This is a guest post written by my buddy Heather from Massachusetts. She has posted so many good things over the years, it’s hard to keep track but some of her previous posts include a trip to Johnny’s Seed Company , DIY Flock Block Treats for Chickens, a Fun Story About a Bookstore, the Boston Flower and Garden Show, a Wicked Storm, DIY Garden Markers, and of course, oodles of posts about her garden.
******
It starts out the same way. I’m driving and have GPS on but forget to turn on the sound. Which isn’t usually a problem unless we get talking because we haven’t seen each other in months (so we have a TON to cover) and get distracted. Plus Mavis is hooking in the passenger seat so she’s not looking at the GPS either. Then bam, we’re like “did we miss our exit?”
Spoiler alert: yes. After pulling over, fiddling with my phone, getting back on track and resuming chatter we always trip upon a good place to stop. Always. Plus it’s super helpful I can bang-a-yuey like a pro! (J/k husband, I always find a quite road to turn around. 😉
As Mavis mentioned our first day was a marathon of bakeries, thrift stores, antique stores, and salads eaten in parking lots because we’re on a mission to squeeze every drop of fun out of the day.
Supplies:
- A variety of glass bowls, plates, cups, etc – colored glass is a bonus ($.20-$1 each)
- E6000 craft glue (around $3-4 per tube. Shop around on this, prices vary and it will last for many projects.)
- .375 – inch steel rebar (around $4 each, found at Lowes and HD)
- ½” flat boring wood drill ($5-6)
- A pile of old hockey pucks (Free – ask around)
- Rust-Oleum Universal Flat Oil Rubbed Bronze Metallic Spray Paint and Primer In One ($7 a can). It’s not flat black, not shiny black, but not brown, kinda natural. I love the color and used it on the yard swing I refurbished, my second-hand meal deck furniture, the giant windmill my son made for me in HS, some refurbished drawer pulls, and I’m about to change the color of the curtain rods we inherited with this house with that color too. So the $7 is worth it, but choose a color you will use on multiple projects so the can is not wasted.)
- Electric drill
Then pull out all your glass and start mixing and matching, multiple times until you find some combinations you like. Don’t think you have to use every piece of glass you have. I started with a dozen pieces and only made three solid flowers.
- Spray the rebar outside. This keeps it from rusting and gives it a “finished” look I think.
- Drill holes in the hockey pucks ½- ¾ the way through with an electric drill and your ½’ drill bit. Use a clamp to hold it to something so the hockey puck won’t move. This gives the rebar a stopping point and “hangs” the flower.
- Stack and glue the drilled hockey pucks to the back plate or bowl, and then assemble the flowers together and weight them down. Pro-tip: the glue has a bit of suction and will roll which means you’ll come back to find your flowers all crooked. Go ahead and use extra hockey pucks to prop the stack from moving.
- After 24-48 hours of drying, it’s time to attach the rebar. Squirt a nice glob of glue in the hockey puck hole and insert the rebar. I laid mine down on the floor in a side room where they wouldn’t be disturbed. I also propped up the end of the rebar with another piece so the poles would dry level’ish in the pucks.
~ Heather
Got something super amazing you want to share?
If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop, pantry or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:
- Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and projects from start to finish.
- Your Pantry Pics – Submit at least 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures of your pantry/fridge/cabinets, and tell us about you and your food habits.
- Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures and your story to share with the world.
- Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
- Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
- Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.
You’ll need to send in a Minimum of 5 HIGH QUALITY pictures and the stories to go along with those pictures. Please do not send in a couple of grainy photos and a sentence about them. I can’t post that. It doesn’t make for an interesting or informative story.
If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to Amazon.com. You can send your submissions to me at onehundreddollarsamonth @ gmail.com {spaces removed}and be sure and put Mavis Mail in the subject line. Thank you. I’m looking forward to your submissions. Please note: I will only share well written posts with quality photos.
Go HERE for the official rules.
Deborah says
Love the flowers.
No hockey pucks laying around in Tucson AZ.
I would need an alternative
To them .
Lisa R says
You can use a pvc pipe. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AZg5G1uur7JNZlmIIFQg9Zdjhkj31Eniy_K8bmwWse77IulUjtaFOsw/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/470133648574129394/
I make these but don’t use the hockey pucks since I don’t have any around me in Florida either.
This is a great project thanks for sharing Heather.
Jamie says
except all non essential stores including good wills are closed in my area until further notice. But I like the idea.
Christine VanHuss says
Thanks for the taking me through the steps on the yard art. Want to try this. Not sure what to replace the hockey pucks with. Also thanks on the winter tip. Usually winters are mild in central Texas.
Teri says
OH WOW they are beautiful! Going to try this; love them! Thank you so much for showing us how to make them!
Karen says
Very pretty and a good upcycling project! How do the birds, bees, dogs react to them, do you know?
Thank you for the great photos and instructions.
Stay safe everyone, we are in lock down.
Karen in (Grand Est) France
Shannon says
For those who can’ find hockey pucks. I use dollar store glass salt and pepper shakers. Just unscrew the shaker lids (you don’t need them) then E6000 them onto the back of the glass flower with the opening facing downwards. Then stick your rebar rod or bamboo stack into the shaker.
Salt and pepper shakers are nice too because then you don’t see an ugly hockey puck through the front of your flower.