Do a web search for the price of casters! I thought I could make dollies myself, and cheap out, but OMG!! You will be in shock at what they cost. Obviously these things at Big Lots were made in Asia at a reduced cost, but 4 casters will definitely support 120+ lbs. Easy! They had a couple styles. One looked like a spiral of stainless, and one had a wrought iron look. But you would not be able to see the thing with the plant on it, so cheap is good!! My Big Lots is pretty new and they have furniture also. Their garden dept is pretty big. Look for a newer Big Lots. I'm going to start a thread on this because a lot of folks have trouble moving their big pots. I love your hypertufa experiment! Rock on!! Suz

Thanks Billie A drain hole has me thinking rather than rebar, I could just insert a short 1/2" copper tube to the bottom of the milk carton, then put the greased can inside like I have been doing. Once the tufa hardens I remove the can and will have a 1/2" drainhole. Then just pound some 3/8" rebar into the ground where I want the light and slip the hypertufa over it. The way the shade fits with a votive holder, debris isn't likely to get in, just water if is rains hard. It is nice to be able to light them on a winter evening. My friend put colored red and green votive holders in hers at Christmas along her walkway. Looked great! Thanks for the drainhole idea. Nancy

Mike, You're right about a good imprint depending on the leaf. When I make planters, if there's left over mix, I use the left over mix for test tiles. That way I can see which leaves will work best. I just tried a pit cherry leaf with two different recipes and whatever is in the leaf is disolving the casting. Sugar?? In my album, the tile and bowl shot are viburnum and a variety of the annual Dusty Miller called 'New Look'. I use a lot of coleus, salvia, basil, alternantheria, arrow wood, cotinus, some bush that grows wild in our woods, hosta--usual the dwarf variety like 'Cheating Heart' or 'Tatoo'. It hasn't been a problem for me whether the mold has a flat wall or curved. I try to work with a dry mix because a wet mix can leave bubbles under your leaves. I don't "work" the mix too much over the leaf because it can embed the leaf in the mix. Right now I'm making leaf castings just about everyday cause Fall is just around the corner. I really like the leaf on the pit cherry tree and now I'm wondering if I can seal the leaf. I'll try tomorrow. Billie p.s. just looked through that album I posted and forgot about the grape vine bowl. The leaves and vine made a great imprint but you need 4 hands to hold it in the bowl and place the mix over top of it. It was quite a wrestling match.

I am so glad that I have found this site! A friend and I have been bitten by the tufa bug. Unfortunatly for my family it happened just before Christmas, so it is in my bacement that we began our projects. We have made two pots and 6 stones. Because we here in Saskatchewan can get so very cold, -45 C/ I am very conserned with FREEZING. I had read somewhere that you can add Elmer's Ex. wood glue to my water before adding it to the mixer, So I did. It will be sometime before I will be able to tell if it can servive here. I am wondering just how long it will take to cure here :( if we made them in Jan.....July maybe?.. the stones are about 2 1/2 inches thick and the pots about 2 inches thick. We are now planning our garden walls. We have not decided if we want to do a rebar and chicken wire frame or a plywood frame. Thank you for any help you may have to offer.