Welcome ! This is Lynette bringing you Day # 4 of the LBH 12 Days of Ornaments. Introducing my Rusty Pinecone Ornament!
Looking at Facebook one day, I saw a post, from a friend from High School,Cindy Ripley, that lives in Venice Beach, California. She operates a ceramic studio, Luna Garcia. Her work is amazing. She posted a picture of a pinecone sculpture, made from rusty shovels.The artist of this sculpture is Patrick Plourde.
I just love the sculpture. Not only could I not afford it, I would have no place for it. I started thinking about how this could be made on a small scale. Plastic spoons look like shovels, right? I decided they would need to be attached to a base, so a styrfoam egg came to mind. The first attempt looked more like an artichoke than a pinecone, so heating and shaping the spoons would be my next try. It worked.
Supplies needed:
4" styrofoam egg
4" styrofoam egg
approx. 40 lightweight plastic spoons
hot glue & heat gun
brown acrylic paint
*Verday paint ( iron, bronze, and copper ) available at LBH
Verday spray activator
foam brush & small bristle brush
9" pice of jute
1/2 yard ribbon
2 small jingle bells
2 die cut pine sprigs (Tim Holtz)
awl or pick
To get started, set aside 4 plastic spoons.Using a heat gun heat the remaining plastic spoons. You can see the plastic start to soften. Press the spoon against the edge of the table, bending back the tip.
After you have melted and shaped all of the spoons, cut away the handle using heavy duty scissors.
Attach four unbent spoons using a hot glue gun to the styrfoam egg. Put glue on the inside bottom and up the sides and attach opposite each other.
Points should meet in the center.Next, start another row alternating and placing 4 more bent spoons on the egg.
You should be starting this row on the center of egg. alternate and attach four more bent spoons. On the same level, but alternating, add 4 more.
Divide the space that is left and start another row. This time glue 9 in a row. Repeat this step, one more time.
Next, close to center add 6 spoons in a row.
If any of the spoons are sticking out too much, heat and conform them to egg shape. Silicone finger tips would work for this step.
As you heat and conform , you might need to add a few spoons to the top. To finish, heat one spoon and while it is hot, stick an awl in the center to make a hole for the hanger. Tie a knot in the center of the jute and pull the two ends through the hole. Hot glue to top.
Paint the entire egg with brown acrylic pain, using a foam brush. . Let dry , then holding the pinecone looking from tip down, paint in crevices with a small bristle brush.
Paint the entire " pinecone " with Iron Verday paint. Spray with activator. After this has dried dab on areas with the bronze and copper Verday paint. Re-spray with the activator. Let set. The Verday paint will start to patina right before your eyes. It's magic!
If you have not taken a Verday class at The Little Blue House, you should consider it...You will love the techniques we can share with you!
It will take a bit of time for the patina's to become more evident...be patient...it's worth the wait!
Tie a figure eight bow.Tie a knot in the center of a length of ribbon. Place knot in the center of the figure eight bow and tie. Tie this bow onto the jute hanger.String two jingle bells onto baker's twine and tie around bow.
Hope you will try making one of these ornanments. You could leave the hanger off and place a number of these in a bowl, on a wreath, or arrangement.
Be sure to post a comment and you may be the lucky winner of this Rusty Pine Cone Ornament...and stay tuned for the next ornament tutorial.
Merry Christmas,
Lynette Chiles
The WINNER for Day #3's Glitzy Washi Tape Ornament is...
CASEY ADAMS
Congratulations Casey! Please stop by or call the LBH to claim your ornament.
