Hey hey! I am so glad you’re here! It’s time for the monthly Thrift Store Decor Upcycle Decor Challenge, one of my favorite days of the month. We are working on a tiny budget back yard spruce up this spring, and I really want to bring some of our rustic farmhouse style outside, so you know that means warm wood, old metal, and a little junk. Our first project involved some junk flower metal garden ornaments created from a thrifted pie pan, a candle plate and some spare parts.
Ready?
The Rules:
- Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
- There’s no monthly theme.
- There’s no budget to stick to.
Meet the Hosts
Amanda | The Kolb Corner Erlene | My Pinterventures Kim | Made in a Day
Dru | Polka Dot Poplars Maureen | Red Cottage Chronicles Pili | Sweet Things
Debra | Shoppe No. 5 Marie | DIY Adulation Havalah | Sisters, What
Chelsea | Making Manzanita Ann | Duct Tape and Denim
Molly | Just a Little Creativity Ashley | 3 Little Greenwoods Kimm | Reinvented
Kim | Farmhouse Made Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled Sara | Twelve on Main
Chelc | Inside the Fox Den Michelle | Our Crafty Mom Jeannee | Shepherds and Chardonnay
Jennifer and Vicki | 2 Bees in a Pod Lora | Craftivity Designs
Ali | Home Crafts By Ali Denise | My Thrifty House Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home
Toni | Small Home Soul Jeanie | Create & Babble Michelle | Michelle James Designs
Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!
Junk Flower Metal Garden Ornaments
I picked up the spare parts on the left at a flea market in March, threw them together in the passenger seat of my car, and thought “that looks like a flower.” Once the spark of an idea was in my head, I couldn’t let it go until I had found an old pie plate and a candle plate thingy at the thrift store to create a second bloom.
I asked the engineer to put them together with some scrap wood and make me some flowers. He never buys me real flowers, so I thought it was the least he could do.
He wrote his very own nerd tutorial for you. Shall we call it “The Engineer’s Epilogue”? “Nerd Notes”?
Step One: Find components that you believe look like a flower with the right amount of imagination. Imagination = wine, in Kimm’s case. (what’s he trying to say?)
Step Two: The mounting post (the stem, people, the stem) should be made from cedar, pressure treated lumber, or any other wood suitable for outdoor exposure. A good economical choice is pressure treated 1×3, 30 inches long. Use your favorite type of saw to to make two 60 degree cuts on the bottom to form a point on the end.
Step Three: Find a bolt (3/16″, 1/4″ or 5/16″ diameter) and a nut that threads on to it. (threads means screws, but he didn’t want to say that) Measure the length of the bolt needed to attach all of the “flower” components and the mounting post. Add 3/8″ to this length to allow for the nut.
Step Four: Drill a hole through the center of the metal flower components as well as the mounting post (stem). The hole should be just large enough to accept the bolt.
Step Five: Bolt the metal flower parts to the mounting post using a washer at both the bolt head side and the nut side.
Step Six: Use a mitre saw, circular saw, jig saw, or scroll saw to cut out some leaf looking chunks of wood. You can attach the leaves with wood glue or nails them to the stem.
Step Seven: Paint or stain however you like.
Wow, that was nerdy. I think we’ll stick with Nerd Notes. ;)
After all that…I painted the center of flower number two to add some color.
Now these are the kind of flowers I can’t kill. I think.
Sharing is caring! Share our junk blooms with your friends using the share buttons, and pin to your favorite Pinterest board!
If you love these junk flower metal garden ornaments…
Then you’ll really love this metal flower fence art, and this colorful junk bouquet.
Looking for more upcycled patio projects? Checked out this boldly painted table and this polka dot pot.
And now for more thrifty goodness!
Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!
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You are the queen of scrap wood projects! I love this and I can’t wait to see the rest of your outdoor space.
Lisa recently posted…Bathroom Makeovers That Don’t Cost An Arm And A Leg
Aww, you’re so sweet! And you know that I have another outdoor scrap wood project to share tomorrow! ;)
Cute idea! I bought (pricey) junk flowers made from tin cans several years ago. Now I know to make my own! Visiting from Thrift Store Challenge.
Thank you Victoria! I hope you give it a try, such a fun project!
Kimm – as usual you have knocked it our of the park! Love your junk flowers – and they are anything but junk!
Thank you so much ladies! I am excited to find the perfect spot for them in our yard. :) Have a great day!
Those are so cute!! I love how you’ve taken junk and turned it into something fabulous.
These are adorable, Kimm! pinned
Ok, these flowers are just too cute! I would love to have these in my garden. Soo cool!
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner recently posted…The Best Handmade Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy
Thanks Amanda! I’m excited to find a spot for them and not have to worry about sunlight and water! ;)
Ok, these flowers are just too cute! I would love to have these in my garden. Soo cool!
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner recently posted…The Best Handmade Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy
This is a great idea for the garden. And they are so cute with all the elements we love.
I think these would be great in any garden. I love the farmhouse look and can’t wait to see your budget friendly outdoor space.
Thank you Michelle! We’re working hard and have a June 3rd graduation party deadline! :)
I really love this idea! I’m going to go shopping for the pieces to put my own together. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you so much Dru! It was fun shopping with a new eye for “flower parts.” :) Have fun!
These look great Kimm! Nothing junky about them ! Great job!
Janice @sawdustsisters recently posted…Super Easy DIY Tree Swing
This is so cool! I love the originality! It takes a special talent to take individual objects like this and see something fabulous when you put them all together ! Awesome project!
What a fun project. Love the whimsy of these metal pieces assembled into garden flowers.
Denise recently posted…Whole30 Orange Chicken with Cauliflower Fried Rice
LOL Kimm, The nerdy engineer’s epilogue is the best. Straight to the point. Your/his flowers looks great and I’m sure they’ll last a long time, especially since they’re mounted on pressure treated cedar with spikes. P.S. If you can convince the engineer hubby to coach my IT hubby in writing a post I would owe you forever ;-)
Michelle recently posted…Comment on How to Make a Hand Crafted Slate Serving Board by acraftymix
SO COOL! I need to do this for my mom!
Kimm, these are so cute! I would love to have a bunch of these in my garden!
These are like my kind of flowers too! No need to water them so no risk of killing them lol. The engineer has a blunt sense of humor haha
Pili recently posted…4 Reasons Why Natural Beauty Products are Worth the Money
Omgosh those came out so cute! I have a Habitat for Humanity thrift store near me and they always have stuff like this. I’ll need to take a better look so I can make one of these.
Erlene recently posted…DIY Mother’s Day Gift Ideas – Something for Every Mom!
I love, love, love this idea!! They turned out soooo cute.
This is such an awesome project! So cool!
This is an awesome idea! My wife would love this!
They are pretty easy to make Frank, go for it! :)
Oh these are adorable! I’ve got the perfect spot for these cool flowers right beside our front porch.
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
{BIG hugs}
~Ashley
Ashley ~ 3 Little Greenwoods recently posted…How to Paint a Pillow without a Stencil