Thrift Store Find Garden Art DIY

               Glass Plate Flower DIY using Thrift Store Finds

                        Thrift Store Find Garden Art DIY

Glass Plates, saucers, teacups, and glass marbles are among some of the items used to make these fun, whimsical glass blossoms for your garden or patio! 

What you will need:

• A3000 glue or another type of strong glue suitable for glass and the outdoors.

• Various pieces of glass plates, saucers, teacups, bowls, glass covers for pots, jars,  and any other shiny, sparkly things that catch your eye at the thrift store!  Aren't thrift stores great for finding arts and craft supplies?  

• copper tubing, wire, clothes hanger or any other find you can use for a stem.  I have a hollow copper tubing I am will use. 

• crinkly, metalic gift wrap (optional) 

• Glass beads, buttons, mosaic pieces, broken china, marbles, sea glass etc. for decoration

I just used the glue to layer different pieces together to have a flower-like structure.  The one below has a glass plate bottom, mosaic ceramic and glass pieces, a round glass coaster and sea glass pieces.  In the next photo I will show you how I used the teacups to give me something to build the stem off of.  

 The teacup is glued to the underneath to be the attachment to the stem.  I think pretty teacups would look great too.  In the photo above I used the crinkled up metallic gift wrap (the kind you buy to put on the top of gifts in gift bags).  I will show a top view of the further down.  I can't wait to see it in the sun!

Below you can see a broken vase that will either be the attachment to the stem (I can wrap wire around that base) or it could become the center of the flower too- don't worry about everything being 'perfect' When they are displayed in a group, the different colors and shapes will look great! 

This one below is kind of interesting.  It has a glass plate 'pedal', a metal hot plate midsection and glass mosaic pieces for the center.  I am trying to glue that glass chunk in the hopes it looks like the bud portion of a flower.  We'll see- may be too much weight.  

These glass coasters worked great!  

The image below is one that is fully constructed using the copper tubing and a heavier gauge copper wire to attach and secure to the stem.  I found if I bent the tubing slightly and made a cradle in which the teacup could sit, I was able to get a stable position with no wobbling of the flower.  Be sure to take the wire thru use the teacup handle to hold the flower in position.  

Stay tuned for Part II  to see them all of the glass flowers constructed and displayed outside!  

Have fun and create! 

Happy Trails,

Sue Steiner

Stall Signs by me.  :)

If you, are anyone you know, are interested in a pet portrait or painting of your horse, please take at look at my work and website. I would love to talk about what you have in mind. I specialize in dogs, cats, horses, horse and rider, pet and owner, farm animal and wildlife paintings. I work from small custom stall signs to Life-Sized! 

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