Garden Totem

Tweet

I know its late in the season for this post, but I never made the time had the time to go thrift shopping or the money when I had the time  ツ I have wanted to make one ever since I saw the different ones posted on Pinterest from different websites. And I LOVE Cobalt Blue anything. I also want to make a garden totem that looks like a mushroom.

Garden Totems have an easy shopping list, maybe you have some pieces that you can use in your own cupboard? Or  maybe you purchased some glassware at a garage sale that you don't really know what to do with but you couldn't be without! OR You can buy the glassware this winter and in would be a work in progress project! ;)

My husband "glue" these together for me, you see I am short, and we put them together on the dining room table, so the first 3 pieces were already taller than me lol. Besides that he's way better at getting a smooth caulk bead. I wanted to make sure its good and sealed! I did however tell him how I wanted them put together, there are quite a few ways we could have put these together! He added his own touch to it by adding a piece of black granite tile (thank you Miss Pat) to the bottom to make it nice a sturdy. I don't want it to tip over and break!

Here is what you need:

Miscellaneous Glassware of your choice
GE Silicone II (make sure its silicone II because its heat and freeze proof and its also waterproof.Its flexible too!) I got mine at Lowe's, but just about any hardware store should carry it.
  

I made one of my Paper Peony's to put inside the crackled globe bowl (above)
I wanted to find a hummingbird or something cute like that, but couldn't find what I wanted...next time maybe..

Cobalt Tea-lite holder on a candle stick holder 

We "glued" (silicone) two pieces together at a time. Then once those were dry (we waited about a day in between) we "glued" those two to two other pieces and so on and so forth till they were all glued together. I didn't want any pieces sliding!
\

Finished Totem

I see more of these in my future!!  ツ 

Be creative see what you come up with ....

Sea Glass Paint - Tutorial

Tweet

I love sea glass! But real sea glass takes years to get that way. The most common colors of sea glass are kelly green, brown, and white (clear). Sea glass begins as normal shards of broken glass that are tumbled and ground until the sharp edges are smoothed and rounded. The glass loses its slick surface but gains a frosted appearance. There are several methods of making sea glass. The first type is the natural process. Second is  produced artificially, when pieces of glass are tossed into a rock tumbler or dipped in acid.
Third is glass paint :) That's what I'm doing...

You just need some clean glass bottles, jars etc.

Here is what you need:

Glass Bottle, Jar, Vase etc.
Rubbing Alcohol
Martha Stewart Glass Paint (Frost) in the color you choose. I found it at Michaels
Paint Sponge
Martha Stewart Foam Pouncers  you can get these at the craft stores also. 

I had some cute little jars my husband saved that Patrón came in (the lil bottles with the corks) I also save the jar(s) that candles came in from Dollar General and the tall bottle is a bottle that vanilla came in. I'm looking around for other glass too....


First get any labels off and use something to get the glue off, I used Goo Gone. Wash glass with soap and water to get the cleaner off as its a little oily feeling. 

Next, clean your glass with alcohol, making sure there isn't any residue from labels or stickers. Wipe with clean t-shirt to make sure there isn't any fuzzies.

Next I squirted a little paint on the bottle and "pounced" it with the sponge. If you have ever done stenciling you know how to do this, if you haven't done stenciling, you just kind of "dab it." 
You have to work somewhat fast as this paint dries fairly quick! 
This paint goes a long way, a little dab'll do ya :)  I like that! I can paint more!

Paint and pounce all that surfaces that you want "frosted" Let dry in between coats. Its probably dry in about 15 min., but I gave it about an hour between coats. I did 2-3 coats on each piece. If you make a mistake, you can scrape it off with a razor, just be careful!
That's it!  Easy Huh!? 
I then wrapped some hemp twine around the neck and added a few misc. beads. On the vanilla bottle I glued the hemp on the neck to hide where the threads were.

Instructions for curing are down below...

You can let it cure for 21 days (it will be permanent) or
cure it in the oven (also permanent) that's what I did...

Oven Curing

To cure in the oven:

I used a cake pan and put a sheet of parchment paper in it.
You put your painted glass on the cake pan or cookie sheet Let project air dry 1 hour, place in cool oven. Set temperature to 350 degrees. Once oven reaches 350 degrees, bake for 30 minutes (**glass must heat gradually). After 30 minutes, turn oven off. Let glass cool completely in oven. Wait 72 hours before using.

** This is important, Warning ~ you don't want to put cold glass in a hot oven or it will break from heating to fast you want cold glass in a cold oven to start! 

I was still scared that my glass would break, but it was fine. But not all glass might be suitable, you just have to take that chance, and hopefully not have a mess to clean up!

Patrón Bottles

Where is some more glass to paint.... 









Any questions? Ask in the comments or send me a email whitfieldshomeinthecountry(at)gmail(dot)com