nice browns and golden colors. If you can't find them in the Yellow Pages try following a cement truck home.
Paws

Carrie,
Have you taken any photos? I will ask our local concrete/road materials place about colorants.
Jac

Hi Carrie
Here is a pot and stand I made with 3 different browns.
Chocolate on top, tan on the bottom and a combination of the two for the stand.
I used white Portland cement and white sands. there is peat in the chocolate top and the stand.
the products I used was Tamms Colorants

Here is a link that might be useful: Browns in a colored Pot

David, that is a very cool pot. I bet part of my problem is that my portland cement is grey and my sand is yellow.

I was looking at a site earlier that said around water features a good, natural mix would be 1 pt portland, 2 pts sand, 1/2 peat, and 1/2 clay. What do y'all think? Grey portland, yellow sand, peat, and red clay? I liked the colors of the 2 "rocks" I made as spillways because they were in a red clay mold and the clay stuck to the cement. If there was a way I could duplicate the clay being stuck on the rest of my stream and waterfall I would be satisfied. What would happen if I mixed the tufa mix above and then took this red clay and pressed it onto the tufa? Is the clay that's stuck on my "rocks" permanently stuck on or is it going to wash off eventually? It hasn't washed off with a water hose, I know that.

After experimenting with colors using different ratios and portland, sand, the red clay in my yard, and other stuff I have around, I like the color that is gotten from using:
1 pt portland cement
2 pts sand
1 pt red clay from my yard
Does anyone know whether this is a mixture that will work? If it will, is there any way to use a higher ratio of clay?

Hi Carrie
It is my understanding that clay will not work with Portland cement unless it has already been fired.
I have not tried it myself.

Hi Carrie
When I'm unsure about a recipe I make a couple small test bricks, cure them and then test them for strength.
I've had quite a few recipes that sounded and looked great that would not cure properly.

Thanks, David. That makes sense.

I wouldn't waste the time/effort trying to stain any of the rocks that will be covered with water because after a few months they will be covered with a dark green/black algae.