I love the look of concrete home decor pieces. I’ve wanted to try my hand at making a few for a while, but have been intimidated by the idea of mixing and using concrete mix. Last month at SNAP conference, I was introduced to a new product called Maker’s Mix, which is a light-weight concrete mix for crafters and available exclusively at Joann Fabric and Craft Stores. I was able to get a sample of the concrete mix from the nice folks at Beacon Adhesives and have been playing around with it making so many fun things! After some experimentation, I created these awesome, industrial copper and concrete door pulls. The combination of the gray concrete and copper produced a really strong, modern effect. They are the perfect DIY for an industrial chic look in your home!
The pulls are fairly easy to make, and if you’re drilling new holes in your doors for the handles, they are even easier. Follow along below for the full tutorial.
- Maker’s Mix Concrete found at Joann Stores (or regular concrete mix)
- Long stick ice cube tray from IKEA
- Copper Acrylic Paint
- 1/4″ copper couplings from the hardware store
- paint brush and painter’s tape
- plastic cup and wood popsicle stick for mixing concrete
- Two 3.5″ bolts, washers, and nuts for each door pull
Begin by mixing your cement powder with water according to the package directions in your plastic cup using your popsicle stick. I just eyeballed it and added enough water to get a nice fluid mixture that I could pour into my mold. From what I’ve learned, you don’t have to be super exact with the water to cement ratio. The more water you add, the longer it will take to dry, but should still work. Just make sure it isn’t ‘soupy’, or it will be difficult to shape/work with.
Once you have your concrete mixed well, pour it into the silicone mold. Let it set for a minute, then insert the head of your bolt about half way into the concrete on each end of the pull and cover the head of the bolt with the concrete to completely surround it. Since I was using the holes already drilled in my doors, I needed to measure and make sure the bolts were 3.75″ apart so they would fit. If you’re going to be drilling new holes, you can place your pulls closer together and eyeball them so that they’re all the same distance apart.
Let the pulls dry for 24 hours (patience is a virtue:). Once dry, remove the pulls and sand the edges to get a nice smooth surface. Next, use your painter’s tape to tape off half the pull and paint with your copper paint.
Once the paint is dry, add the copper couplings to the bolts and insert through the holes in your door. Use washers and nuts to secure the door pull in place.
Ta-da! You could easily make enough pulls for an entire kitchen from just one tub of Maker’s Mix and bottle of Acrylic paint! What do you think about the copper and concrete combo? Too industrial or just right? If you decide to give it a try, be sure to tag #mykailochic on social media so I can check out your awesome creations!
For more fun DIY projects, check out my test tube bud vase over on Craftaholics Anonymous today.
June 27th, 2019 at 3:56 am
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March 12th, 2020 at 1:20 pm
How is this holding up? I tried to make some, but they’ve crumbled.
March 13th, 2020 at 9:51 am
I switched mine out not long after for some gold hardware so I can’t say how they would have held up long term. You could try regular concrete instead of the light kind and maybe add a metal rod in them to give it more strength?
July 21st, 2020 at 11:47 pm
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November 23rd, 2020 at 7:39 am
[…] photo below is a DIY version from A Kailo Chic Life who have a great tutorial about how to make them with silicone ice cube trays. You could attempt […]