Soda Pop Can Garden
Picks
These original garden picks can be a charming addition to any
garden. Just be careful when cutting them out that you dont
hurt yourself on any rough edges of the can.
Materials:
- Old soda
can, rinsed out and dry
- Utility
knife
- Old pair
of scissors
- Wire
hanger
- Hammer
and nail or drill
- Small
scrap of wood
- Spray
paint (I used model spray paint)
- Spray
primer
- Wire
cutters
- Pliers
- Marker
- Hole
punch
Procedure:
- Cut
the top off of the soda can with the utility
knife. With a marker, draw the design you wish.
Note: the bottom of the can will be the body of
the bug, so you will want to draw the head,
wings, legs, etc. extending from this point. Cut
out the design with the scissors. Be careful that
you trim off any ragged edges. Amazingly, the
edges of the can will not cut you, if you do.
Bend the appendages into place. With the hole
punch, make eyes.
- Place
the small piece of wood under the base of the can
and using a drill or a hammer and nail, make two
holes positioned one on either side of the center.
- Cut
the coat hanger to the desired length, allowing
for an extra five inches for attaching to the
critter. Straighten out the wire.
- Insert
the hanger up through the base through one of the
holes in the can. Bend the wire approximately
five inches from the end. Bend it again so it is
now an upside-down U with the base of
the U being about as wide as the
distance between the holes on the critter. Insert
the end of the wire through the other hole, bend
around the wire, and curve it under the critter
to prevent wobbling. If it still wobbles, you
might want to adjust the wire, or taking the
block of wood, place it under the critter, and
hammer the wire flat. Bend the long wire into
place.
- With
the primer, spray the whole piece. If you want
the rusted look on the coat hanger, tape it off
before spraying. Poke the end of the wire into
foam, sand, dirt, or wedged into something to
allow the piece to dry
- When
completely dry, spray bug with desired colors,
waiting for it to dry in-between colors.
- Let
paint cure for at least 24 hours.
- For
antennae: cut a length of wire about 3 inches
long (the type of wire is up to you). With a
block of wood on the underside of the head, use
the hammer and nail to punch two holes for the
wire to go through above the bugs eyes.
Bend the wire in half and insert each end through
a hole. Curl the ends of the wire. Secure the
wire to the head with epoxy so that it will not
wobble.
- If
desired, use a black paint pen to add details.
- For
the frog: carefully cut out the mouth with the
utility knife. The tongue is cut out of leftover
can parts, bended, with a tab at the base. When
all the pieces are painted and allowed to dry for
24 hours, the tongue is then threaded through the
mouth, with the epoxy applied to the tab and
glued to the back of the frogs head.
If
you do not see the table at the left, please
click here.