Oh, how I love spending long, fun filled Fall days full of junk jaunts and tag sales with my daughters and sisters. With all the virus concerns, we’ve not been out to any all summer, but are hoping to get masked up and maybe squeeze one in next month. While poking around in my overloaded garage, sorting and tossing, I’m discovering a lot of treasures from our past outings, recalling the plans for them, and remembering some of the crazy times we had.
One such past find was a pair of metal sunflower candleholders; perfect for Fall decor. It really makes my day when I find a treasure like this to bring home, repurpose, and play with. When I found them, I knew right away I’d be filling the center with something.
The small round legs popped off easily with pliers. The leaves were removed with bolt cutters, and saved. To build up height in the centers, a small circle of ½” plywood was glued into each one. I wanted some shine to show through the translucent glass nuggets I would be using, so I cut circles from a discarded piece of antiqued mirror to glue over the plywood. Small circles of thin metal could also be used in place of the mirror. Different sizes of amber, brown, and clear glass nuggets were glued to the mirror, leaving a small space around each one. After letting the glue dry 24 hours, the nuggets were grouted with sanded grout. I mixed a small amount of brown paint with my black grout to get the color I wanted. Let grout dry overnight before sealing.
Searching through my stashes, I found an awesome piece of rusted steel wire and some beautiful green and gold blown glass grape bunches. The wire, I pulled from a salvage pile last year, and the grapes were found in an antique mall in Texas several years ago. They had broken leaves, and I paid a bit more than I would usually do, but they were so darned pretty. And now, I’m really glad I did.
Not being one for flowery, frilly things, the wire piece worked perfectly for my taste; I could use the twisted wire knot to take the place of a bow.
With 22ga, thin black wire, the flower was wired on first, then the leaves, and grapes. I added some rusty springs to give it just a little bit more.
I love the versatility of projects like this. These sunflowers can be attached to just about anything, and used indoors, or out. I did a little playing around with some other ideas too, and thought I’d share them just for fun. You’ll have to let me know what you think ..
Keep it simple. Paint a couple metal leaves to add around a flower; attach it to a chalkboard, or a welcome sign.
A wire wreath is big enough for the pair. No ribbon for a wreath bow? Cut strips of fiberglass window screening and loop one. There’s easy bow instructions on YouTube.
How about a mailbox cover? A metal nail strip was stitched to wire hardware cloth and shaped in an arch. Hold it in place underneath with mini bungee cords.
For an open porch, I think a small arrangement with a sunflower and raffia would look great too, tied around the neck of a milk can filled with tall florals, or ornamental grasses; but I didn’t have time, a porch, or florals to get that put together. 🙂
A wide variety of small, inexpensive metal and glass pieces can usually be found at garage sales, and tag sales, so keep an eye out if you like repurposing and working with salvaged materials. It’s good to get in the practice of looking at a piece and taking it apart in your mind to see how it’s parts can be used in other ways before carting it home.
Please feel free to comment, or share my post if you like. Take Care and Stay Healthy.
glassic touch 