DIY Network

Yard Monuments Create easy, lightweight monuments for your yard. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-301

Make your mark with this easy—and lightweight—yard monument.

Michele Beschen loves to B. Original in the great outdoors, whether she's planting her garden with stained-glass toadstools or creating a fun open-air living room. In this project, she shows how to make custom monuments without the hefty weight or the hefty price tag of their stone counterparts. Her secret: building the core of the monument from cheap, feather-light foam insulation board, then using chicken wire and cement to create the final shape and texture.

Your monument can be anything from an artsy yard accent to a one-of-a-kind house marker. Scroll down to get started, and let your creativity be your guide.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Yard Monument

Materials:

foam insulation board (2" thick) or thick packing foam
felt-tipped marker
serrated knife, utility knife or small hand saw
adhesive suitable for foam
small notched trowel
small flower pot or vase
bamboo skewers or small wooden dowels
small chisel
chicken wire
staple pins
tin snips or wire-cutters
cement mix or mortar
container for mixing cement or mortar
water
small putty knife or trowel
heavy gloves
paint and/or cement colorant

• Determine the monument's size and shape. Use a felt-tipped marker to draw the shape of the vertical part of the monument on a piece of foam.

• Cut out the design using a serrated knife, utility knife or small hand saw (figure A). You may need to twist or break the foam to get it to separate (figure B). Don't worry about rough edges – they'll be covered in the final piece.

• Cut two pieces of foam the same size to create the monument's base. To glue the pieces together, apply a generous bead of foam adhesive to both pieces (figure C), then drag a notched trowel through the adhesive. Sandwich the pieces with the sticky sides together, and insert a few bamboo skewers or wooden dowels through both pieces for extra support. Let the adhesive dry completely.

  Note: Check the caulking area of any hardware or home improvement store for adhesives that will work on foam.

• If you want to insert a flower pot or other container in the base of the monument, cut the hole for it now. Position the pot on the base and trace around it with a utility knife or serrated knife (figure D). Remove the pot and use the knife and a small chisel to hollow out the hole to the desired depth.
  

  Figure D

  A flower vase or votive holder adds a new dimension to your finished monument.

  
  

  	Figure E
  	Figure F
  	Textures, colors and lettering give your creation personality.

• Position the vertical section of the monument on the base and trace around it with a marker.

• Spread foam adhesive inside the outline and on the bottom of the vertical section, then drag the notched trowel through the adhesive. Push pieces of wooden skewers or dowels into the base inside this outline so they stick up above the surface. Fit the vertical section onto the base, lining it up with the outline and letting the skewers or dowels poke up into the vertical section (figure E). Let the adhesive dry completely.

• Wearing heavy gloves, wrap the entire monument in chicken wire. Secure the wire with staple pins or by embedding the loose wire ends in the foam. Use tin snips or wire cutters to trim the chicken wire to size.

  Safety Alert: Wear gloves when handling or cutting chicken wire. The cut wires can be extremely sharp. Michele Beschen recommends wearing old clothes when working with chicken wire for the same reason.

• Mix the cement according to the package instructions. Any type of cement will do; Michele Beschen likes to use ThinSet mortar mix because it's lightweight and easy to work with. Add colorant to the cement while mixing, if desired; you also can add paint the piece after the cement cures.

• Apply the cement using a small trowel or putty knife (figure F). Play around with textures like swirls, ridges and bumps when applying the cement; you can even let some of the chicken wire show through for a more deconstructed look.

• Let the piece cure for a few days, then paint or embellish as desired.