Easily Hide Backyard Eyesores With A Simple Dollar Tree Bowl DIY
The grass is plush with nary a weed in sight and the flower beds are popping with color behind pristine edging, but all you can concentrate on is the pipe projecting from the turf. It's time to invest in a faux stone camouflage for this unwanted feature, but lots of them look annoyingly fake for their high price. It turns out that making your own surprisingly convincing landscape rock cover is neither extremely difficult nor expensive. The TikTok channel dollartree.hacks recently showed us how easy it is to do this with a small number of inexpensive materials.
Although this method is probably adaptable to larger containers for disguising outsized yard fixtures, these instructions are best for items small enough to hide beneath a large bowl courtesy of the Dollar Tree. Topped with a stone-like coating, this low-budget yard blemish hider will keep money in your pocket while giving you a satisfyingly creative project.
Pumps, pipes, electrical boxes, and other small-ish eyesores can go bye-bye (or at least look like they've gone bye-bye) with the help of a Dollar Tree bowl like this Plastic Crystal-Cut Punch Bowl covered in a layer of sculpted spray foam. Along with a basic Dollar Tree bowl, gather up a can of gap-filling foam, bags of perlite, Portland cement, used coffee grounds, a long-bladed knife (serrated is best), a bucket, and rubber gloves. Also have some garden soil and sand on hand along with a supply of water, as well.
Turning a plastic bowl to stone
Place your container upside down on a protected surface — outdoors is best. Coat the entire exposed surface with a thick layer of spray foam. Make the foam layer at least 4 inches thick with an irregular shape like a natural rock. The foam will need to dry and cure before you cut and shape it with a knife. It may need 24 hours to dry fully, maybe more depending on temperature and humidity. Check the product details for a better estimate. After 24 hours, flip the bowl over and take a look at the foam layer that's closest to the bowl; it may still need more time to firm up before it goes under the knife.
@dollartree.hacks Front Yard Boulder DIY Using a Dollar Store Bowl 🌿#outdoor #landscape #diyproject #backyard #fauxboulder #garden . . DIY inspiration from @goodlyearth 🌿 He's on YouTube too!
Once you're confident the foam is fully dry, use the knife to carve away the rounded surfaces of the foam. Make broad, irregular cuts all around the form to get the most convincing natural shape. Now on to the durable coating that will add heft, durability, and a convincing finish. In the bucket, mix Portland cement with enough water to make a workable paste. You can also add in coffee grounds and perlite for a more realistic texture. With gloved hands, smear the mixture over the foam surface. A layer 1 and 2 inches thick should withstand the elements. While the mixture is still wet, smear handfuls of sand and soil at points around the surface to give it color variations like you'd see on natural stone. Alternatively, pull out some paints to accomplish this look. Set your "mock rock" over the offending fixture and marvel at this unexpected way to use a Dollar Tree punch bowl.