GARDEN ART: "Bird Train Feeder"

 

I finished a new project for my birdies today. I found some pre-made wood items (a little Choo-Choo, and some gazeebos) at a hobby store. I upgraded the simple train engine, and built everything else.

 

 

Garden Art: Feeder Tree Upgrade

As they say..."One thing leads to another." Since I upgraded my bird bath project recently, I was feeling like the stand of my ""Feeder Tree" was too stiff and formal to match up with the more organic top. So I created a "vine" from wire and "Bondo", just to give a few curves here and there. The birds may not care...but I like it better.

Garden Art: "New Bird Bath Legs"

I finished an "upgrade" for a concrete "faux bois" (fake wood) bird bath that I made some years ago. The original sculpted piece was a bit lost in the hostas, and was getting a lot of leaves in it, being so close to the ground. So I made extensions to the legs and tried to give it a "driftwood" feel. All ready for Spring planting when the weather warms up!

 

SCULPTURE: "Bird Feeder Tree"

Today, I finished a project that was originally started in 2018. This version is the third "upgrade" to my bird feeder. The concept was to create an organic tree that had foliage designed to keep the snow off of the birdseed in the winter. 

The first version broke due to my poor engineering. The second version was a total re-sculpt of the tree with a "Tiffany Lamp" feel to it. The shrink-wrap plastic that I used on top was too reflective. 

This final version adds more foliage to the outer rim of the feeder, and uses plastic screen between the limbs, much like stained glass. 

I also re-built the stand to support the added weight. I used epoxy, PVC pipe, Bondo, and wood, then set the stand into a concrete base. 

I used wood stain, various spray cans (brown, tan, black), and acrylic washes to color it.

 

Return to THE HUMMIN' BIRD CAFE!

This weekend, I took on a "rehab" project that has been bugging me for a while.  My "Hummin' Bird Cafe" was in need of some "curb appeal".  The blistering summers had melted the hot glue holding everything together.  And the cold winter and rains just beat up the shingles. Not that I minded the "weathered" look...it was just a bit too much.  And the round side feeder lost all the shingles that kept the seed in, so in the cold winter, I had stapled on a temporary fix made from sandpaper.

Everything has wood screws holding it on to the "tree post".  I took everything down to my basement so I could peel off all the nasty stuff.  The frogs fell apart, too, and I had to re-glue them.  I had not even noticed that the little frog that used to sit on the roof of the front porch was now missing.  Perhaps a bird or squirrel got him! I might have to make another froggy.

I decided to cut up a bunch of little sticks to use for the railing around the side deck.  That's the platform that holds the hummingbird feeder, but also can hold seed in the winter. I drilled out the holes a bit larger, to allow water to drain better.

I put on a whole new roof for the front porch.  I want to give a big shoutout to my nearby SHERWIN WILLIAMS paint store!!!  I had the idea of using stir sticks this time for the shingles, instead of gluing each on one at a time.  The guy was kind enough to give me about 50 stir sticks for this project!!  I then used my band saw to cut grooves into the length of wood.

It was pretty time consuming to custom cut each row of shingles...but much faster than gluing the single shingles.

Below, the Cafe is ready for paint!

I decided to paint the roof blue this time, since I had used that color on the trim of the door and windows the first time around.  Then I "aged" the color by giving it a wash of brown, very watered down.  I dabbed it all with a paper towel as I went.

The final results worked out pretty well.  And by painting a good coat of blue, I figure that it will hold up better in the harsh weather.

So here's how it looks today.  I also filled up the hummingbird feeders with sugar water.  Now all I need are some birds who know how to hum!!   :)

GARDEN ART: Bird Bath #2

Happy 2015!  This is my first post of the new year...and my 300th post since I started this blog. This project actually began back in the summer of 2014.  I was on vacation for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year holidays, and decided it was time to finish it. This is my first attempt at "faux bois" using concrete (that's "fake wood" in French). I have been doing research for some time on the techniques. I'm moderately pleased with the results. I learned a lot about the materials, though, and think I can be more effective next time I try it.

First I'll show you how I made the "bowl".  This part is made with "hypertufa"...a mixture of Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and Portland Cement.  It dries lighter than cement.  I formed the shape over a metal bowl with a baggy taped to it.  Once it dried for 24 hours, I pulled it from the form, and let it dry. Actually it dried for months!

I made up a mix of Portland Cement to put over the inside of the bowl, like icing. This was meant to help it be more waterproof.  I will use some actual concrete sealant in the Spring, so it will not seep through the porous "hypertufa". I used a wooden sculpting tool to make "woodgrain"...then smoothed it over lightly with a 2" wide paint brush and a bit of water.  When it dried, the surface cracked a lot...which was unplanned, but actually makes it look more like old wood.

To make the "driftwood" stand, I began with an armature of stainless steel wire.  I didn't really have a plan on how to make this look, so I just went with a "tripod" approach.  I wanted it to feel like branches, though.  After I formed the general shape, I added steel screen mesh around the wire.

The mesh wire gives the concrete something to hold on to.  I made a mixture of cement and sand, and applied it to the wire form.  After a day of drying, I turned the whole thing upside down, and applied more concrete to the underside.

I let the the "stand" dry for a day or so.  Then came the detailing, where I added cracks and grooves to make the parts look more wood-like.  This required me to add another layer of cement (with NO sand, so it would be smoother)...then I began to sculpt the form.  I had to keep the whole surface area moist with a spritzer bottle of water, and a wet brush to smooth out the shapes.

Here is the basic shape and woodgrain of the stand.

I didn't like the simple "double inverted tripod" shape of the stand.  So I drilled some holes in the concrete after it had dried.  I bent some more wire, added the mesh screen, then glued the new add-on branches with Plumber's Epoxy.  After the epoxy had set up, I repeated the earlier steps of building up layers of cement onto the wire forms.  I had to blend the shapes into the original "limbs", and glazed over the whole thing with wet cement using the 2" brush.

As happened with the bowl, some cracking appeared over parts of the surface, since there was some shrinkage with the drying of the newer cement.  Had I planned better, I could have done all of the final surface detailing in a single sitting, and it probably would not have cracked.

Here is the final "stand"...looks a bit like driftwood...but I would have liked to have gotten deeper grooves in the "bark".  For my first attempt, though, I'm pretty happy with it.

And here are a few pics of the final Bird Bath. (As usual...click on the image for a closer look.) The bowl just sits on the stand, as a separate piece. The birds will just have to wait until Springtime for me to find a place for it in my flower garden!

UPDATE Jan. 9, 2015

I may have made a mistake to try this so soon after finishing this project, but I wanted to make sure the birds had water during the snow season.  I found out that the additional branches are NOT secured onto the stand very well. One branch (front left side) cracked loose when I was moving it.  I think I can repair it in the Spring.  Guess we'll see how my experiment holds up in the extreme cold.

GARDEN ART - "Birdbath #1"

After working on my last project ("The Hummin' Bird Cafe"), I was still in the mood to continue with the Gardening Theme.  This time...I made a BIRD BATH!  As many of my creations go, I am not quite sure that an idea will work in the "real world". But the fun is in the experimenting!

I went back to a tried and true process though...making "Hypertufa".  I've made pots and planters from this material years ago, so I knew what to expect there.  But the use of wooden branches for the supports to my bird bath falls into the "risky" category.  But nothing ventured nothing gained!

You may have never heard of the term "hypertufa" before.  It is a mixture of Portland Cement (the fine powder...no rocks in it...most hardware stores carry it), Vermiculite (a soil enhancer from the garden center) and Spagnum (or Peat Moss...also from most garden centers).  When this concrete mixture dries, it has the look of old, weathered rock.  And it is 2/3rds lighter than a solid concrete piece.

I started with the "bowl" of the bath first (see above).  I mixed 1/3 of each material into a cat litter box (a new one!) I added enough water so that the mixture is like the consistency of thick wet oatmeal.  If done correctly, you should be able to make a golf-ball sized blob that holds it's shape.

I had taken a couple of classes, and the recommended approach was to build up the shapes with the "golf balls" instead of just big sloppy handfuls of material.  I sprayed it with PAM cooking spray first, to act as a release agent. I was applying the hypertufa mix to an upside-down plastic serving tray. Bit by bit, I covered the tray, so it looked like a giant cow pie.  I let it dry for 24-48 hours...and viola!  A bird bath bowl!

Next I roughed up the surface with a wire brush.  To make the bowl more water-proof, I rubbed in a light layer of Portland Cement, misting it with water, until it blended and made a smooth surface.  I didn't like the results, so I made up a very wet mix of cement to put on top.  But I got it too wet.  So...making lemonade from lemons...I just got a brush and made a swirl pattern in the bowl.  I was working on a "lazy susan", and could turn it like a potter's wheel.

Once the bowl was good and dry, I started on the base.  I had been saving some limbs to use with my birdhouse project.  I picked the thickest branch as my main support.  I drilled a hole in the base, and bolted on a wooden disk.

I then had to cut the angles on the branches to hold the bowl.  Then I cut smaller branches to give more support, and attached them to the larger branch with wood screws and wood glue.  The branches have a long wood screw attaching them to the wooden disk, too.

Now for the very bottom of the base...the "stump".  I had to do a bit of research about sculpting in concrete.  Most of the articles recommended using steel rebar for the inside of a concrete structure.  I have never worked with it, and don't have the heavy duty tools for cutting and welding it.  I am using steel wire mesh to make an under-structure that I would add to later. I added a bit of CEMENT with SAND mixture to the wiring, and let it dry for a day.  Notice the pieces of PVC pipe...that is for the drain holes to my "planter".

Next, I cut the wire into "pie-like" wedges, but didn't cut all the way to the middle.  Like adding icing to a layer cake, I smoothed on more cement, then set the wooden disk onto the "icing".  I then began to fold over the wire mesh and stapled it to the wood.  I would trim off excess wire, and soon made a "fence" of mesh.

Then I made a thicker batch of cement and sand.  I applied the first ring of cement to the "fence", then used a trowel to smooth on the cement.  Eventually...I had put "icing" over the whole "cake".

 After the base had dried for a day...I made up more "hypertufa".  I then sculpted "roots" and covered the whole base, building the walls higher, and forming a "stump".  I had replaced the PVC pipe pieces with longer dowels to protect the drain holes.  Then I let THAT all dry for a couple of days.

Once all the pieces where complete, I gave everything a couple of coats of "Water Sealant" to help it last longer in the rains and to make the bath more water-tight.  The hypertufa is very porous, so the water would just seep out in a few of days.  I may have made an error with the bowl.  When I had made the "swirl" in the surface, I probably did not let it dry completely enough, before I painted on the sealant!!  There looks like moisture trapped in the surface, and it discolors the cement.  Perhaps, over time, that will dry out to a more even gray color.  Oh well...live and learn.

And here is the finished bird bath!  I went to the garden center this morning to add the final touch of flowers in the base.  Hopefully the birds will figure out that this new amenity is available.