My friend Dottie surprised me with the gift of this Garden Jewel she had made herself. I love it. Light plays off the glass sparkling against the greenery. Dottie got the idea from an online magazine article in www.womansday.com/specials. She varied somewhat from their directions and has since experimented making quite a few different designs. Dottie shared the tips she has found helpful.
First, she shopped for a variety of inexpensive glass pieces at thrift stores and garage sales. She played with these to plan a design for the tower. If freestanding, she found a large cake stand worked. For a piece like mine to be placed on a pole, a small vase might be chosen. Once she had planned and assembled her tower, Dottie found silicone glue with an applicator easiest to use. If possible she suggests a fine bead of glue which will not be as noticeable. If a piece is uneven, it might be necessary, however, to use more glue and it does dry clear. Dottie found that it worked best to put the pieces together in twos. Glue "two" together, letting them sit overnight to dry. Next day, add the next two pieces, glue together, let sit overnight to dry. Continue until you have built your tower. Watch carefully so that pieces do not shift until glue dries.
Several days drying time should be allowed each finished piece. Rebar with PVC electrical conduit or tubing can be used as a pole to hold the tower. This can be bought and cut at a hardware store. The base of the tower can be glued to the top of the pole once it is pounded into the ground. My husband used a piece of chrome pipe over my rebar pole and stretched gaskets to hold the tower in place. I imagine there are a variety of ways to keep the tower standing upright if not designed to be freestanding.
Dottie made one piece with small glassware, using glass jiggers and an empty perfume bottle to hold the small rod for the base. She placed that small "Garden Jewel" in a potted plant.
Mary
Mary is Shannon's Mom and has been a guest blogger before. We appreciate her sharing this great project with us. We hope you're inspired to add some bling to your yard!
