Make a Stunning Vase with Plaster of Paris and an Old Piece of Cloth

Truly, Plaster of Paris is a wonder material. Let's see what exactly it is -

Plaster is a building material used for the protective and/or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. Another imprecise term used for the material is stucco, which is also often used for plaster work that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.

The most common types of plaster mainly contain either gypsum, lime, or cement, but all work in a similar way. The plaster is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to form a stiff but workable paste immediately before it is applied to the surface. The reaction with water liberates heat through crystallization and the hydrated plaster then hardens.

Plaster can be relatively easily worked with metal tools or even sandpaper, and can be moulded, either on site or to make pre-formed sections in advance, which are put in place with adhesive. Plaster is not a strong material; it is suitable for finishing, rather than load-bearing, and when thickly applied for decoration may require a hidden supporting framework, usually in metal.

Gypsum plaster, or plaster of Paris, is produced by heating gypsum to about 300 °F (150 °C).

CaSO₄·2H₂O + heat → CaSO₄·0.5H₂O + 1.5H₂O

Procedure - 

1. Mix Plaster Powder with water until you get a thick liquid consistency.
2. Take a square shaped cloth (Of any material, my favorite choice is jute rag as it gives fantastic texture)
3. Dip the cloth in plaster and completely soak it with the mixture.
4. Take a tumbler/bottle and cover it with a plastic sheet.
5. Invert it and put the cloth on it as shown - 

    

      6. Let it dry for 24 hrs 

      7. Remove the hardened vase and paint it with Acrylic/Enamel paints.