Nothing beats day dreaming about spring when it is ZERO degrees outside! So here is a fun project to start planning for - THE PERFECT FLOWER GARDEN!
Low maintenance!
Always in Bloom!
Never wilting!
No dead-heading!
Glistens in the sun!
Makes your heart happy!
Supply List
various vintage clear glass plates, bowls, saucers, etc.
premium silicone glue
rubbing alcohol
3/8 inch rebar - approximately 41 inches per stem
one hockey puck per flower
drill & 3/8 inch drill bit
Begin by gathering a variety of clear vintage glassware. Lots of shapes and colors. The more variety the better. I bought most of these at thrift stores, never spending more than $1.99 on a plate. I think garage sales would be cheaper, but I was making these for Christmas gifts and it was not garage sale season at the time.
Purchase GE Premium Clear Silicone Glue - this is amazing stuff - permanent, waterproof, airtight, and sun/freeze proof. I found it at ACE hardware. I could not find it in a caulking gun size tube, which would have been ideal. So I had to purchase several of this small 2.8 oz tube. I ended up using about 3/4 tube per flower, depending on how many layers the flower had.
Make sure your dishes have been thoroughly cleaned. I used Goo Gone to remove the price tags and then ran all the glassware through the dishwasher. Once your glass is all cleaned, begin to design your flowers. Mix and match, using a variety of colors, until you are happy with the way your flowers look. Once you have your flowers picked out, wipe the front and back of each piece of glass with rubbing alcohol.
Lay your bottom plate down and add a generous amount of glue to the back of the next dish
Press in place
Continue with the process until your flower is all glued together
Here is another flower laid out for you to see
Once my flowers were glued together I placed something heavy on them and let them dry overnight.
Next you will need rubber hockey pucks.
I ordered them at Hockey Monkey for less than $2.00 each.
My husband drilled holes in them using a vice to hold the puck while he drilled. Use a 3/8 drill bit, but keep in mind that you want the rebar to fit snug yet still be able to easily remove the flower from the stem.
Place a generous amount of glue on the hockey puck and place the hockey puck on the back of the flower.
Carefully flip the flower over so the weight of the flower holds the hockey puck tight. Let stand overnight until the glue dries.
Once your flowers are glued, you are ready to plant your beautiful garden!
