Melted Shot Glasses = Pretty Wind Chimes/Suncatchers

                                                        Yes, you read that right. 

                            Melted shot glasses can be used to make pretty wind chimes!

  Or, suncatchers, as one "helpful" commenter wrote. "These are not true CHIMES."

                                     Tomato, tomahto, but I understand the distinction. 

                  Ahem. They're fun and easy to make and look so pretty when they're done.

       

                 

                             The look almost like glass and they have a merry plastic clink to them. 

                                                           And they sure are pretty!

                     

                                     I got the plastic shot glasses at our local Dollar Tree. 

                                                        I bought all the colors!

                     Using an old cupcake pan I put two or three glasses in each cupcake hole.

                           

                           

                                      

                                  We used the OUTSIDE oven in The Welding Man's shop. 

THE MELTING PLASTING OFF GASES SOME SMELLY FUMES. USE AN OUTDOOR

                   OVEN  OR BARBECUE, DO NOT DO THIS IN YOUR KITCHEN111

               I set the temp at 250 F and checked them often to assess how the melting progressed.

                                                     I think it took less than 10 minutes.

                                       Here is how the glasses looked before and after melting.


       
                                   Once they were cool I flipped them out on my work table. No, they 

                                                  did NOT stick to the pan.

We used a small drill bit to make holes in each disc using an electric drill. Then strung them up using chains and rings from other Dollar Tree items. The plastic thingy at the top was in my craft room, I                                                                        don't know what it was before.

                               

                          

                                            This turned out so pretty and was so easy to do!

                          I see online that this can be done with the larger thing plastic drink cups too. 

                                                 I will have to try that and write about it.

Vine Ball Rescue with Wire!

Back in 2014 I made this vine ball for cheap, because I didn't want to buy

 one this size for $24!

It looked perfect in this aged, chipped urn planter for several years.

I made a base framework with wooden embroidery hoops and a thrift store grapevine garland. I soaked it in hot water and gently took it apart to make this ball.

I LOVED how it looked!

But now, 6 years later the vines are breaking down and the ball is looking really sad.

 Even spray painting it blue last year didn't save it.

So this year I decided to revamp it with WIRE, not vines,

 and I couldn't be happier with the results!

Hardware stores and building supplies have this roll of wire and 

even at our small town hardware it was only $4. 

It is called "tie wire" and is used to hold rebar together for cement projects.

 It is super easy to work with and did I mention CHEAP?

Here is that sad vine ball with about 20 wraps of tie wire. 

I cut the wire into four foot lengths to make it manageable.

 It took less than an hour to return the sad orb to an awesome ball once again.

I decided to spray paint the ball with the colors I had on hand...both sort of turquoise blue.

Then I made two more balls and painted them, too!

Then I stacked them into this awesome tower trellis The Welding Man made.

Ooooh! I like this alot!

And then I took a few lengths of wire and made this 

little tennis  ball size orb and painted it blue....

It's just perfect with those hot pink cosmos!

This was a pleasant afternoon's work, sitting in the sunshine. 

I'm getting more tire wire and see what else I can come up with!!

DIY Vinca Vine Wreath

As I was trimming the runaway vinca vines from my planters I looked at

 the handful of  cuttings and thought they'd make a great wreath.

I did a bit of curling and wrapping and added a few bits of florist wire 

and I soon had a pretty green vinca wreath.

But you know and I know that fresh and pretty green wreaths won't last very long. 

I set it aside to dry for a few weeks.

When it was fully dry and brown and crinkly and NOT green anymore,

 I assessed what I would do with it. 

Hmmmm. 

Spray paint couldn't do any harm and it might make it look pretty good.

Where's that can of Rustoleum Lagoon?

Oooh aaah!

Not brown anymore! Now it's pretty and perfect for this little fence in my garden.

I love how it looks against all that rough wood grain.

As you can see I didn't paint it thoroughly, just gave it a few swipes of color.

I'm going to leave it out there over the winter and see how it does. 

Even if it doesn't last it's a pretty and eye catching bit of art in my yard

 that was simple to make and didn't cost a dime.

You can bet I'll be saving ALL my vine clippings from now on. 

I foresee lots of pretty little wreaths in my gardening future!

Flower Planter Thrift Store Chairs Two Ways!

Here is my original wooden chair I turned into a flower planter. 

I LOVED IT!

But it only lasted two years since it was an indoor wooden

 dining room chair and fell all to pieces.

So this year I kept my eyes open for METAL chairs to use in the garden and 

LOOK!

I scored 2 of these beauties, both powder coated steel!

The seats are plywood and easily removed. I saved the plywood pieces for more projects.

I spray painted one white and added my "Green Man" sculpture to the chair back.

 Pallet boards fit make a sturdy shelf and a planter and saucer

 from my stash made this project easy peasy and pretty!

The second chair has a different look with Rustoleum spray paint in "Lagoon." 

The circular piece is from a broken hose hanger. 

A pink miniature rose fits right into the chair opening.

I decided to replace the planter of roses with some colorful annuals. A quick trip to the Dollar Tree got me a dishpan and a tray that fit the chair nicely. Pallet boards provided

 a sturdy shelf and here she is, newly planted with colorful annuals. 

           
                           

Two metal chairs, two different looks. And the best thing is,

 they only cost $4.99 apiece!

Gotta love thrift store shopping for garden projects!

DIY Garden Art Glass Garden Balls

I LOVE blue glass of all kinds but especially in my garden.

Years ago my family got me a big cobalt blue gazing ball for my daisy flowerbed and I knew I wanted more, more, more! But hey, those gazing balls are surprisingly fragile. Basically they are just giant glass Christmas balls and they break if they fall over. Also, they only come in solid colors. Plus, $$$$$!!

What to do?

I made my own original garden ball using a thrift store bowling ball and glass gems from the Dollar Store.

I LOVE how this came out!

 I used Silicone II adhesive for half of the ball and E6000 jewelry adhesive for the other half. I prefer the jewelry adhesive.  The bowling ball cost me $4 at a thrift store and I used about 6 bags of glass marbles, more or less. A 40% off coupon from Michael's snagged the E6000 and voila!!! My first blue glass garden ball for about $14. I was hooked!

 

I snagged this round glass light fixture for 25 cents and knew it would be my next ball project. Dollar Store half marbles and garage sale finds gave me the blue glass I needed. I decided to go with this Amazing Goop silicone adhesive because it was CHEAP. It is basically the same formula as the E 6000 and the Silicone II. The total cost on this pretty ball is less than $10.

This is definitely an OUTSIDE project since all the glues I've mentioned are incredibly smelly. 

Even outside I have a fan blowing across my work area to avoid the fumes. I settled on my front porch and started gluing. Put a small blob of glue on each individual marble, you do not have to goop it on. Smear a layer on your big ball and put your marble in place. I twist them a bit to make sure they stick together.

IMPORTANT! The adhesive does not set up quickly so you will have to do small areas of your ball and let it dry for several hours then turn it over to do the other sides. Try to skip this step and you'll have glass marbles falling off all over the place! Don't ask me how I know.

And DONE!

Here she is (of course she's a lady! LOL!) nestled in a soft bed of creeping Jenny. A hot pink petunia will join her soon. I love the bright blue glass against my blue deck railings and house color.

Oooh aaah!

I've found loads of half marbles at thrift stores and yard sales so my garden ball projects are getting cheaper and cheaper to make. 

DIY Chair Planter Four Years Later

There are lots of chair planters out in Pinterest land that are newly made. Did you ever wonder how they hold up in the garden thru many seasons? 

 Here's what I started with in 2011. This dining chair finish was peeling and the seat and joints were loose. It was the perfect candidate for a planter project.

 Serendipity! The seat comes off on it's own!

I sorta sanded it to knock the loose bits off and dry brushed it with white latex paint.

Here she is that first year in my garden. Ooh aah! 

I love the combination of golden yellow creeping jenny and mini viola. Add some of my garden art balls and I'm a happy garden lady!

Yup, this project was a winner all the way!

Four years later she looks like this....

I added the old man planter and a swipe or two of turquoise paint from my deck project. She's holding up really well and that square seat hole is perfect for changing out the different flowers and plants each season.

When did "that chair" become a "she?" 

The instant she went from chair with no seat to shabby chic chair with gorgeous plants!

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2015/03/pj-270-an-upcycled-link-party.html

Ivy Vines Turned Summery Wreath DIY Garden Art

I am always on the lookout for ways to recycle what I have into something I want. In this case, I wanted a summery vine wreath for my front porch so I put it on my mental clipboard.

And as I've found time and again, the solution presents itself IF I'm paying attention.

This pile of needlepoint ivy trimmings gave me the first spark.

Did you know you can still buy metal coat hangers?  Yup! These "new" ones are plastic coated and still perfect for wire projects, like forming the base of my wreath.

I wrapped and tucked and wrapped and tucked all the way around. I didn't have to use the wire at all. After a few days drying time I retucked the loose ends.

I am always on the lookout for real looking greenery so I had a stash of beautiful fake foliage to choose from. But if you wanted to buy the garland to make this wreath it cost about $7 using a coupon at Michael's. I also used a few Dollar Store bunches to fill it in.

Oooh aaaaah!

  Now comes the fun part; hanging it on the porch and taking photos! I LOVE the way it looks so real even compared to the ivy tower and other plants close by!

Well now, that was fun and easy and CHEAP. Okay, thrifty and money saving. Projects like this boost my mood immediately!

I'll be posting at these fun blog parties this week. Come visit and enjoy the neat projects!

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2014/07/185-upcycled-porches-and-patios.html

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/search/label/show%20and%20tell

http://www.flamingotoes.com/2014/07/think-pink-sunday-172/

DIY Garden Art SUPER EASY Glass Garden Balls from Lamp Globes

I love to use decor balls in my garden! There, I said it. I love the shapes and colors of blue glass and get them into my yard anyway I can. Here are a few that I've made over the years using glass half marbles and E6000 glue and various round ball shapes. Here is a link to the instructions....

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2013/05/glass-garden-balls-diy-part-1.html

But not all glass garden decor has to be a "project." You can easily make some gorgeous garden art with just two things...spray paint and round glass light covers. Can you spot the blue glass ball in this photo? Of course you can, because not only is it bright blue, it is faceted to catch the light. LOVE this color!

Ooh ahhh!

It's a spray painted glass light cover! I paid less than $1 for it at the thrift store. Here's another one before it's been painted....

The texture reminds me of a sea urchin.

The color is "Lagoon." But the real trick is not in the brand of spray paint or the color, it is the fact that you spray the INSIDE of the glass globe. YUP, painting the inside of the glass makes the paint impervious to rain, ice and snow. Even the harsh summer sun has not dimmed these beautiful blue decorative orbs. Since the opening in the globe is always facing down, the weather cannot get in.

Who knew it could be that easy?

Now it looks like some exotic undersea creature.

OOOh AAAAH!

Now these glass globes are always on my shopping list for yard sales, thrift store and even hardware store sales. Plus, I wonder how these would look painted orange for Halloween? Or red and silver for Christmas? My brain's in overdrive now!