I’ve been wanting to do something with concrete for a long time now. Concrete DIY's have been trending for a while now and I know this idea might be a little outdated, but I wanted to still give it a shot anyway.

I have always been a fan of the industrial light look and decided to start there.

I had a hard time finding the right concrete at The Home Depot. I didn’t want a 60 lb bag and I noticed all the concrete they had was rough and had gravel in it, but maybe I was looking in the wrong area. I ended up finding this Quikrete concrete mix at OSH Hardware. The texture was exactly what I wanted, soft and smooth. My store even had a 10 lb bag which was easy to carry out.

Materials for Planter

Quikrete concrete mix
1 large plastic planter
1 smaller plastic planter
A bucket
Water
Stir

Materials for Lamp

Quikrete concrete mix
Milk Carton
Light bulb outlet
An xacto knife
Tape
A bucket
Water
Stir

Mix the concrete:

1. Pour concrete mix and add water according to the instructions on the bag.

1. I felt the mix was still too dry when I followed the instructions, so I added a little more water as I went until I got the consistency I desired.

Create mold for the lamp

1. Cut the top off the milk carton with the xacto knife.

2. Cut the bottom of the carton creating a slit for the lamp cord to go through

3. String the cord through then opening

4. Tape the cord in place.

5. Pour the concrete into the carton being careful not to get any concrete in the light bulb outlet. (I probably should have put some paper or tape inside to protect it).

6. Continue pouring and shaking the carton every once in a while to get out some of the bubbles. I wanted my lamp to have a slight bubble texture, so I wasn’t too heavy on the shaking.

7. Let dry for about 24 hrs.