I’ve got an informative page on my website about garden gnomes that caught the attention of an artistic gardening friend, Bill. He was kind enough to share the following story and photos with all of you that read my blog (I told him of course we’d all be interested! ).

So here’s what Bill had to say:

Hi Claudia: We’ve had this garden gnome kicking around our family for a few generations. He sat in front of my Grandmother’s house on Long Island for decades and then my parents hosted him in their yard in Bucks County, PA for about 10 years before I took possession (responsibility?) in 1996.

A few weeks ago (end of August, 2009) we had a quick but very violent thunderstorm that brought down a 100+ year old hickory tree in my backyard. It fell laying on other trees hovering precariously just two feet or so over my neighbor’s garage.

The only portion of the rotted roots that didn’t pull from the earth are underneath where my lucky little guy stood.

Had it fallen any other direction it would have certainly hit my house or my neighbor’s house which could have been catastrophic. Nobody was hurt nor was there any damage.

Do I believe that gnomes are good luck? You bet I do!

Enjoy the pictures…

Best,

Bill

P.S. BTW – I have since moved my “good luck” gnome to a safer vantage point where he can keep watch as the experts remove the tree!

Thank you Bill, for this very intriguing garden gnome story.

Liz and Krista left comments on my blog post how to paint bowling balls about bowling balls painted to look like ladybugs. Krista said she saw a project in a magazine, but couldn’t remember what magazine.

So, this nudged me into trying to help some more and see what I could find, and voila … here are two photos from the many examples I found by doing a Google search. Just enter “ladybug bowling balls” and you’ll get links to many articles, forum discussions and such. Or use Google’s image search to instantly see lots of painted ladybug examples.

This image had been scanned from Backyard Living Magazine – July/August 2006 issue:

And I found these little bowling ball ladybugs featured in an online article by April Johnson.

These two ideas should help inspire any of you who want to try your hand at making a ladybug bowling ball for your next garden art project. Have fun!

I recevied an email from Jayne who asked:

Hi Claudia, I would like to know what type of adhesive is best for making ‘mosaic’ garden balls using bowling balls. I tried silicone but the mosaic pieces loosen after a while. I need an adhesive that will survive freeze/thaw cycles … I live in Ontario, Canada.

Any suggestions would be great. I currently subscribe to your newsletter which I enjoy very much. Your website is the best! Thanks! Jayne M.

My reply:

Hi Jayne:
OK, let’s talk about craft glues and adhesives. I do understand how your cold climate can make any glue or adhesive basically harden up and just not “work”. This is the reason why the silicone didn’t work – it was the wrong adhesive to use. Not just because of the cold temperature factor, but also because it just isn’t the right adhesive for your project. The surface of the bowling ball necessitates a different kind of product.

Let me say here too … I am not going to nick-pick about the dictionary terms for “craft glue” or “adhesives”. To most of us, when we’re doing a craft project we don’t care what the gooey stuff is called … just as long as it works and keeps things stuck onto our item for a loooooong time.

My suggestion would be to use one of the appropriate commercial grade glues/adhesives (there are many different kinds geared to specific materials and/or surfaces) from the “Liquid Nails” product line or better yet, “Rhino Glue”. I would think these products are available in Canada.

Read about Rhino Glue and make sure to click on their FAQ page. Click here to read about the Liquid Nails products.

I can buy these products at the big-box DIY stores … like Home Depot which I know you have there in Canada. Here in the USA Home Depot keeps the Liquid Nails products and the Rhino Glue in one of the paint department aisles. If these brand name products are not available in Canada, I am sure you’ll be able to find something similar that will do the job for you.

Now, here’s a product I recently learned about – Weldbond Universal Space Age Adhesive. Wowee! I think this stuff just might be the answer to many crafter’s dreams for the craft glue-to-end-all-glues!! I have read of mosaic artists raving about the stuff … so I will encourage you to contact these folks. I don’t know where it is available in stores in the USA or Canada. But they take online orders.

This information should help you be successful with your next bowling ball craft project. Oh! I should mention that I am sure you know that no matter what surface you want to use a craft glue on … that it has to be clean of all dirt and grease. With your bowling ball, you might want to scuff up the surface with some coarse sandpaper to make an even better surface for the glue to adhere to.

Good luck!

I came across this great photo of a very creative piece of garden yard art today and I thought “I’ve just got to share this with my visitors.”

Plus … for many of us, thoughts of what we are going to plant in our vegetable garden is looming in our minds. Warm weather is slowly starting to take hold. So I thought this yard art decor idea might prove helpful for you in the future.

Need an effective bird chaser? Well, I think this crazy bird chasin’ monster just might do the trick.

If you have young children, perhaps you’ve got one of their old rubber or plastic monster toys collecting dust that could be resurrected and placed out in your vegetable patch.

If you’re like most gardeners I know, myself included, birds can become quite a problem because they love to peck into things like tomatos and nibble, leaving lots of damaged fruits. Not that I mind our feathered friends getting to eat my organically grown ‘maters … but geez, they take two nibbles and then move on to another ripe beauty to sample. I don’t appreciate that – they ought to stick to just one and then I’d be more tolerant!!

For another idea – maybe a few aluminum pie plates tied onto this monster would be an added feature to scare away the birds. I don’t know how aggressive your birds might be.

Anyhoo … I just thought I’d share this whimsical garden yard art idea. If nothing else … I hope it puts a smile on your face today.

See ya later!

Stan emailed me and asked:

You have a great website! Just a question about making a pot man. Do you recommend using the plastic pots at all, or just strictly the clay? Thanks for the help. Stan

My reply:
Hello Stan:
Think about this … plastic pots do not weigh very much, even collectively, and if a strong enough gust of wind comes along, your plastic pot person may just go flying across your yard! That is unless you secure it down somehow.

Personally, I would only use clay (also referred to as terra cotta). I think clay pots are just a nicer look for a pot person project. And over time, clay / terra cotta will age nicely, and maybe, if you’ve placed your pot person in a shady spot, it will start getting a little moss growing on it, again adding to the overall charm of it.

For instructions and recipes about how to get moss to grow on garden items, please take a look at my article: how to grow moss on garden planters.

Also, I personally think that plants growing from terra cotta just look a bit more “natural”, versus plants growing in a green or black plastic pot, don’t you think?

But, maybe you are planning to paint all the surfaces, or dress up your “person” with a hat or clothes, which in that case yes plastic would be OK … but again you have to deal with the lightweight-ness of plastic.

So … the bottom line is this project is doable, but I strongly advise securing it to whatever or wherever you are placing it. Good luck!

For a set of instructions to make a clay pot person, please refer to my pot person instructions how-to project article.

I received an email from Renee who asked:

Quite a while ago I saw directions for a terra cotta (clay) woman pot person. Then my house burned down and I lost the directions. Do you have directions for a woman pot person? Thank you.

My reply:
Hi Renee:
Thank you for contacting me and I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your home. I cannot imagine what going through an experience like that would be like. I do hope you and your family are now able to put that situation far behind you.

About instructions for a clay pot person … I do offer a good set of instructions on my website: Terra Cotta / Clay Pot People.

And of course with the addition of your creativity, you certainly should be able to feminize it.

Here’s a really cute idea for a female pot person that shouldn’t be too hard to duplicate:

It looks like a bag of sphagnum moss (you can find that at most indoor gardening areas in stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, or of course gardening centers), an old straw hat, about 16 medium sized pots, about 12 small sized pots, and 2 medium-large sized pots are all you need for this project. Oh! Well yes … you will need a chair or bench of some sort, too!

And again … using your creativity, you can certainly paint your pots, or add more clothing or accessories to give it your special touch.

I do hope this information helps you. Good luck with your clay pot person project.

Wanda emailed and asked:

I want a mirror for my garden. I have heard there are plastic mirrors or that stainless steel would be good for a mirror. Can you tell me if you have made one and how you did it. I want it to be fairly large.

Oh, and thanks for the info on your garden mirror page on your website. Thanks for your help.

My reply:
Hello Wanda:
I did have a mirror in my garden area a few years ago, however used an old (real) glass mirror that had a neat looking distressed frame around it, so I wasn’t too worried about the silver backing wearing off in spots due to exposure to the elements. I hung it on a wall in my garden area. I have since taken it down for various reasons.

But to further answer your question, if I were to do it again, especially a large one as you are mentioning you want to do … I would buy a plastic mirror because it will be lighter in weight, safer for outdoor use, and last much longer if left outside than a glass mirror. Also, I think that a large piece of glass is really not a wise choice to be placed out in one’s garden, mine included.

I would also wager that from a cost standpoint, you will find a plastic mirror much more affordable than a piece of highly polished stainless steel. It might be a bit hard to find a plastic, or sometimes also referred to as ACRYLIC, mirror supplier but I just did an online search via Google and do see suppliers. Type these words into the search box: plastic acrylic mirrors. You can check out the various websites.

Other than that, as far as making a mirror that is attractive for outdoor use, my suggestion is to provide an interesting frame of some sort (distressed looking; or painted in lively colors; etc.) that suits your outdoor décor and garden “theme” and basically mount the piece of mirror onto the frame as you would mount a picture into a frame.

Another idea would be to find an interesting looking, old wooden door; cut out an area in the middle, and mount the mirror onto the door from the backside, thusly the door is serving as a “frame” … and then prop the door in a corner of your garden, as example, to serve as an interesting and unique focal point.

You want it to be large … just remember birds are known to fly right into garden mirrors (they could break their necks from this – poor things!), and if the sun reflects just “right” off the mirror onto another surface that is combustible … you could have a fire start (just like the way children can start a fire by using a magnifying glass to project an intense beam of sunlight). So PLEASE be careful of the ultimate placement of your garden mirror.

And, of course I am sure your imagination will give you lots of other good ideas to make one, too! Put on your creative thinkin’ cap!

Good luck!

I recevied this email from Freddie who asked:

I found your website by accident and I love it. I love trying new garden art projects, especially junk garden art! I have tried to make garden spheres many times….some came out better than others….and this year I was lying in bed and it occurred to me to use bowling balls. Sheer Genius, right?

My boss brought me two from his last bowling night, one real beauty that I wouldn’t consider painting, but one I’ll paint. What do you suggest I use for paint?

Of course my husband thinks I’m nuts with bowling balls in our garden. Let me know about the paint. Thanks. Freddie

My reply:
Hi Freddie:
Thank you for contacting me and for the kind compliment about my site. I do try hard to offer great information.

About painting bowling balls (yeah, I kinda love junk garden art, too!) – here’s my suggestions:

•  take sandpaper and scuff up the surface really good; this will help a primer coat and/or paint to adhere much better

•  prime it with something like “Kilz” (there is an exterior all-purpose version–you can find it at Lowe’s or Home-Depot as examples)

•  paint with latex or oil-based paints (I’ve been successful using both)

•  finish with at LEAST a couple of liberal clear top coats (matte, gloss or semi-gloss – whatever you prefer)

If you take care with all the steps, your painted bowling ball should last many years in the sun. But be warned, UV rays really take a toll on everything, and even the best paint job might start showing “age” in a few years. I am sure you understand this.

That is why taking extra time to “do it right” the first time will save you peeling paint before the year is finished.

Does this help? If not, please do not hesitate to contact me again. Have fun!!

~~~

Freddie wrote back to say:

Actually your instructions were what I was thinking about doing anyway, it just seemed too logical and easy.

I’m a big recycler, so reusing bowling balls just seemed a no brainer. My boss actually brought me two of them from his league night at bowling. I’m sure he must think I’ve lost it, but I wanted to make a couple for my sister and her gardens.

Can’t wait to get this funky bowling ball garden art project rolling.

Thanks for the info … Freddie