Something Blue...

Here is a simple project I did to create a little light in a once lonely garden.

In my travels I came across this water from Saratoga NY in these blue glass bottles. The blue in these bottles were just too nice to put in the recycling bin... I just HAD to create something out of them.

I started with stuffing the bottles with lights. I used outdoor mini white lights. I found that if you have a 6 pack handy, you can stuff some lights in a bottle and then start putting them in the 6-pack holder and move onto the next bottle. Once all the bottles you are planning on putting in the garden are finished, it's time to start "planting" them. Take thin bamboo sticks (thin enough to go in the bottles) and stick them in the garden and kind of measure how long you need. Then take it out and cut off what you don't need. Place the stick back in the garden and use a wooden mallet to make sure it's in there good. Place all of the bamboo sticks in first and then start placing the bottles on top of them. You will have to figure out your own spacing for the look you want.

From there it's open to much more creativity, so go wild with it or as subtle as needed.

Red~
@RedsDesignFinds
#redsdesignsandfinds

Bottles stuffed with lights using a 6-pack holder to transport.

Bottles displayed during the the day.

Close up

At night

Bamboo Lattice

I have a confession... I think I'm a little obsessed with bamboo and making things out of it. I posted my simple split bamboo edging a few posts ago. Then I noticed that my small little lattice was not going to cut it in size for my wisteria plant. So, I decided I would make my own lattice out of... yep... BAMBOO. :)

To be honest, I started just splitting bamboo and creating as I went. I wish I took pictures every 5min as I was creating so you could see the process. But here it is. I designed it as a heart shape and then expanded from there.

Materials:  Bamboo shoots (split of course), put together by clear zip-ties and hemp rope, then anchored in the ground with tiki torch metal stakes (you can find them at Home Depot)

Feel free to ask any question and I'd love to see what other people have done with Bamboo.

Red~  

#redsdesignsandfinds
@RedsDesignFinds

Front View

Rear View

"Extinguish this Rain" Phase II

Here is where I'm at with the 1920's fire extinguisher I posted in May titled "Extinguish this Rain".
It took a lot of testing and elbow grease to get this where it's at right now. I tried many compounds and tricks I found online and nothing really got the job done how I wanted it to. Then I found this product by Flitz called "Instant Brass & Copper Tarnish Remover". It comes in a black spray bottle. So far it has worked well. I did not used a buffer, all done by hand. Right now I'm liking it's aged look with pieces of polished brass poking through. Before, it looked too crusty to even touch... now it's character is coming out.

Let me know what you think... Should I keep going and polish it more or leave it as is?

Red~

Bamboo Edging

This post is coming from my DESIGN side of things. I recently cut down a good amount of long think bamboo poles. I have many plans for these, some big and some small. Here is one quick small project. (I hope to get a video or step by step picture of how I split the bamboo)

I split the bamboo poles in half down the middle, then the halves in half again and those halves again in half. Giving me about 8 long thin strips of bamboo. Each strip in about 5 feet long (give or take) and only a half inch wide. Bamboo can be very flexible but yet still very strong. Armed with a long screw driver, I puncture the ground edge where one end of the bamboo shoot will go in. Then simply bend the shoot to where I want the other end to go, puncture another hole and insert the bamboo shoot in. I repeated this and overlapped the shoots. You can come up with so many unique designs with this, go crazy with it.

Stay tuned for the "how to split bamboo poles" into thin slated shoots.

Red~

Dive Into The Past

Started looking through this box of old photos at this flea market, and came across a small album of a family's vacation to Atlantic City NJ. It's dated 1928 or 38. It was neat to see photos of back then... but what I found next was the real reason for this post.

With these photos was one in particular that really caught my eye. It's the iconic Atlantic City attraction known as "The Diving Horse" on the Steel Pier. This was one of the most famous acts on the Boardwalk. The Diving Horse act was introduced to Steel Pier in the late 1920s and continued until 1978.

Sisters Sonora Webster Carver and Arnette Webster French were among the first diving horse riders. In August 1931, Sonora Webster Carver was blinded in a diving accident when the horse landed badly. She continued to dive, though. Her story was depicted in the 1991 Walt Disney movie, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken.

Pretty Neat if I don't say so myself.

Red~

Extinguish this Rain!!!

I'm saying  it's time to "Extinguish this Rain" and lets really get into the spring and warmer weather to come. I'm hoping to get out this weekend to hit some good flea markets. Nothing like looking through flea market stuff of random people you don't know.You really never know what you might find and who you might meet on the way. I did get my hands on this brass 1920's Fire Extinguisher. I just loved it's "Steam-Punk" look with the rivets and stamped lettering. I'm going to polish it up a little bit, but not too much. I like it's age and patina it has. I'll post another pic once I'm finished with it.

So lets ALL get out there this weekend and search for those interesting and unique finds. Display them, use them or even better... make art out of them.
Red ~

Welcome 1st post

This is my first post and first of anything having to do with a blog. I hope spelling doesn't count... cause at the end of the day... I'm an artist. :)
I'm going to be posting cool, weird and just about anything I find and or create and feel like sharing. So stay with me here... never know what I will find next.

Red