I had a corner of my garden that needed some color this spring. I saw some garden totems made of glass, but I wanted something with more color. I scavenged garage sales, thrift shops, and my own home and came up with this interpretation of my own. It gives my dull corner some brightness until the flowers start blooming. You can see a photo on my gardening blog under "Totem, Love'm":
By susan from Elkhart, IN
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Instead of throwing away a lovely crystal vase that I chipped on the top edge, I turned it upside down placing it onto a marble base of an old lamp. Then I glued a mint green beehive telephone insulator (that use to be on top of a telephone pole years ago) to the top.
I painted this tea kettle white and put black splatters on it. I set it on an old iron stove that sits on our deck. I will probably put some plants in it.
This is one of our garden art decorations. I picked up an old chair at a thrift shop and repainted it, added fairy wallies and decoupaged them to chair. Added the planter and positioned "Sadie" the Garden Diva!
I decided to recycle my old sewing machine that is no longer of any value except for the junk yard. I placed it in my garden and am looking forward to watching the wildflowers growing around it this summer.
My brother made this for me out of my dishes from the attic, a spatula, spoon, and old spindle from a banister. Gotta love it. His touch was the metal around the flower.
While driving around our neighborhood we came across these neat metal sculptures. They appeared to be made out of various tanks and pipes.
I was going through the unsold items from my yard sale. I found some wooden art frames.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Is there any way I can use hubcaps as yard art?
Betty from Lubbock, TX
They could be some interesting snowmen and add some lights, awesome.
Depending on the type of hubcaps, you could bury part of them with them standing up and arrange them around a flower bed, as a border of a sidewalk, or if they are deep enough you could use them for birdseed and hang in trees, you may have to drill some holes in them to do this, but the old Ford (I think) pickup hubcaps were deep enough for a bird bath, just keep it clean and low enough to check the water level regularly.
If you are a welder or whatever it would take, you could make all sorts of things. Just let your imagination soar!
Tina
You could make birdbaths from them . My neice made me one out of an old washpan of my Mom's. She cut a small tree from the woods and drilled hole in pan. Used a rubber gasket or silicone to seal aroung after screwing it to the tree, Then add a base to make it stand. I don.t know why the hub cap wouldn't work. Could use landscaping timbers also.
I'm with Tina, above. I'm also thinking that they would make great squirrel baffles for any hanging birdfeeders you might have, too! And maybe sundials...?
stepping stones?
Yes you can make anything into yard art
Does anyone know how to make yard art out of old broken rakes, shovels, etc?
Rolayne from Beasley, TX
if you have a bunch of old tool and have a shed or garage or somewhere you can hang as a display kinda prim country style i did this on my milk house at the farm but shovels can have bird houses attached to them pint them out add barn type wooden stars etc let the imagine wander
What kind of yard art are you wanting to make? You mean use the tools for the actual piece of art? Otherwise if you carve yard art you can use the handles from the tools to hold the art in place in the ground.
I can see people made with old and broken tools. Shovel for face and body(if no handle, wire to a sturdy stick or stake) Rakes for arms and hands(again, if no handle wire to stick or stake)Wire the handles of the rakes together so they lie horizontally, then attach to shovel so that the rakes are like shoulders, arms and hands below the shovel blade going across(horizontally) Dress you tool dude or dudette in old clothes and plant 'em where you want 'em(might even work as a good scarecrow) Add eyes etc with screws, bolts or small pieces from those broken tools, attaching with weather proof glue for metal(or welding if you are handy that way)Or nail parts to a fence or shed wall.
try this website, they have some of the most wonderful, creative ideas for making garden stuff out of junk. You can search their archives for what you want, or post a question for ideas -this is a great website, I spent days & days reading back through all the messages when I first found it - alot like I did with this group too,LOL!!
Broken tile mosaic finish makes this recycled bowling ball project fun to do and gives you a cute piece of garden art. This is a page about mosaic bug bowling balls.
