Sunday, August 21, 2011

DIY Sunday: Rusty Yard Decorations

Hello There,

If you've read on my blog before, you know I usually do a DIY Wednesday. However, since I've started my job, I try to stay off the computer during the week to optimize the time I spend with my daughter. So, I am going to move this feature to Sunday since that's the day I do most of my projects.



This project was done a while ago, but I realized I never blogged on it. Remember when I went garage sale-ing a month or so ago? I got a pile of rusty kitchen utencils for a buck. My husband couldn't understand how I was going to use all this rusty stuff.

I decided to use it in our yard as a decoration. I love junk used in the garden. My mother in law is the expert in this. She has so many cool things she has upcycled to her garden. I will someday photograph it to share.

So, when dealing with rust, you need to remember two things:

One: Wear gloves. It dawned on me as I was working with it, I can't get a tetanus shot since I'm allergic. The last thing I need is to poke myself and not be able to take precautions. So I may as well wear gloves and minimize the risk.

Two: To make rusty things look "pretty," you will want to spray a coat of polyurethane on them. They look shiny and more dimensional with the coat. I sprayed after I was done with everything, but you could do it whenever.

Rusty Yard Ornament



Supplies

Rusty Kitchen Items ($1.00)
Old Wire Basket (free)
Polyurathane (Had sitting around the house...about $2.00 worth)
Wire (Had sitting around the house...about $2.00 worth)
Buttons (Got a huge bag at a yard sale for $0.50)
Drill

Total Cost: $4.50



Step One: Drill Baby Drill

So, I had two rusty cupcake tins, a cheese grater, a strainer and a pastry tin. I decided to use a drill to create two hole in each (if it didn't already have holes like the cheese grater)

Drilling was very easy since the rust makes the metal weak. I did two holes since I knew I was going to be using buttons.

Step Two: Add Buttons



Using some stiff wire I had from bead work, I threaded each button on to the various rusty items and twisted to secure.

I did random fun color buttons, but you could also do a pattern. I was thinking an American flag would be fun for the cheese grater.

And you're done. It's an easy project that doesn't take much money just a bit of creativity. It takes a little time to do each of the buttons but I did it while watching a movie and had no problem. Think about the possibilities! You could do a flower that would creep up around the items. You could forgo the wire basket and hang items from a tree or along a fence.

Enjoy!







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