Saturday, May 10, 2008

Purse Planters


I wanted to do something fun for Mother's Day, and came up with purse planters. I had a lot of fun making these.

I looked for fabric flowerpot style purses at the Sally Anne down the street.

I sealed them with epoxy compounds, I had from Kayak building to preserve, and water proof them.


It is a good idea to use a respirator, and rubber gloves with epoxy.


I stuffed the purses with plastic bags to give them form. Epoxy will not stick to silicon, and plastic. I applied the first coats of epoxy to just the outside. When the outside had hardened, I was able to apply additional coats to the inside, and outside. Most fabric can be buried in the epoxy with three coats. Check your work in the first hour to smooth out any drips. You will need to sand between coats.


I drilled drainage holes in the bottom of each purse. I didn't worry the holes were a little small. I knew with the small size of the planters they would dry out quickly in the summer heat.

I hung the purses while drying to fix the handle in an upright position.


My favorite was this delicate sequenced evening bag. I planted it with apricot punch, and cherry blast calibrocoa. This one is for my Mommy.


The others were a little larger and could accommodate geraniums, and typical basket stuffers. The sequence details on the handles look great under the epoxy, and will never fall off.


This one had embroidered flowers. I won't be able to go through the Sally Anne now without checking out the purses. I was able to pay between a few cents, and about $4 for my finds.

This one came out very shiny, it was of a synthetic fabric. These ones take much less epoxy, but drip easily.

Another cotton bag. I wonder what else I can make into planters. I have seen children's blue jeans, shoes, and shorts planted.


This one came with plastic bottom, and handles, so I didn't need to seal those parts. I hope you enjoyed these, if you have any questions about epoxy, or the planters I would be happy to comment.













Douglas Walker

A friend of mine thought I should meet this artist. I have been looking for unique fountains for my store, and he knew I would love this person's work. We haven't met yet but I do love his work, here is his web site. It's a great site, check out the links to other artists too. http://www.waterworksgardenart.com/


Pictured here is one of his custom made gates. Made from heavy copper tube it will withstand the test of time while becoming more beautiful with each passing year. Custom sizes available on request.

Humorous, eclectic and functional, a WaterWorks bird feeder is a wonderful addition to any garden, large or small.

WaterWorks fountains are designed to be used in containers such as half-barrels, and to be featured on decks, patios, and in garden ponds. The fountains are stunning, they are beautiful, and have a complexity, and attention to detail sure to captivate any ones attention.

http://www.waterworksgardenart.com/

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Wind Chime Artist

Unique designs using glass, beach stones, copper and wood. Inspired by the beauty of the beach glass his youngest son collected on the local beaches, artist Tim Kline worked to perfect a method to produce his own 'beach-type' glass that he now uses extensively in his work. He also uses local driftwood, beach stones, pebbles, red cedar and other natural materials.
The wind is not always blowing, so artist Tim Kline believes wind chimes should be about more than just sound: They should also look great!

Using his own beach glass inspired stained glass, copper, red cedar and other interesting beautiful materials, Tim designs and handcrafts stunningly beautiful works of art that go far beyond most wind chimes.

Why choose just a wind chime, when you could own wind chime art?


Rust is beautiful. So instead of copper, for the wind chimes , Tim has chosen iron chimes with a beautiful patina of rust.




Carefully selected Pacific driftwood is used to create these works that reflect the beaches they were gathered from.





Tim Kline is an Artist living on the Pacific coast of British Columbia. His work is inspired by the beauty of the natural environment he calls home. Visit the site of West coast Chimes, and enjoy this local artists works.