Category Archives: wire

re-recycling rusty wire

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Second life for this piece of wire I found on the side of the road. Its first life (with me) was when I used it as a planter by putting it around a plastic pot on the front porch.

But the plant died and I wasn’t really sure what to do with it so I just let it sit there a while.

The floor lamp I use it as my work lamp has a broken ‘neck’ and won’t stand up when it has the lamp shade on it – too top heavy. I removed the shade and have been using it with a plain bulb. But I had this brainwave and now this is what the lamp looks like.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it doesn’t overbalance any more and the wire shade doesn’t interfere with the light.

I’m happy.

For now.

z

paros day 32: spreading the love with wire hearts

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A day late again but who’s keeping track. One day is like another right now.

Today is a wonderful spring day. The wind that nearly blew us off the face of this rock called Paros yesterday has turned to a gentle breeze restoring life back everything you’d imagine it would be on a greek island.

Time for longer walks with Lainee once more. When its windy all we both want to do is get back inside where its so much more pleasant. But now, outside is nicer than inside, and by the end of the greek Easter weekend its going to be so warm I’m going to want to go swimming.

Of course, its not allowed… But maybe I can find some quiet little bay where no one will see me…

Anyhow, I wanted to share an ongoing project/idea I’ve had.

You know I always pick things up on our walks.. anything I find which I can carry home easily and which I think I can use to make something. I’ve always picked up rusty wire and bent it into hearts on walks, bringing them home to hang above my sink.

Well, lately I’ve begun to hang these hearts on people’s doors, gates, fences… I think its kind of sweet to think of someone finding a heart on their gate and wondering how it got there.

These are a couple I actually got photos of before leaving them behind.

Below are some I had hanging above my sink. This morning while photographing them I decided they would add a little something to my view, so I’ve now hung them in my window.

Imagine the window covered in hearts so that you look out through the hearts to the view…. an ongoing project!

I do love my rusty wire hearts. I’ve been making them for years out of any kind of wire or coat hanger I find, but this is the first time I’ve shared them with strangers like this.

I know some old parian redneck will probably find one and think ‘what rubbish is that on my gate’ and throw it away, but I like to think some people will be pleased with their little hearts and keep them as good luck charms.

Now I just have to start walking further and further cause I can’t just keep leaving hearts on the same houses!

z

princess and the pea bed

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princessbed7

Its finally finished. I think I started this project about two years ago. Maybe more… nah… whatever. Ages ago.

It sat on top of the wardrobe in the office, a wire bed without a base and without mattresses… But the idea was there. A very tall bed, with a stack of mattresses, fit for a princess.

princessbed2

It was finally time to finish it. I had to put wire on the base to hold the mattresses, then I had to make the mattresses. It wasn’t difficult, just fiddly. I had scraps of fabric and batting, I made up a small pattern to fit the bed and got making.

princessbed3

princessbed6

Its a bit wonky but that’s part of the charm, its all hand made without jigs or anything.

I love working with wire, I’ve made a few beds, cups, a teapot and other stuff, but this is the first TALL bed I’ve made. What fun.

Sorry for the pics, Its really hard to photograph wire items!

z

DIY wire hanging hooks

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An observant reader noticed these cute hooks Wayne made for me. He made them to go on driftwood sticks and I’d use them when I went to markets, for hanging my windchimes.
They really are quite sweet, and they’re easy to make. I know cause I’ve made them myself. Only I make them with thinner wire than Wayne does.

All you’ll need is:
1. Wire thick enough to hold the weight of what you plan to hang. And as thick as you feel comfortable working with – ie you have to be able to bend it and cut it. If you’re anything like me (a weakling) you’ll want to stick to a not too hard wire…
2. Needle nose pliers and wire cutters. In case you don’t know what they are, here is a visual aid:
And here are the instructions.Ā 

So, if you followed that, and if I didn’t do a bad job with the instructions, you should have something like this at the end of it.

Have fun! šŸ™‚
z

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a measuring cup pencil holder, a wire shelf and a shutter shelf

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Ā 

A little more cleaning up…

Its not finished yet. There is still another 3/4 of the workshop to finish, but I made a start last night.

Before:

After:

Of course, I would have gotten more done if I didn’t get distracted. The way I seem to work is: stare at the mess, dither about where to start, pick up something, put it down, move it over to another surface, look for a container to put it in, think a shelf would look nice there, look for things to make a shelf out of, necessitating moving more things over just a bit to make space, find a measuring cup I got at a tip shop and decide it would make a great pencil holder, find wire to make that, then start cutting wood to make brackets cause nothing I have will work, then make a shelf out of a broken wire basket cause I always planned to do it but never got around to it, and now I have and its good to finally do it, but oops, there’s still a huge pile of stuff to put away so I pick up things and put them in their place, realise there are now too many things so create new places for things and labelling them so I can find them again… and suddenly its 9pm and I’m blowing black stuff out of my nose.

But my new toolbox is now full of tools…

and that wall is looking like a working workshop instead of a jumble sale.

The drawers are only there temporarily… till I find my electric plane. Then they’ll go back into the tv unit/divider.

You may notice a few other things in the picture above… the stencils given to me by a good friend cause she knows I’ll love them and cherish them and call them my very own. My new measuring cup pencil holder (that dark little triangle lost in the gloom), my new wire shelf and, last but not least, the new recycled shutter (louvre door to be exact) shelf.

The one I always planned to put up but didn’t have the necessary bits or the patience to buy them. What the heck, right? Make do is the name of the game!

Don’t try this at home.

Hey. It works. Don’t judge me cause I’m imaginative!

Meanwhile let me share my gorgeous new pencil holder. Its a measuring cup I found at the tip shop last weekend. I’ve never seen one like it before.

Please ignore the hole in the wall. I didn’t do that. The wall came pre-punched.

Do you wanna see the wire shelf?
I’ve had this wire basket for quite a while and the wire on the corners has come undone and its not in the best condition. I always thought it’d make a good shelf.

So, while in the middle of cleaning and organising my workshop, I naturally had to stop and make this little fella.

Firstly I had to wire the corners to stop the wire bits from sticking out and causing bad things to happen.

Then I trimmed some offcuts of plywood as the shelves. The bottom shelf just sits in place but the one in the middle is wired in place. I drilled holes to feed wire through and hold the shelf in place.

I attached it to the wall with those plaster wall plugs… which of course weren’t the right size for the job. Oh, they’ll take the weight ok, but the screws weren’t long enough to clamp the wire back in place properly.
Thats ok.
As long as its pretty!
z

eat more fish!

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My brother is in the fish business.
In fact, most of our family is in the fish business. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that my grandfather was a fisherman or that we’re greek and sea water runs through our veins, or anything like that.Ā 
Its pure coincidence.
However, fish is what our family does. I can’t tell you how many years I spent my holidays working in the family fish processing plant – packing fish, pulling apart squid, stinking of fish…
My brother has a fish shop and seafood distribution business in the ACT, my cousins work in fish or, if they don’t work in fish all the time, they fill in when they’re needed just to keep the tradition going.
We’re a pretty smelly bunch.
But I digress.
I wanted to share with you this little present I made for my brother’s shop.Ā 

Get it?

Its a lamb… and its saying we should eat more fish.

Ok, yeah. You get it.

Pretty appropriate with Australia Day coming up, when everyone needs to eat lamb or be labelled un-australian!

I actually had the little sheep. I made him a long time ago and had him sitting on a shelf in the living room.

And the idea isn’t mine. I have to confess I saw it somewhere and thought I’d use it… I mean, hey! I had the sheep, I have a brother in the fish business… can you blame me?

All I had to do was make a sign, a post and twist one of the little sheep’s legs to hold it.

Done.

Cute, topical and relevant.
A thoughtful gift if you ask me!
z

birdwire light fitting

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I went through a phase a couple of weeks ago where I was updating, making, changing light fittings. If you know me, you know I’ll do nothing for ages cause I’m worn out, then do all kinds of things which aren’t on my to-do list, then begin working on things which are on my list, then get side tracked with spur of the moment things.
The light fittings were like that. I began by doing the office/guest room swap and thought it’d be a good idea to change light fittings in those rooms while the furniture was out of the way.
Somehow I managed to stuff up the light connection (no idea what its called, but its the bit that’s in the ceiling and holds the globe) so the guest room has no light currently.
The office has a light (a working one I might add) but it hasn’t got a light fitting. I want a pendant in here as the ceiling is high enough.
So, having given up on the guest room light and having put off the office light, I went ahead and changed the light fitting in the wardrobe room. For those that don’t know, that’s a tiny room in our house which I converted into a wardrobe for Wayne.
Yes. You heard me right. In our house the man has the walk in wardrobe cause he has more clothes.
Anyway, back to what I was saying… The original light fittingĀ in there was a real quickie I whipped up using wire and an old lamp shade.Ā 
I never liked it much.

The new light fitting is made from some leftover bird wire I found in the shed. It was a bit crushed but that made it perfect. Imperfection is what I’m all about. Sometimes its even on purpose!

I had this shallow shade frame so all I did was attach the bird wire cylinder to it. Originally I had a long Edison bulb in it but they really don’t give off much light. Now it has a big white ball glove in it.

I think Wayne’s happy with it. Its a light. It comes on when he hits the switch. He’s happy.

z

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more wire work and plans

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Sharing more pretty wire stuff.

Just cause I can.

And mainly cause right now its about the only thing I have which is both finished and photographed.

Last weekend I’d planned to clean up the office (again) and bring in the new/old wardrobe I want to use in there for storage.

The office hardly gets used any more. Not since I got a laptop and got rid of the ol’ coal burner (my old desktop) and since winter set in.
See, the office is the furthest room from the wood heater. Its darn cold in there in winter. When I had the desktop in there and I had to use it every day, I kept the door opened all the time and had a small bar heater under the desk for my feet. Even then my fingers would often freeze.

I’ve decided I should swap the guest room and office. The guest room is a dull room right now. Its got a beigey brown carpet, taupe walls, a small window, the bed and tons of stuff I have to move out whenever we have visitors.
The office on the other hand is pretty. I removed the salmon carpet, did up the floorboards to match the kitchen and hallway, painted it white so its bright and cheerful, and it has a huge window which lets in the morning sun.

I’m thinking about putting the bed under the shelves and opposite the large antique map. The office is a long narrow room, meaning there’ll be just enough room on either side of the bed for a bedside table, but the end of the room will be spacious enough to allow for the small cupboard I use as a linen cupboard. The map will make a great view from the bed and the shelves will look interesting around the bedhead.

The guest room is a square room with lots of wall space since it has such a small window. The carpet keeps it warmer in winter, and since its not salmon it can stay a while. Being closer to the wood heater means less chance of freezing fingers, plus its closer to the wifi modem. I want to move the printer, the printer/scanner, and the odd office bits out of the living room and into the new office.

Its bad enough Wayne has an office in here and I work in here, we don’t need all the office stuff in here too.

So, last weekend I planned to clean up the office and bring up the new/old wardrobe to hold craft supplies as I mentioned. Then I thought, why move it up if I’m going to swap rooms? Makes no sense to move it twice, right?

I can’t swap rooms till I get rid of Wayne for a weekend, though. He doesn’t handle the mess of moving furniture well, and the swap would need the entire contents of the office and guest room being moved into the living room. A great time to do some really good cleaning, sorting and organising. I’llĀ paint the guest room white to make it less depressing before moving all the office stuff into it, and I can have fun decorating the new guest room.

All of which will take way more than one weekend to do!

sigh.

Meanwhile, today I wiped myself out. I’d done some grooming, had a late breakfast, then knuckled down to work. It was sunny so I pooper-scooped and tried weeding. The weeds won. There are just too many of them. Next time the weather is good enough I’m spraying the suckers.

I took apart our Whirlpool washing machine (I watched a Youtube video, how would you do it?) to try to sort out the annoying lint problem. Of course what I found in our washing machine wasn’t exactly like I saw on Youtube, but heck, it still works and the lint problem can’t be worse than it was! And it still works. That’s gotta be a win.

I made a drawer for the sidetable/box on castors I’ve been working on. I started on a cut down chair which will be a bedside table for the new guest room. I was busy sanding the chair when I was suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion. I could barely walk to the house and it took all I had to shower and wash my hair.

Maybe it was low blood sugar. I totally ran out of fuel.

Tomorrow is another day. Remind me to eat lunch.

z

fairy bed

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I just love these little wire beds. I love making them and I love looking at them.

How pretty is this?

Ok, so it might have no real use, unless you have a dollhouse or a visiting fairy, but its so delicate and fine and… just… well, pretty!

This is the second wire bed I’ve made and its a bit fancier than the first one. It has a mattress made from a tea dyed napkin – it was stained and in the throw out pile so I decided to use the best bits.

It also has a little ‘crochet’ cushion, made from a piece of doily.

I actually made this little bed a couple of months ago but didn’t have my ‘light box’ in the office where I could use it easily.

Plus, to make matters worse, I tried to change the pendant light in the office to test a new one, and ended up stuffing up the light fixture. I now have no light in the office.

I think I need an electrician.

In the end I rigged up two floor lamps, a desk lamp, a box and a white sheet and got some pics.

One of these days I might actually have a proper set up for taking photos of things. I just need good lighting like the kind I use when making films…

Anyway, I got pretty decent pics of the bed so I’m happy.

z

non fattening chocolate cake!

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Ha!

I got you didn’t I? You thought I’d found some lush chocolate cake recipe that would allow you to eat your cake and keep your figure!

Sorry to disappoint you, but not quite… although I can guarantee this cake won’t make you fat.

I’ve been having some fun with wire lately. Its no secret I love wire, I have a huge board dedicated to it on Pinterest, and I’ve shared quite a few wire projects in the past.

This cake is made from regular fine galvanised wire from the hardware store, and some brown copper florist wire. Hence the chocolate in the cake. And don’t forget the cream on top!

The spoon is the same, silver and brown wire. You need a matching spoon if you’re to have any chance of eating this piece of cake!

Its sitting on an old Meakin plate I found with gorgeous scalloped edges. It looks best on a white or cream plate.

I haven’t been sharing much lately, but I have been busy doing stuff, making things. I’ll have more to share soon. All my projects are in various stages of development from ‘just beginning’ to ‘finished and awaiting their closeups’. Then you’ll be drowing in posts till the next dry spell.

That’s just the way things work out around here.

z