I have been all about concrete these days!  I used it at Easter (since everyone needs concrete easter eggs) and have been trying to thinking up other things to make.  So I was surfing around Hometalk and found TONS of great ideas for planters and garden decor.   So many ideas that I had to create my own “Concrete Planters that ROCK" clipboard to collect them all:

They made it look so easy, so I headed to the thrift store and found things I could use as mold and the result is my very own SCALLOPED VERSION:
Creating these couldn’t be easier (and the best part is the supplies are reusable so I can make as many as I want without breaking the molds!)
I found a cheap plastic candy dish (I guess that is what it is) which was 99c and a stainless steel mixing bowl (I knew the tapered bottom would make it easy to remove) which was marked down from 99c to 49c since it was half-price day.   I knew the funky shape of the candy dish would give me a great shape for the planter but I didn’t realize it would actually come out looking like a flower or a sun.. with ruffled/scalloped edges.  It was a pleasant surprise.

The only other supplies I needed were the concrete mix (Just like for the eggs, I used mortar mix since I had it on hand), a mixing vessel (I used a free plastic fast food cup) and a stir stick.   I also bamboo skewers and cooking spray (more on those later)

So first you mix up the mortar mix with enough water until you get the consistency of a thick milkshake.  Then you use the cooking spray to grease both the inside of the candy dish and the outside of the bowl.  (I used Pam Organic.. since hey.. nothing but the best for my planers!) 
Pour the concrete into the greased candy dish and then smash the bowl down into the center to create the reservoir for your actual planting area.  If the bowl doesn’t stay down in the concrete you can add some weight to the bowl. 
I allowed it to set about an hour (I still wanted it soft so I could easily release the bowl and poke holes in the concrete:
Be careful since the edges are still fragile at this point, the concrete is soft!  Using the bamboo skewer I poked drainage holes in the bottom of the planter (you don’t have to do this but I knew mine would sit under sprinklers and didn’t want a lot of water to pool inside of them. 
After letting it dry over night the planter popped right out of the mold.  So of course I made another. 
A little potting soil and some Petunias and they were ready for the yard! 
I love how they turned out.

 Now I want to make a few that are a little larger.   Since I can’t get enough concrete!