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Stained Glass & Mosaics

Birdbath Pedestal

10 years ago

Awoke w/an idea this morning. I sand-cast an Elephant Ear leaf last Thursday - w/reveal on Tuesday. Sculpted a vine w/mortar on three concret blocks today, painted and put on some green mirror leaves. This w/be a birdbath for Granddaughter, who has finally yielded to my nagging her to decorate her terrace. She's becoming quite a little container gardner.
Pedestal WIP

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Comments (15)

barbfrizzell1955
10 years ago
Good to see you creating and smart granddaughter to finally let you create something for her. LOL Can't wait to see it with the Elephant Ear leaf birdbath on top!
Calamity_J
10 years ago
Yeah!! She is at it again!!! I am working on my concrete leaves also...I discovered that the veins of the rhubarb leaves I used, created nice little gullys that the water goes out of instead of where I want, so am "dam" building!lol! I have a couple of ladies coming on thursday to talk about mosaicing and such, so I shall scramble and get my art room tidy! lol! It's a sad mess! I just have TOO MUCH stuff!!! I have got to start making stuff so it will become managable in there again! Such trouble eh!? Well I don't have as much materials as Slow...but it is enough to clutter my art room!
Speaking of veins...I like the ones you made!
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In my opinion wet-mix sand/cement wouldn't be strong enough for columns. I'd always use a 1 cement:2 sand:3 aggregate mix for something that needs to be strong. I'd say that if you want to use just sand/cement you'd need to use a superplasticiser to cut down on the amount of water in the mix, or use a strong admixture. I'm trying to visualise the problems that you're having around the base of the column. Is it that the water is leaking out, taking the cement with it? The plywood arrangement illustrated by another poster looks pretty effective. You could also just drape plastic across the top, drop the mould onto that and force downwards so the plastic comes up at the sides forming a seal. But not everyone would have access to a jig-saw to cut out the right-sized hole. How is the bottom of the mould closed off at the moment? Are you supposed to just lay it on a flat surface or something? If you've no other option, you could place it on heavy cardboard (seal the cardboard with a sealer, or just put vaseline on it) and duct-tape around to hold it securely in position. Yet another option would be to pump a seal of silicone around the joint (ordinary silicone bathroom sealant would do). The silicone will peel easily off of oiled surfaces when you're disassembling the mould to release the column. loislaney - the silicone should work well with the coffee-tin lid kateyB2 - wonder if you have impurities in the sand that are floating to the surface as you tamp? The other alternative is that the inside surface of the mould is dirty. Try scrubbing out the inside of the mould with washing-up liquid, and then applying clean oil. If you still want to clean up the older casts, have a search in your local DIY store for a patio-cleaner. That will contain acid. Follow the safety instructions carefully! If the staining is just on the surface the patio-cleaner will remove it. Hope some of that is useful.
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leaf birdbath pedestal
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Comments (1)
This is what I have done. Drill many one inch holes in an eighteen inch long piece of 3in. plastic pipe. Fasten the pipe standing up vertically to a piece of plywood with a screw from the bottom into a piece of wood wedged into the bottom end of the pipe. Make a conical shape from a large black plastic pot. Around the pipe standing up on the board make the base of the pedestal about ten in. dia by about three in. thick. Then set the black plastic cone on the base concentric with the pipe. Fill with mix from the top end of the cone while tamping it down and into the holes in the pipe as best you can. You could also put a cylinder of chicken wire around the pipe for added strength. I also use reinforcing fibers. If you leave about an inch of the pipe stick above the cement at the top of the pedestal, it can be used to center and locate the bowl. After the piece cures for several days, slide the plywood to the edge of your table and remove the screw holding the pipe to the plywood.
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i need a top for this old birdbath
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Comments (7)
susiewantsroses has a good idea. You can use cookie sheets or create a box of some sort to use as a form for the size table you want. You would probably get better tips on strengthening it on the Hypertufa forum like delta9dave suggested. Depending upon how big you want to make it, you would have to add a reenforcement to it so it wouldn't crack easily. Below is a link to the hypertufa forum. I can't think of any other medium that would look as good with the pedestal or that could be customized to fit over the lump than concrete/hypertufa. That is an awesome base! I look forward to seeing what you end up doing with it. Here is a link that might be useful: Hypertufa Forum
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Any stuff in your garden for the animals?
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Comments (19)
Thanks Jackie, for that tip on blue jays liking peanuts. What is a rose folly? I found some interesting info. about bat and birds dropping. Rabies are thought associated to bats only, but cattle (esp. cows) represent 5% to 11% of rabies cases since 2004. Here's the info: Worldwide, bats are predators of vast numbers of insect pests, saving farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually and helping to control insect-spread human diseases, like West Nile virus. Although bats play key roles in keeping insect populations in balance, they are North America's most rapidly declining land mammals. Bats give one or two off springs per year. Wild animals accounted for 93 percent of reported cases of rabies in 2001. The wild animals in which infection was reported included: Raccoons -- 37.2 percent of all animal cases during 2001 Skunks -- 30.7 percent Bats -- 17.2 percent Foxes -- 5.9 percent Other wild animals, including rodents and lagomorphs (e.g., rabbits and hares) -- 0.7 percent. Fresh bat droppings (unlike fresh bird dropping) can contain the histoplasmosis fungus. Bat droppings do not need to come into contact with soil to be a source of the disease. Histoplasmosis is caused by a fungus found primarily in the areas drained by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The disease is transmitted to humans by airborne fungus spores from soil contaminated by pigeon and starling droppings (as well as from the droppings of other birds and bats). The soil under a roost usually has to have been enriched by droppings for two years or more for the disease organism to reach significant levels. Infection occurs when spores, carried by the air are inhaled especially after a roost has been disturbed. Most infections are mild and produce either no symptoms or a minor influenza- like illness. On occasion, the disease can cause high fever, blood abnormalities, pneumonia and even death. In some areas, including portions of Illinois, up to 80 percent of the population show evidence of previous infection. Outbreaks of histoplasmosis have occurred in Central Illinois. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reported a potentially blinding eye condition presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS) that probably results from the fungus. NIH estimates that 4 percent of those exposed to the disease are at risk of developing OHS.
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texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
Almost finished. Have danglies w/same mirror glass drying on fishing line attached to fiberglass screen that w/drape under the bowl - tomorrow. My DD wants one just like it. I don't do repeats, but w/use the same colors and try to jazz up the vine a bit on hers.
Birdbath
barbfrizzell1955
10 years ago
So pretty and cheerful looking!
texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, CRAFTY. I really enjoyed making this one.
Calamity_J
10 years ago
Love that color! I am attempting to grow elephant ear...it is more like a puppy ear plant! lol! Im glad your feeling better and are creating stuff!!
texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
Call me silly, but I love danglies. Posting picture of the danglies I made w/fishing line, colored mirror pieces hanging from fiberglass screen.

Danglies
Calamity_J
10 years ago
Wonderful!!! I love danglies too!!! (You also got me buying lamps,niches, Marys, crosses, etc!)
texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
Good for you. Now whatcha gonna do w/them? I also have another idea. Think I'm gonna design a little wooden niche, cut it out and put it together. Have a hankering to make some little scalloped edges.
barbfrizzell1955
10 years ago
I bet those scallops will look nice on your niche, and I love how much those danglies really add to this.
silvamae
10 years ago
I love danglies and never use them. I'm going to feature some danglies on my current work, thanks to you!
texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks my friends. Wish I hadn't made the niche until after making Shea's birdbath. I'm so anxious to get started on it. Of course - my carpentry always needs a little wood putty to fill in LOTS of imperfections.
barbfrizzell1955
10 years ago
I'm excited that you are creating once again!
emtnest
10 years ago
Well Slow you have been so busy since I last looked at your photos...your place looks so great with plants and all in place...
texaswild
Original Author
10 years ago
EMT: The plants have been busy growing, and my yard crew does the rest. It's looking a bit like a jungle, since the head gardner retired. Housekeeper does the work inside. I don't stay very busy these days - just puttering and piddlying in whatever strikes my interest a bit here and there.

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