Tag: garden art

Inventory Sale Review Part 2

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I’m back with Part 2 of my sale review. It’s 98% images so it will be quick.

Again, I wanted to use as much of my collected treasures as I could before the sale, so everything pictured was made similarly to projects in previous posts. There’s never any set rules when using salvaged and found materials; you do what you like.

https://glassictouch.com/2016/07/11/crystal-garden-chandelier/  and https://glassictouch.com/2016/08/06/salt-shaker-decorative-plant-stake/

I would have to say that the chandeliers and garden stakes were my favorites. They were just so much fun to make. No two were alike and they always sold well at shows. I like to put one together the way I like it, then take it apart to clean and polish all the pieces; always laying it out in the order it went together. One thing I did change was the attachment of crystals. Instead of wiring them on, I made jump rings and soldered all the connections so they couldn’t come loose.

So here we go. There is layout pictures for the first three chandeliers, but not the two in the feature picture.

And now some garden stakes and a couple of the layouts.

And lastly, though the picture is a little fuzzy, a few ring/jewelry trays were put together with lamp parts.

That’s it, all caught up. My garage is so clean and empty now. I’ll miss playing with all those beautiful lamp pieces, but I’ll survive; time to move on. I would like to devote more time to my glass and garden hobby, and I have wall art and furniture pieces in my radar. But, that’s for future posts. 🙂

Have a great week all!

Junk Jaunt

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Spring season fun has begun!  Yesterday, our little group took off on a short road trip to Fairfax, Iowa. There, the owner of Simply Iowa (aka The Mad Hatter) was hosting her spring opening at the “rabbit hole”, a special on site place that does kind of make you feel like Alice entering a magical, peculiar land where unexpected treasures can be found. It is suggested that you wear grubbies, and bring a truck, which is very sound advice.

I’m often asked what type of places I look for and/or go to for gathering unique pieces.  Well, the rabbit hole is a favorite spot, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.  If you’re near, you may want to visit.

A ton of pictures have been narrowed to 13 which will still give you a good idea of what it’s like. There’s stuff on stuff, in front and behind, and high and low. I usually go around at least twice so as not to miss anything that was peeking out at me on the first round.  Enjoy!

What did you think?  Curious place, huh? Simply Iowa is on FB and has a blog if you’d like to follow.

I kept myself in check and only brought 5 small pieces home.

Oops, sorry, make that 6. I spied this as I was walking to the car.

No judgments please, lol.  I usually have a thought in mind when I choose things and they’ll probably be shown in some way later.

I have my first tiered tray finished and will be posting on it in a few days. If you get the chance, please, stop back by and give it a look. Thoughts are always welcome; good ones preferably. 🙂

Have a great week-end!

Repurposed Garden Tote Garden Basket DIY

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Look, I’ve found the way back to my blog.  There’s no doubt at all that if I had to rely on this to make a living, I would starve, lol.  

As most know, I store treasures in my garage.  It’s pretty cluttered, and, with no tables, I mostly work on the floor, or move out to the old picnic table when weather permits.

Late last fall one area of my garage got a big improvement when my husband was looking for a place to temporarily store a lift. He had no problem if it was covered and used as a work table.  Wow, what a difference it made and I can stand up to work! 

BEFORE

AFTER

Most of my treasures were collected pre-covid and way before, when I was actively participating in more shows and events.  I’m excited to get out to this summer’s junk jaunts and tag sales to find some larger pieces for my home and discover some new ideas to play around with.  But, first, now that the weather is getting warmer, I need to get back to work on some of those projects in the pictures above; they’ve been waiting for me all winter.

I was in the process of making myself a simple, rustic garden tote last year.  The pieces were gathered and laid out, but I got busy with stained glass work and didn’t follow through.  So, that seems like a great place to start now.

A large capacity bowl, and an easy grip handle was what I wanted and why I chose the pieces I did for this project. 

A drill press was used to drill a 5/16” hole in the center of the pans and an 18” length of an old shovel handle. The depth of the hole drilled in the shovel handle is approximately 3”.  A 2 ½”L lag screw and a flat washer was screwed into the shovel handle for safe keeping.

To keep further rusting at bay and for easy cleaning, a coat of Briwax was applied to the cleaned pans and buffed. A car wax or Shield spray could also be used.

The shovel handle was stained and sealed.

For added strength, and to give the shovel handle a more solid seat to rest on, a small area of Briwax coating was sanded off the bottom of the large pan, and a large scrap washer was adhered with JB Weld; weighted down to dry overnight. E6000 could also be used.

Both hands and a crescent wrench was needed to get the shovel handle screwed on securely.  I found the best way to do this was to work from the bottom up. After laying the inverted pie pan on the bottom of the large upturned pan, the lag screw was pushed through the flat washer and the pans.  

A large bead of E6000 was laid on the cut bottom of the shovel handle.

While holding the pans on their side, the shovel handle was lined up with the screw and started. I then held the shovel handle with my left hand, balancing the pans while I tightened the lag screw with my right; went together quickly, and done!  Clean away any excess glue.

The handle looked bare, so it got a scrap of wire wrapped around it, under the grip, just to break it up a little.

We’re a ways off from our gardening season yet, but, I’m ready for it. My new garden tote will be much handier than our big green Tupperware bowl. Hope you don’t mind, I grabbed a few props from the frig for pictures. 🙂

Although I’m planning on using this piece as a garden tote/basket, it could also lend farm house country charm filled with pots of flowers or herbs on a patio; just a thought.

We’ve got another week of nice weather in our forecast and I’ll be moving on to another project. Pondering over the pieces on my new work table, it looks like some tiered trays will be on the agenda next, and soon. I hope you’ve liked what you’ve seen today, please comment, like, and share. Repurposing and upcycling with salvaged materials can help lessen the load on our landfills and have a huge impact on our environment. Thanks for visiting my blog, stay well, stay safe, and have a great day!

Repurposed Strainers Planters Fun DIY

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This time of year is the greatest … back out in the garden, doing yard work, and mowing. I get some of my best thinking done while on a mower. 

Best of all, our year of homeschooling was successfully completed last week!  I think the whole family let out a big sigh of relief over that, lol. You definitely have to give teachers and others who homeschool every year a standing ovation; it’s a lot of work, and patience.

Anyway, having a little free time on my hands now, I made something quick and fun to hang on a couple of ugly poles in my yard.

I have a small pile of metal strainers and such that I’ve found in the salvage dropped off for my husband.  Seems no one wants the poor things unless they’re a special vintage piece. 

I used to collect the most interesting ones and we would heat the handles a bit to bend them upright and be used as hangers.  I’d sell them at vintage markets for a couple bucks each. The large mesh ones were the most popular, but not as easy to come by anymore.

Many of you know I have a thing for metal flowers too.  If you’re lucky you can find some that are constructed with a screw and nut which makes them really easy to work with.  I usually find flowers at garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. My stash was getting pretty thin until I recently scored some beautiful ones from my sister and her husband who own Mc’Do-its Upcycled, Repurposed and Flea Markets. It’s awesome having them so close, they’ve had just what I was searching for on several occasions.

I’m ready to share what I came up with, but please remember there are no limits when it comes to projects like these.  Use whatever you have; paint, washers, glass donuts, wire, buttons, etc.  I played around with several ideas before settling on the ones I wanted.

Had to have a touch of blue –

I was going for a blue enamelware look with this little guy. Exterior blue paint, white speckles, and clear spray sealer.

An eye bolt was added to the back to help it hang evenly and provide a loop for a wire to be threaded through and secured to prevent rocking from side to side. Two glass donuts were wired to the handle.

This vintage look might be my favorite –

I love this combination. Red exterior paint, clear spray sealer. An eye bolt was added again, this time with an extra nut glued to the exterior before painting. I used JB Weld for gluing. After determining placement, holes were drilled for the screws on the back of the flowers and they were tightened into place. The stem was wired on. Decorative metal beads were painted and sanded lightly for the flower centers and glued on.

Here’s another useful tip – slide pieces of wax paper under the pieces you are wiring on to prevent your base paint from getting scratched.

Boho anyone? Just because it has a hanger doesn’t mean you have to hang it.

Exterior orange paint, red speckles, clear spray sealer. A medallion was made with a large decorative coat button on top of a glass lamp piece. The wire is threaded through the button and through a hole in the glass piece. The wires went through an old button on the inside of the basket to hold it securely.

And then there’s this one, just because I thought it would be cute in the kitchen.

So, what do you think? Don’t these look like fun? Please, feel free to comment if you like. I love hearing from readers.

Back soon!

My Sunflower Garden Gate DIY Tutorial

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A garden gate was nowhere in my radar this fall. But, after pulling some beautiful rusty sunflowers from a pile of junk someone dropped off at our house, I had to use them. Having a husband in the salvage business does have its rewards. Anyway, they were on tall stems and looked like they had held a candle or solar light of some sort.

I laid them on a rusty gate, along with a faded, metal flower. The materials looked good together, but the sunflowers were too small to use.  The yellow flower would be the perfect size, but I only had one.  What to do? 

I left everything laying out, pondering over them as I piddled around with other things.  I really wanted to use those rusty flowers, I just wished they were bigger.  Could I do something to them to make them look bigger? Put something behind them, and make them the centers? That was it!  Once I began looking at them as the centers of flowers, things started coming together.  

The plan – cut two new flowers from scrap aluminum, using the yellow flower and its leaves as a pattern, then give each a rusty flower center to pull them together. 

First, the sunflowers had to be taken apart.  With my husband’s help, the welded hinges and other small pieces were removed carefully with a low temp torch.  I slowly pulled them off with pliers as he controlled the heat.  The stems were saved for later.

Flower pieces and leaves were cut from thin aluminum.

I taped the flower head pieces together and wired them to the gate to determine their placing. The leftover stem pieces were held up to the flowers and cut to the lengths needed, making sure they were long enough to go behind and be glued to the back of the flower.  The placing of the leaves was determined the same way.  Shorter leftover stem pieces were curved slightly and cut for the leaf stems.

File the sharp edges of the aluminum pieces.  Buff them with steel wool before priming and painting.

Glue the rusty sunflower centers to the front of the flowers.  NOTE – Always when gluing, the paint must be scraped from the surfaces to be glued – both surfaces must be clean and paint free. Let dry. 

The short curved stems were glued to the backs of the leaves.  Let dry.

The flower was placed face down and propped level to glue the stem to the back of the flower. Let dry.  Touch up paint, over the glue.

Glue leaves to the stem. Let dry.  After the leaves were dry, the flower was turned over and glued on the front of the leaf stems too. Let dry.  The stems and leaves were painted.

The gate was scrubbed clean and sprayed with clear sealer.

The flowers were wired to the gate in several places along the main stem and behind the flower.  Because they were glued on, I avoided putting any pressure on the leaf stems.   I painted a little green paint over wires that were showing.  A small amount of white paint was lightly sponged on the rusty centers. The thin aluminum petals and leaves were curved and shaped to add dimension.

The little dragon fly from the yellow flower was wired on after it was brightened up with some glass wings and a nugget.  I don’t know what I’d do without my squeeze clamps.  🙂 

And there you have it!  Now, let’s just hope winter doesn’t get here before Thanksgiving.

I’m stepping clear out of my comfort zone with my next post and will be attempting an easy Christmas sewing project.  We’ll have to see how that goes …

Please, mask up, wash those hands, and stay healthy and safe my friends, I’ll be back soon.

Recycled Tin Can Wreath DIY Tutorial

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This rusty, country style wreath may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it looks right at home in my rural garden, so I’m sharing it just for fun!

While going through old garden magazines last year, I caught just a glimpse of the side of a tin can wreath hanging in the picture of a garden, so of course I felt the need to make one. I threw a bunch of dog food cans in a tub of water to soak outside for a few weeks and start the rusting process.

After dumping the cans to dry, I creased them in the center with the side of my foot, and drilled a ½” hole through them.

I used twenty eight, 22 oz. cans for my wreath, and a 5 ft. length of heavy fencing wire. Cans are heavy, my wreath still sagged a bit, but the fencing wire helped it hold a circular shape. 

A small loop was bent in one end of the wire to hold the cans as they were threaded on.  I did a pattern of three as I threaded .. two with the crease one way, them flipped the third, but they can be put on any way you want. 

 

After all the cans were threaded on, the wire was cut close to the end, a hook was shaped to go into the loop, and squeezed tight.

That’s it, easy peasy.  

My wreath has been hanging in the garage for the last year, out of sight, out of mind, until now.   An awesome find of a big bird nest, dislodged from one of our pines during a recent thunderstorm, prompted me to adorn my wreath with Mother Nature and hang it in the garden.  A step out to the gravel road provided a few stones for makeshift eggs; a little surprise for my four year old granddaughter when she sneaks a peek … she’ll be delighted!

can wreath 2

 

 

 

Rustic Garden Wreath DIY Tutorial

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I love the look of rustic art in the garden, don’t you? Being a collector of lots of glass things, wire scraps, rusty junk, and all kinds of tidbits, I’m excited when I can gather some of my pieces that all work together, and make something eye pleasing for mine.

With salvaged art, there’s no rules, right or wrong, that’s the fun of it. Just do what works best for you.

Duplicating the items I used is not feasible, I know, but, I wanted to share some tips and tricks I used in hopes of spurring inspiration for fellow creatives. 

I asked my husband to save a pile of heavy springs when they showed up as salvage last fall.  I’ve walked past them 100’s of times and always had the same thought; I’m gonna make a wreath out of one of those someday.  I knew there was a metal flower collecting dust in the garage that would look great on one, I just never got going on it. 

 

Recently, I was breaking down some bottles for other projects when the idea of glass leaves popped into my head… that was it, now it was time to make a wreath.

Tackling the heavy spring was the first step. It was about 30 inches long and wouldn’t hold a circular shape on it’s own.  A length of heavy fencing wire was shaped into a circle and inserted inside the spring for support. The ends of the fencing wire were hooked together and squeezed tight to secure.

The funky ends were cut off of the spring.  With the help of a screwdriver, a scrap piece of wire was wedged into the first end rings of the spring so they could be held open for wiring the ends together flush.

 

The barbed wire stem was cut from the flower,  For added interest, a short, chunky spring was wired into the center of the flower.  A long wire was used for this step so it could go through the flower and be used to wire the flower on later.

 

Pieces of a Captain Morgan bottle were used for leaves.  I smoothed the edges of the glass with a glass grinder, but a piece of emery cloth, or a Dremel tool with a diamond grinding bit will work too.

Arrange the leaves and flower on the wreath, covering the wired spring ends.  After deciding placement, wire the leaves on first with a thin pliable wire, then the flower, covering the wired ends of the leaves. 

Take advantage of any small curves in the glass leaves to help hold the wrapped wires tightly.  As an added precaution I glued chunks of glass, or washers, near my wires to prevent any slipping.  Washers can also be glued between the spring and flower/leaf arrangement to tighten or brace an area.

The ends of my heavy wire leaf shapes were difficult to bend.  I opted to attach a thin wire on one end of them, then thread it through under the flower and between other wires.  Secure the wire to the other end of the leaf shape. Arrange and tighten until snug.

Before finishing up, I decided to add another glass leaf, used E6000 to add a couple interesting rusty bits, and tuck in one of my salvaged art blooms.

    

I do believe, this is just what that little corner of my garden needed!

 

 

 

 

Little Upcycled Bucket DIY Tutorial

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Well, I’d say its about time I found my way back to my blog!  Its been a year, way too long!

Such a long break was never planned.  Initially, my sister, who was newly retired last year, and I, began going to a lot of flea markets and sales last spring. I think we’re guilty of having had so much fun hanging out, and shopping for awesome stuff, that we didn’t leave much time for creating.  Before I knew it, it was time to start working on fused glass Christmas ornaments. which kept me busy until after the first of the year, and then it was time to make inventory for a June vintage market event.  Anyway, I’m back, and ready to get back in the groove of making things!

Several new pieces were made for the market we participated in.  I’ll post some pictures of them later, but first, I’d like to begin by sharing a favorite … an upcycled, little, bent galvanized bucket that was almost headed to the scrap yard.  I’ve just fallen in love with it, and it was so easy.  All it took was two sample sized colors of exterior water based paint, hide glue or crackle medium, J-B Weld, a small metal flower, one button, and a fan (opt).  I’m impatient, the fan speeds up drying times.

Just a little note about crackle mediums before we get started.  They are readily available in just about all home improvement and craft stores, and easy to use.  Hide glue is my choice for crackling.  You can find it in hardware stores for around $9.  Always painting something, I usually have some mixed and ready to use.

For a crackle medium, mix 1/2 C hide glue with 1/3 C of very hot water, stirring well.  Store unused medium in an airtight container.  As a rule, the thinner the crackle medium, the thinner the cracks.  If bigger cracks are wanted, use less hot water.  Regardless, the mixture will be watery thin, and splatter easily.  Make sure your floor and work area are protected well.  Crackling is a lot of fun, but can be touchy.  It doesn’t like to be re-brushed as you put it on, single strokes are needed. If you’ve never tried it before, you may want to play around with it on scrap wood first to get the feel for it, or catch a video on YouTube.

After giving the bucket a good wash, it was wiped down with a little rubbing alcohol to remove any oils left on it’s surface.  I began with a base coat of red, let dry.

Next, the crackle glue.  Let the crackle glue dry until it is still slightly sticky to the touch, approximately 45 minutes, sooner with a fan.  Top with light blue paint, let dry completely.

Sprigs of metal flowers are something I keep my eye out for at garage sales and flea markets.  Their flowers and leaves are easily snipped off to incorporate in crafting projects.

Lightly burnish the metal flower with steel wool before painting.  I used the light blue as a base color, and the red as the top coat, with crackle in between.

J-B Weld is a two part epoxy, and a wonderful product.  Please read and follow the manufacturer’s directions on the package.  Per directions, the surfaces to be glued must be free of paint.

After deciding the placement of the flower, I scratched a small circle of paint off of the bucket, and also made sure the bottom of the flower was paint free.  I used a wooden skewer to stir a small amount of epoxy together on wax paper, and let it rest about five minutes to set up a little.

With the bucket on it’s side, I laid a small mound of epoxy over the cleared area, then sit the flower on, propping it in place to dry for 24 hours.

  jb weld

After the epoxy was completely dry, a metal button was added to the center of the flower with a small dab of E6000.  I finished with a spray of clear sealer, which is optional.

What do you think?  I had garden art in mind as it was being made, but now, I think it would be cuter than the dickens lined with a red and white checkered napkin and holding tableware at a barbecue!

Hope we are all blessed with sunshine and beautiful weather for the upcoming holiday.  Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!

 

 

 

Garden Cloche DIY Tutorial

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I’m sure I’m not the only one using tomato cages, or garden fencing, to protect plants and new sprouts in the garden and yard.  Rather they’re protecting from animals, grand kids, or an inattentive mower, they can sometimes stay put most of the summer. That’s what made me think of a large garden cloche; if you’re going to look at it for months, why not make it more attractive? And, no one else will have one like it … that’s always a bonus, right?

My garden cloche design got a jump start when I stumbled upon a pair of wire planter baskets at a local thrift shop for a dollar. The wire spacing on them was similar to a discarded air conditioner guard I had tucked away at home.

I quickly realized I could not bend and shape the steel AC guard to match the 14″dia. of the planter basket with just my hands. After searching around, I finally found an old milk can of that size to roll, wrap, and shape it around. I used bolt cutters to cut the length of guard needed, then connected the ends together by wrapping the entire length of the seam with thin wire, crisscrossing the wire at the intersections, for a smooth seam and firm connection.  Cut the wires from bottom ring, leaving prongs to push into the ground.

  

Cut and remove the crossbars from the bottom of the basket. Once I cut them in the center, they just snapped off.

Spray both of the wire pieces black with an exterior paint recommended for metal. Let dry completely.

    

I gathered some odd lamp pieces and a short piece of threaded rod to stack and build a large finial to adorn the top of the upturned basket. One lamp piece (the base piece) will need to fit nicely inside the basket below where the crossbars were.

Spray paint the base lamp pieces black, let dry.

  

Beginning with the painted base pieces on the threaded rod, stack and build the lamp pieces. Leaving room for a small finial, use tape to mark where the threaded rod will need to be cut. Remove the rod to cut, restack the pieces, add a dab of E6000 to the tip of the rod, and twist the small finial on to tighten your pieces together firmly.

  

 

  

 

    

Cut back all but 6 or 7 of the wires on the top ring of the AC guard, these will be used to bend over the wire ring of the basket and hold it in place. Touch up the cut wires with black spray paint. Attach the basket to the top and its ready for the garden.

   

Kind of gives the garden a little majestic touch, don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Poppies DIY Tutorial

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A quick post to share a new rustic poppy design.
Not too many supplies are needed for these fun flowers; salvaged thin metal sheeting, fiberglass window screening, thin wire, small flat bead, 8 to 10 mm glass bead, and paint. I went back to Lowe’s and bought one of those cute 8 oz Valspar paints again, this time “Oh So Red”.
Like many faux poppy patterns, stacking three layers of petal pieces makes this easy. The base piece is the largest and the other two get smaller in diameter as you go up. My base was about 2 3/4″ diameter.

Before getting started, some fiberglass window screen had to be painted.   This was my first experience painting screen and it took me some time applying the paint and getting all those itty bitty squares to stay filled in; when you brush over them, they open back up. I painted in layers, drying with a fan, and discovered laying the paint on was more productive than brushing most of the time. If anyone out there has a secret or helpful hints for painting screen please do chime in.

Flatten a piece of scrap metal sheeting (as in The Spirit of Christmas). Trace and cut out the base petal piece. Paint it red. Dry. Sand lightly with fine grit sandpaper to reveal some of the metal.

Hold the top two petal pattern pieces in place on the painted screen and cut around them.

Cut a small circle, a little larger than a quarter, from the window screening.  Darken it with black paint.

Sand the screen petal pieces with fine sandpaper to reveal the texture of the screen. Do not sand the black center piece. This is a good time to put a light black speckling on your pieces, and let it dry before spraying all the pieces with a clear matte sealer, front and back. I forgot, and didn’t speckle until my flowers were done, then had to respray them.

Trace three poppy leaves on the thin metal, flipping your pattern to trace one face down. Cut, paint green, sand, speckle, and seal.

On a board, drive a finishing nail through the stacked flower petal arrangement.  You can shape and bend the flowers first, or keep the petals flattened and shape after. Remove the nail.

Center and twist a glass bead on a length of straightened thin wire. Thread the black screen circle on to the wire stem and shape it around the bead. Add a small flat bead with a dab of E6000. Slide the other petal pieces in place, applying a small amount of glue between layers near the wire. Arrange and form the flower to your liking before pushing firmly into a piece of thick foam to dry. You can do more gentle bending, shaping, or trimming on the petals after the flowers are dry if needed.

    

I think this makes a cute, versatile little flower to have some fun with. Change the shape of the petal a bit, the color, and the bead, and you’ll have a whole new look.  Another layer of petals could be added for a larger flower.

I wired my poppies to a basket for a pop of color, then glued on the leaves, but they could easily be wired, or glued, to wreaths, canvas art, frames, or wood.

  

It makes me feel good to find uses for salvaged, and reclaimed materials.  Keeping anything out of the landfill is a plus.  Hearing from my readers makes me feel good too, please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.  Enjoy your week!