Imagine This.......

Soooo,imagine you're on an island.

Any island.

Pick one.

I know where this event occured,but it could happen on any island.....

So,anyways,you're on this island,visiting dear friends,and it's decided,"Let's go to -----."(you fill in the blank), "-------is playing there,tonite."

You get there,and find out they are closing down,at closing time,for a long week-end to refurbish the place,which hasn't been been done since the 20's(1920's,that is),or whenever.

"Take whatever you want." the bartender says.

"The barstools,too?" you jokingly ask.

Come closing time,and after quite a few adult beverages I might add,people(including the night's performer,who happens to be an old high school friend,and the bouncer)are loading barstools into,and onto,a SUV.(a hybrid SUV!)

You wake up in the morning and find this.......

"What the He@# are we gonna do with those?!" you ask.

Refinish 'em!

but first,you have to get them home 120+ miles in the back of the Tacoma,to be greeted with,"What the Hell have you brought home this time?"

After being totally dismantled,bleached(those leg rungs were sooo nasty!Don't wanna tell ya what was on them.),removal of those nasty blue vinyl seats,and numerous coats of stripper,you end up with this....... After staining,you get to this point........ and the finished product! Well worth the effort of getting 'em home,etc. wouldn't you say? Never know what you're gonna find in a bar,do ya?

Hanging Patio Lantern

Let's make another hanging lantern for the garden,shall we?

For this project,we're gonna need very,very little.

-An old bottle

-One of those kits that turn a bottle into an oil lantern.I got mine many,many moons ago, at Michael's Crafts.I just never found a bottle I wanted to use,until today,when the crafting muse bit me! "Hey!I got an idea.You know what you could do with that bottle?"

-Wire cutter

-Needle nose pliers

-Heavy gauge wire,which I relocated from J's work area.What's he use it for anyways?

Cut a length of wire to fit around the neck of the bottle.Make sure it's long enough so you can twist two loops for the hanger.The piece I used was long enough that I could make decorative thingies on the ends.

Cut another length for the hanger.Just bend it in half,and thread it thru the two loops.

And.........

Voila'

Another lantern for the garden,patio,porch,lanai.

I wouldn't advise hanging this from a tree(I just did this for a photo-op),unless you want a forest fire.And firemen at your house.It's up to you.....

A Patio/Lanai/Porch Light.......

This is a project that costs ab-so-tute-ly nothing at all.And we all know how I like
cheap,
or nothing at all,cost wise!

All you are gonna need is this:

-A hammer
-A wire coat hanger(who doesn't have a bazillion of these cluttering up their closet?)
-A can-any size will do.A coffee can with a lid is best(we'll get to that later),but any kind will do.If you can find a can without ribs(do they even make cans without ribs,anymore?),all the better.
-A nail-a small size,like a finishing nail.Or you could use different sizes to get the effect you want.

-A template-I got mine from clip art,on the Internet,or you could trace around an objectA child's coloring book is a great place to find templates,by the way.
-Spray paint-anything will do.We all have leftover cans of spray paint,loitering around the garage.At least,around this house,we do......
-Water
-Wire cutter

First of all,clean the can.Fill it with water all the way to the top,and freeze.That should take about 24 hours.The time will depend on the size of the can.
Tape the template on the can.Go outside,and start hammering with the nail!If you have the lid,it's best you put it on for this part,as the ice is gonna start to crack.
Don't forget to put two holes,or more depending on the size of the can,for the coat hanger.Those are gonna be for your coat hanger thingy(Don't you just love the word-thingy?Kind of covers everything,doesn't it?)

Looks kind of crappy,here,doesn't it?

But wait!

There's more!

Get out the spray paint(for this I just used RUST-OLEUM Rusty Metal PRIMER.I just like that look,but you can use whatever.....

VOILA'

For this one,I just used 3 different size nails to get the effect of the palm tree.
Notes-----
It really doesn't matter if the cans get dented in the hammering process.You're gonna use them after dark,after all.No one's gonna see the dents.And the paint will hide most of the defects.

We use the citronella oil candle cartridge thingy's(there's that word,again)in the cans.

You can use use any size can for this project.Even pet food cans.Just vary the size of the candle you use.

They really look best,if they are in a grouping,hanging on your patio,or in your garden.Great way to get rid of garbage,isn't it?

If the can comes with a plastic lid,all the better.You can use it to keep the rain out!

How's that for cheap?

A Sanibel Bench

I finally realized that I have never posted a picture of the bench that sits in our front entry.
Sooooo,here it is-------
These are close-ups of the paintings that are on the seat.The first is a painting of the sand dollars,Michael,the Elder,found when he joined me for a week on Sanibel,two years ago.I just placed them on the bench,traced around them,and painted away.

This is my salute to Gary and Tootie.Notice the orange scallops and pink tellon and coquina.

Sanibel Santa

I think this is may be one of the best things I have ever done.It 's what I think Santa would like if he took a shelling vacation to Sanibel Island,after the hectic days of the holiday season.
I originally made him when I was going thru a clay sculpting phase,and he was meant for Jon.He had held fishing gear,but now,he's holding a real jewel box shell with a pearl(it's fake) in it,and he has his golden shell bag,with mini "craft" shells.

For more Ruby Tuesday participants,clicky here.....

Wreaths

This first wreath has "craft" shells and fake(meaning plastic) starfish on it.I used plastic because it hangs outside,on our back door.Instead of ribbon,I used real rope.And the netted bow is meant to be reminiscent of a fish net(which I intend to use someday).
I got the idea for this second wreath from Tootie's blog.....I just hot glued all my beach treasures,broken Sand Dollars,"craft" shells,and bent up Starfish to a grape vine wreath.We have a yard full of Spanish Moss,so I just grabbed some out of our trees(if you should ever do that,either spray it with bug spray,or moisten it and microwave it for about one minute-you don't want any critters in your house!)

Two New Creations

I took old menu's we had saved from Sanibel and Captiva,sprayed them with cold coffee(to antique them),decoupaged them to a tray we already had.Voila'. A new TV/serving tray!I probably should have posted this under The Great Wall blog,as it's a planter,but....here ya go.
We replaced the toilet in our upstairs bathroom.It just screamed at me it didn't want to go in the trash.I filled the bowl with dirt(yes,that is dirt!).
Voila'-----a planter! The top is still waiting for something to be put in it.........
Will they be put back together as a proper toilet? Haven't figured that one out,yet.

Here's An Interesting Idea.......

Candle holderActually,quite simple to make.

All you will need is:

a clay flower pot and the drip tray that matches it

a glue gun(w00t!!!)

terra cotta colored craft paint

some white craft paint mixed with glazing medium

And tourist shells.

All available at a craft store,except for the shells,which you will have to go to a beach for.

Turn the flower pot upside down.Hot glue the tray(right side up) to the bottom(which has now become the top) of the pot.Hot glue the shells on to the pot,in any arrangement you prefer.Paint everything with the terra cotta craft paint.Let dry,thoroughly.And glaze it with the white craft paint mixed with the glazing medium,so it looks like aged terra cotta.
Fill the drip tray with sand and plop a candle in it!

You could also surround the candle with more shells( buttercups look especially nice--"Why do you build me up......" )

Voila' !!!!

Here's A Neat Idea

Take an old,broken,outdoor water tap and put an old Christmas ornament in it.
Voila!It spins in the breeze and looks like water coming out of it.I think it would be neat to have a blue tinted glass ornament coming out of it,too.

What You Can do With Shells(as in sea)

It's incredible what you can do with sea shells,a glue gun(you can do almost anything with a glue gun,I might add!),paint,and some creativity.

Mirrors!

Flower pots!

This project takes quite alot(and I'm not exaggerating when I say alot)of shells and glue sticks,but the result is well worth the effort.

What I like to call yard art.




Mulch!






Container for a bromeliad.

This is a wild bromeliad from our yard,and it seems to love being in this whelk.

Picture Frame

(Gawd!Isn't that a handsome couple ?!)

I must add,all of these projects took a lot of glue sticks.Thanks to Michael's Crafts for their 40% off coupons!