How to Make Concrete Bookends with Gold Animals

Grab a couple of plastic animal toys and give them a coat of gold spray paint. Set them on scrap paper or a drop cloth, hold the can back a few inches, and lay down light even passes rather than one heavy blast.

Let each coat flash off before adding the next so the gold builds up smooth and doesn't pool in the crevices. Two or three thin coats will cover far better than one thick one that runs.

Once the paint is dry, slice each figure in half down the middle with a sharp craft knife. Work slowly and keep your fingers well clear of the blade, since the smooth plastic can slip.

You want a front half from one animal and a back half from another. That way each finished bookend gets a figure that reads like it's walking right into the concrete block.

Cut a rectangle from a scrap plastic sheet and mark a two-centimeter flap at each corner. Draw your guidelines, then fold the flaps up and tape the corners tight with strong tape. That gives you a shallow open box to pour into.

Wipe the inside clean before you pour, especially with white concrete, so no marker ink or dust transfers onto the finished face. A light shot of mold release spray helps the block pop out cleanly later.

Mix your white concrete in a bucket to a thick but pourable batter, roughly the texture of yogurt. Wear gloves and a dust mask while you work, since the dry mix is caustic and easy to breathe in.

Fill each mold, then tap and vibrate it against the table to shake loose any trapped air. Those bubbles are what leave pits in the finished face, so keep tapping until they stop rising.

Let the first slabs firm up a bit, then stand two poured blocks against each other so one edge cures dead straight. That straight edge is what will grip the shelf and stop a book from sliding past.

Press a gold animal into the still-soft face of the second pour. Keep it about two centimeters up from the bottom so the legs stay buried and the figure looks like it's emerging from the concrete rather than glued on.

After a full 24 hours the concrete has cured enough to handle. Peel the mold away and ease each block out. The white surface should come off crisp with the gold animal locked in place.

Run sandpaper over the sharp corners and any rough spots to soften them. Do this over a sheet or outside, and keep your dust mask on, because cured concrete dust is not something you want in your lungs.

Stand the L-shaped pieces up and fit them together into a matched set. Nudge each one until it balances on its own base, then add a dab of epoxy where the base meets the upright to lock the joint for good.

Stick a couple of felt pads on the bottom of each block. They keep the concrete from scratching a wood shelf and stop the bookends from sliding when you load them.

Give everything one last light sanding and wipe the concrete clean. A coat of concrete sealer keeps the white surface from picking up stains and fingerprints over time.

Set the finished pair on your shelf and load them with books. The gold figures pop against the white concrete, and the weight of the blocks holds a real stack upright without tipping.