My favorite so far; Dixie... Hence the handle
{{gwi:71039}}

My feet don't do shoes unless I really force them, I play outside a lot one day was on fresh mowed lawn, so I got green feet. My fav project so far is my hollow sphere, a WIP.

I spend more time in the garden from March-June, Sept-Nov. when and if the weather is not too hot or cold. Starts off by digging, dividing perennials for plant swap that fills 1/2 of my garage. Then planting all the ones I get from swap, plus what I get from friends and plants I buy. So hence my name hands are always dirty.

Got interested in tufa when I bought a trough to plant sedums. I want to make lots of different pots to make minature gardens. And I also want to make different tufa stuff for my garden, now that I have a list a mile long from all the great ideas. If I get good at it then I want to sell them. Sorry no pictures to post cuz I haven't started yet.

Sandy

My name "Billie" was taken so I tacked on "ann" so you'd know it was a girl and "Billie Ann" wasn't taken. As my Dad says, I'm just plain Bil. Too many favorites to pick. Though I do like my bonsai dishes. Billie

Lady is short for ladygardener my email addy. Favorite thing I have made so far would have to be my tiki.

Hmmm... the GW name... let's see... I thought of gardening chick, too blah, but, I love to garden and I was raised on a farm with chickens & they are all over in my kitchen (not the real things - oh! got one in the oven right now!), so... Garden Chicken.

My favorite thing so far has been my collection of 3 mushrooms, they are magic, they light my garden path at night! (Ok, they are really wired into a 12v. transformer...)

That's it!
~D the GC~

isn't this turning out interesting? I think so! now lets keep this thread alive!

GardenChick, That's so cool that you have a mushroom nightlight so to speak. I've made lamps but never thought to wire them for path lights. Billie

Klinger is the name of my old cocker , he is a sweetie, and about 22 years old, so a real geriatric. I have a few favorites, but I guess one of them would be my stork. I sold it so I guess I really should make another for my flower bed, here he is. Cindy
{{gwi:71040}}

"Fuzzy" comes from my husband's nickname for me, which comes from my extremely curly hair.

My favorite project, I guess, is my vegetable garden, which is made of concrete blocks covered with hypertufa.

Here is a link that might be useful: Veggie garden

I don't post often, or much... but gave into a Whim.

The name, orginated from a interest/fascination with Wolves...and one of the few things that I've succeeded in sticking with. 'Tufa/concrete has been one of my more recent additions to a plethora of ADD induced(?) fixations.

My favorite...items so far, something of an urn formed from a 42" diameter 'beachball' & shroons. Got interested in this intialy when doing some landscaping, and was looking for more, 'natural' or old(?) looking objects for the garden (I've got this thing for moss/lichen covered stone, etc).

My GW name is actually a nickname my best friend assigned to me over 30 yrs ago. It was the first thing that came to mind when I registered because hypertufa and gardening are alot of fun and so is my friend. My favorite project is one I am currently working on which is a Tibet type mountain and a lantern/temple on top with a whole lotta tiny steps. Everytime I work on it it reminds me of this really old movie I saw as a child that had quite an effect on me. I think it was called "Lost Horizons" or something like that. Sorry no pics yet, need to get DH to show me how.
Michelle

my GW name of Bluejay simply comes from my love of Bluejays! In other forums other than GW I'm know as Nermal,lol. That's one of my cat's name. Her's some of my favorite tufa things,{{gwi:71041}}
{{gwi:71042}}
marianne

very cool - how'd you get the grooves in the pot on the right hand end?

I see all these cool designs and want to fiqure out how to use them

Thank you, the grooved one was made in a square light fixture, the kind for outdoor porch lights. I may use it in a lantern I'm planning.

Spidrbear = Spidr came from halloween when I created Spidrs Cafe, and I was Chef Spidr. I deorated my front porch with black lights and glow in the dark spiders and webs along with a dinner set up. I was working late into the night when I created an "open" sign for the cafe that I had a bit of a time spelling spider after several adult beverages and it became "SPIDRS CAFE" Bear comes from my email address of Bearnbootskc. Me being a big bear of a guy who 99% of the time runs around in combat boots and lives in Kansas City. Spidrbear came to life when I sent out dinner inventations by email for halloween so people would get that it was from me (bear) and not delete the email. My fav piece so far are my shrooms {{gwi:71043}}

This is a very cool thread! I'm really enjoying all the pictures and descriptions of everyone's projects.

My name isn't too imaginative--I've been coming to GW off and on for a few years and started out on the Northwest Gardening Forum. I wanted a name that was descriptive of the USDA zone I live in and figured it was okay to use my real name, since it's so incredibly common.

My favorite project is one I'm working on right now (of course). I love the Little and Lewis' Egyptian column and am making something similar. It took me a long time to find the shape I wanted for the planter on top but I did and it's curing now. I still have to cast the column (8" cardboard tube), base (bucket) and connector thingie (have to make a plaster mold) between the planter and column. Dena's columns have been a real inspiration for me.

It amazes me how much brain power goes into these projects. I'm always doodling ideas on scratch paper at work, combing the dollar store for shapes and fiddling with things around the house to see how they'll adapt to my nefarious 'tufa purposes. I found pieces at the dollar store to make the giant funnel for another lantern I have in mind. That will be my next project--have to cast it before the hosta leaves get too raggedy.

My kids accuse me of having an evil plan to 'tufa the entire house.

Could happen.

Deb

I got my name because I never could grow a larkspur--I planted them over & over. (My grandmother always said they were weeds & wouldn't have one, but I just kept trying!). Then a few years ago a friend dug one up for me out of her garden--now I have millions! AND--I got a double one to come up from seeds last year, so had several of them this year! (Please don't tell anyone that I--a master gardener!--couldn't even grow larkspur!) And my favorite tufa project is a plaque that says "Mom's flowers--Dad's weeds". And that's no joke! Great thread!

Lita

I have a pond and I planted two butterfly bushes, which I love to see and smell, and they reseeded themselves and last year and the year before I potted and gave away at least a hundred butterfly bushes! I am so new, I haven't done much yet, just getting ready! I love leaves and leaf casts and am trying to make a tufa pot, not unlike the one at the top of this forum, with leaves casts on each side. So far, I have mostly done pop leaves, a few silicone molds and three white cement leaves. This takes time!!!!! I have an elephant ear on the table right now with pop on it and it will probably take 10 days or more for all the moisture to leave!!!! When I say I'm pop-ing leaves, I am POP-ing leaves! I want to get as many leaves as possible popped before frost takes them!!! I can tufa later! BB
{{gwi:71044}}

bump

I haven't made a 'tufa project yet, but I dream of the day. I have every intention of going nuts with it at some point, but I have to clear about 27.3 other projects off my plate first. For now, I'm living 'tufa vicariously through you folks. I've been collecting threads and photos and tips and ... and ... everything! I haunt this forum like a ghost with OCD. I even know what my first project will be: stepping stones for my tiny garden. Woohoo! Can't wait! I've been designing for months!

Sadly, my GardenWeb screen name is pretty much my name. How's that for an anticlimax? It's not that I lack creativity, really. I just apportion it out like a miser. :-)

I haven't made my first tufa project yet. My name comes from my interest in daylilies. I bought my cement, quick wall, and screen cloth and I have the biggest alocasia leaves that I have ever seen outside in water. Hopefully I will get a chance to start my stepping stones tomorrow. After that, I will try some mushrooms which I dearly love. I bought some jello molds at a yard sale this weekend which have some great possibilities. I can hardly wait. Wish me luck.

{{gwi:71045}}

peak

My name came from having NO IMAGINATION!!! It's one of my favorite things about these forums, the great names you all have come up with. Peg

I started out making concrete paws for people soooooo. Paws4Pets plus we have 5 Shih Tzu's
Joel

Peg,

333 means you're only half a devil?

peak

My name comes from the sage i'm surrounded by. and the dream of the day i move from this dry, dusty desert to somewhere with woods and water. I love the smell of sage, but i can't wait to see green again! North Carolina, here I come!

Like Lilylace and juliaw I haven't made my first project yet. But while I'm out of town (my sis is having a baby any day now) my DH is putting in lighting and building a workbench in my new basement "Tufa Room!" I can't wait to get home and make something after going out and buying everything (and then some!) that you all suggested last week!

I wasn't gonna post to this one b/c everyone's name is so interesting and inventive! Mine is just my hawaiian name, "first name" Anela Kekua Ikanua Anamoku Nahoopii- Oetken-"Married last name" It's long but unfortunately not something inspired LOL...........My favorite project so far is my "Falkor" which I won't post b/c it's been seen waaaaay to much *smile*.......Have a great day all.
Anela

Got my GW name from my younger sister. She couldn't pronounce Maria when she first started talking. I've been making hypertufa projects for 3 years now, ever since I saw it demonstrated on some television shows.

Don't really have a favorite project. Some turn out great, while others don't, but each one is a learning experience. This is my first lantern I made 3 years ago. It's just now starting to get a nice aged look to it. Does tufa get a patina? LOL

Happy tufa-ing!

{{gwi:71046}}

bump

I haven't started tufa-in yet, but I have a dozen projects in my head already! Y'all have inspired me mightily and this year I WILL BE HT'in. It may turn into an addiction. I can see it happening ... I can feel it ! :oD

My handle is the handle I picked over 20 years ago. I have been a puter geef for long before it was cool. ;^D Anyone remember the days of the BBS-s? That was my handle. ReddKatt comes from my being a redd, er...red-headed Kathleen aka ReddKatt. The handle also has always allowed me to pic fun avatars and icons.
=^,,^= reow

Hi there,
I started reading this forum two days ago when I decided I needed to make a tufa trough-like thing for a container rock garden. I really appreciate the FAQ info and how friendly everyone is on this forum.

I'll start my tufa fun tomorrow, so I'll decide soon if I have a favorite project once I see how it turns out! But I particularly love Bonnie's totem heads. Everyone is so creative.

Ther was a starving stray kitty with a hurt paw in my veggie beds one day last year and we named her Onion. It just somehow fits her... : ) So that's how I got my GW name.

Take care everyone,
~Onion

I have this business dream. My dad thought I should call it Potty Merce (say it with a British accent lol). Then I liked Gardenalia Hypertufa, but the only reaction I got from friends was "whaaat?". DH and I had considered Tuffa Love, but tough love is not all that heart-warming, although tufa is tough. So, I went to the old-fashioned Rotet's Thesaurus and found the name of my baby: Blooming Stone. It's kind of what you do to cement when you add peat etc; make it bloom. I picked the name out of a list of 25 that I had made... Even names aren't easy for me I guess.

Mercedes aka Blooming

I'm about to make a tufa Moai/tiki/totem or something.

You can guess where I got the name, but here's something I wrote:

Under the Sun

In loving memory of my mom, Carol H. Maler

Beauty, often overlooked by a person like me
who takes for granted, things life gives for free
Opening to nature, was it hidden from my eyes?
Soft clouds, blue skies, a view of endless size
Beauty in the strangest places
love found in familiar faces
Treasures without size or measure
bring to me the deepest pleasure
A bird in the tree, high above me
sings a soft, sweet melody
The wind, through with eager whining
settles down as if reclining
Under the sun in a peaceful meadow
drenched in colors; red, orange, and yellow
Autumn yearning to mask the summer
with ornaments for the coming winter
I view this sight with the warmest splendor
This moment in time I'll long remember
Turning my face to feel the sun's rays
I bask in the warmth and the light of the day

Chris J Maler

Beautiful poem, Green man. Thank you for posting it. My name comes from my annoying habit of saying"Sarah said"...My 27 year old daughter is named Sarah. She also has the annoying habit of saying"Mama said"My fav tufa, isn't really tufa, it's cement and sand, but, it's the one I am working on right now.I am making a lantern , but, after many attempts,I have to sculpt it and make a mold first. Anywell, that is always my favorite, the one I am currently working on .

This is a great thread! It is good to get to know all the wonderful people who post here.

My GW name is an old college nickname. I used to work at the Mabel Dingeldine Music Center (say that quickly) and thus pals began calling me mabeldingeldine, and it has stuck all these years, occasionally shortened to Mabel.

I don't have pics of my favorite tufa project, but it is a cast 2 piece planter. One piece is made from a plastic garbage can, the other from a plastic bowl. Both pieces have a square shape to them, and together the 2 pieces look wonderful, the shapes compliment one another beautifully.

I'm not as wonderfully artistic as most here, but am very inspired and this summer, will be enjoying one of the bennies of my new job - summers off! So I hope to really ramp up my tufa manufacturing, especially as 2 shops have asked me to produce items to sell!

Best to all,
mabel

My dixiehead doesn't show up anymore, so I'll repost it.

Dixiesmom

Here is a link that might be useful:

On TV I saw someone use a large leaf and a mixture called Hypertufa to make a bird bath. I found this forum as I was searching for more information about Hypertufa. My GW handle describes me, I am always looking for new project ideas. My first hypertufa project crumbled in my hands, I have had better luck with concrete. My favorite projects are some turtles I made using a plastic toy helmet and a plastic round light fixture that I cut in half.

All the pics are great. Especially the lantern Mia. My name is just like it says. I spent my whole life till 2001 in Ohio. Now transplanted to Florida. I have been reading up on this forum and the links you suggest and hope to get started soon with my first piece. Thanks for all the advise. Judy

Ive had my nickname for a long time now, since the first time I started online and had to find a catchy one for Yahoo. Its something I wish I had more of, and the Thyme spelling bit refers to my favorite hobby, herbs and herblore. I am just starting with Tufa... my backyard is huge and is in a transition process this summer so I decided to do most of my gardening there in containers...as a college student with a limited income, I can't afford expensive ones and was DELIGHTED to discover this tufa stuff! I am also going to try my hand at a tufa water garden/fountain thingie.

My husband dislikes it when I wear his socks because I never seem to have the time to keep the laundry entirely up.

He bought a 12 pack of black knee highs that he subsequently hated because they did not go high enough up the calf - I could borrow those and always did for gardening because they're easier to clean.

So, I garden in shorts, black socks, and white sneekers singing "black socks, they never get dirty, the longer you wear them, the stiffer they get. Sometimes I think of the laundry but something keeps telling me - don't send them yet!"

Favorite project: it's still in my head, after staying up late reading on gardenweb I can't even sleep so many things are zinging through my mind!!!

My name was from when I was about 19. Everyone found stuff to pair up with "Gina". At one point at work I ended up being gina marina louisa tequila feracci ducati ...... and it went on, and usually ended with "Mellencamp". LOL. After years went by, I was just ginamarina. Now I can't think of any other name. I was mad at my new dsl provider because they wouldn't give me that email... and I had no idea what else to choose. i don't use their email! =)

Some of you have much better stories. I love the Black Socks! =)

well my name comes from always being outside whether it be in the shop with tufa/crete , down by the creek getting sand , or doing some sort of gardening, i have been doing some tufaing for about 2yrs now. once i found this forum i was hopelessly addicted. now when i go shopping i go looking for my crete projects, you can never have enough stuff ! i dont have a favorite, i keep myself awake at night dreaming of atleast 15 different projects ( none started)!

This one is to good to let go! My GW name is one I use everyplace else. It is a combo of my name and my husbands name a friend hung on us years ago. Jerrie=Jer, James=mes.
We both answer to it so I guess we are sort of interchangeable. Kinda like parts are parts. No tufa projects yet but I am really gearing up for it. So far, I've done about 50 in my mind. If I can ever get the first one birthed, you all will be the first to know!!
Jerrie

I borrowed it from my gorgeous cat; kobolds are like naughty pixies. But after one week we found the name too long for the cat, he is Kobe now. I got stuck with "kobold"

My favorite pieces the japanese lanterns , the stepping stones and the planters.

Andrea

When I was a kid[many years ago]I used to make mudpies. Loved to play in the dirt,climb rocks,ride wild horses.Was sort of a tomboy,no girls in my neighborhood. In jr. highschool they used to call me witch.Don't know why. Now it seems I'm doing a second childhood, playing in the mud.I like these results much better.My favorite project is, like sarasaid,the one I'm currently working. This one is a water feature.It is a sphere[two bowls,mortared together.with a cut out].Mounted on a pedestal cast from the same bowl mold.The pedestal has 4 semicircles cut out so it has legs, these legs have been fortilied to provide the strength to support the sphere. It will be painted black inside,hold water,with glass 'rocks' at the bottom and a floating candle in it. I have great hopes for it. Don't know if I should paint the outside or not. I'm still trying to learn my son's camera so I can't post pictures, maybe one day I can.

My name came about spur-of-the-moment because I had just found this site and was eager to sign on. Bama is for the state which I live and tufa of course, is the subject of the forum. I visit this forum at least once a day to read, learn and get new ideas. Great pics everyone !!

Hi all,

My GW screen name is a hold over from earlier days of play trombone in a jazz band. I still pick my horn up now and then but gardening has taken over the bulk of my spare time.

I am facinated with spheres right now... how to make a 16"-20" hypertufa sphere that is really round. I have found some very good tips in this forum and I am preparing to make a fiberglass mold that I can reuse several times. I failed at sand casting hemispheres to put together. Basketballs work good but they are a little small for what I want. Its a ton of fun trying anyway!

You guys are great!

I miss the pictures.
I hope you don't ming me bumping this up there's some neat pics and great ideas.
~Debbie~

I'll bite.

Long ago, my hubby traveled extensively and he got me hooked on an online game so we could play "together" at night.

I like whimsical names, so one of my characters was Rockyn Annarollyn (and her siblings, Moovyn Annagroovyn & Splishyn Annasplashyn...)- and Rockyn fits so well here!

My favorite projects are the ones I am dreaming of, since they rarely come out as well I had hoped...lol