I have been at it again... Dumpster diving for treasures... in the form of plastic bottles, cups and aluminum cans. I used to volunteer at the Depot's transfer station at the recycling center out in Benicia... I HATED to see the amount of plastic and aluminum that they trucked in every day... I think plastic food containers should be outlawed... everywhere. But since it probably won't be, I am trying to think up more creative ways to use it to brighten up our lives, rather than cause more blight.
I am also trying to create some art for my garden with no money... OK, so I splurged on a few cans of spray paint... But a lot of it I got for free at the HazMat facility in Martinez on my last visit there. You can use left over house paint, acrylic paint, glass paint, whatever you have laying around... I like the way the spray paint looks. But be sure to wear a mask if you will be spraying a lot... It is hard on the lungs...
I made these flowers by cutting the top of the can off like this
then I trimmed the rough edges off the cans and bottles like this
Using the pattern on the bottom of the plastic bottles, and by creating my own patterns, I cut strips down the side of the can, bent them out, and then cut petal shapes on the tips.
I layed them all out and spray painted them. Once they were dry, I layered them on top of one another
punched a hole through the middle, ran some wire through and tied it on to a small piece of doweling.
They make a really bright addition to my garden. I can't stop making them, it's addictive!