How to Make a Concrete Trinket Dish

Erica uses a pottery-and-ceramics plaster mix she found at the craft store for under eight dollars. Set out your plaster, water, and a couple of silicone molds. If you want color, grab acrylic paint or mica powder, and keep some metallic foil flakes handy for sparkle. That eight-pound bag goes a long way, so you can make several dishes and still have plenty left.

Line up a plastic cup and a stir stick for each dish you plan to make, and set your empty molds within reach. This plaster sets fast, so having everything ready keeps you from scrambling once the batter is mixed. Erica works one dish at a time so the other cups don't harden while she pours. Put your gloves on now too.

The ratio is two parts plaster to one part water. Erica uses two-thirds cup of plaster to one-third cup of water per dish. Add the plaster to the water and stir with your popsicle stick until it's smooth. It looks runny at first, but it starts to thicken quickly, so keep moving once it's blended.

Stir a little acrylic paint or mica powder into the batter to color it. A small amount goes a long way, so start light and add more if you want it deeper. Once it's mixed, pour the tinted plaster straight into your silicone mold. Erica made one blue with paint, one with mica shimmer, and left one its natural stone color.

Use your stir stick to push the plaster into every corner of the mold. Getting it all the way into the crevices is what keeps the edges clean. Then tap the mold on the table a few times so trapped air bubbles rise to the top and pop. This is the step that decides whether your dish comes out smooth or full of pits.

Give the plaster about an hour to firm up. The package says you can demold at 30 minutes, but a little extra time is safer. When it's ready, flex the soft silicone mold and gently peel it back off the dish. It should release in one clean piece and already feel solid, almost like a ceramic dish.

Set the demolded dishes aside for a full 24 hours to cure all the way through. They won't look any different, but they'll harden completely. That's it. You've got a set of little trinket dishes ready to hold rings, earrings, or keys, each with its own color and finish. Make a few and give them as gifts.