Make a Planter from a Discarded Weber Grill

It all started when I decided to tidy up the clutter of junk that had accumulated behind my garage. One piece that I came across was an old 18 inch Weber grilling kettle. The legs were gone and the receptacles that hold the legs on had rusted off. The grates were gone and the metal clips that hold the grates were bent or broken. Clearly, the kettle would never be used for a grill again. Then an idea invaded my thoughts. I could use it as a planter. All I would need would be some wooden legs. The vent holes in the bottom would help with drainage.

To hold the kettle I collected up some short pieces of 2X6 all about 7 inches long and cut a 22.5 degree angle on each end. When 8 of these are fitted together in a circle they make an octagon with a center that is a perfect size to drop in the kettle. It was then just a matter of making some short legs with 2X4s. A little paint and some casters on the legs completed the project.

For planting, I put a piece of garden fabric over the vent holes in the bottom to keep the dirt from falling out. Then I added several handfuls of wood chips to help with drainage. Along the sides of the planter I added some Styrofoam insulation pieces to help keep the plant roots from getting too hot. A metal container generally does not work well as a planter without some sort of insulation. After that it was just a matter of filling the container with potting soil and putting in some plants.

I only had a few plants on hand to put in the planter. I will want to add a few more to fill out the space. You can see my finished product at the top of this page. It is sitting next to the matching chair that I made a while back.

I invite you to visit my curios store where you will find a number of unique items for sale.

Vintage Teakwood Cutting Boards

You will find these fine old vintage teak cutting boards in the Sirocco’s Curios on-line store. Shortly after the Second World War my uncle opened a small diner serving hamburgers and other comfort food of the period. These 12 X 12 X 2.5 inch heavy cutting boards were in use in his restaurant. While the boards show some scuffs and dings, they are perfectly usable and will look good in any kitchen. Teakwood is the ultimate wood for cutting boards.

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It’s all about Ear Cuffs

Ear cuffs were popular in ancient times but in modern times they cycle through periods of popularity and they are currently retuning to popularity.

An ear cuff is an ear adornment that fits onto the upper portion of the ear. There are two main varieties of cuffs. One kind is held in place by the ear cartilage and can be as simple as a small circular clip or one that covers the whole of the ear. The second one is a formed stiff wire that fits over the ear and hangs down behind the ear. Both kinds are embellished with precious metals or gemstones.

An advantage of an ear cuff is no piercing is required and you do not have a weight tugging on your ear lobe. You only wear one ear cuff. It is not like they are earrings.

You can find a nice selection of feather adorned ear cuffs at the Modtoast store. Check them out. Click on ear cuff to find the cuffs or click on Modtoast to enter the front door of the store where you will find a whole variety of unique fashions.

 

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Collecting Cigarette Lighters

Cigarette lighters continue to be a sought after collectible. According to Kovel’s, cigarette lighters continue to be  among the top 20 searches on their website. Cigarettes became popular in the late 1800s and along with them came matches and then lighters. The most common lighters made today are of the disposable kind. But even those in various odd shapes are collectible. In addition to the lighter shown here, I have a number of novelty lighters in my ecrater store that might fit your collectible needs. I invite you to take a look. I will be adding more lighters in the coming weeks so be sure to stop back.

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Rustic Bench From Scrap Lumber

Pictured at the left is  a comfortable outdoor bench I built from scrap lumber. The bench is quite comfortable to sit on and I have begun to make a slight dent the pile of scrap wood that I have accumulated.

There is always a certain amount of leftover material from the various construction projects that take place around my home. It seems there are always short pieces of 2X4s or an odd shaped piece of plywood that has no use in the project. Most people dispose of such scrap in some rational way but I have always had the nagging thought “you never know when you might need a short piece of 2X4 or an odd shaped piece of plywood.” So, I tend to save all the scrap and pile it up on one of the back lots. Over the years the tangle of boards has accumulated. I not only have a huge pile of such scrap, but I have several of them.

Here is a photo of one of the piles. It is not the biggest one but it is the one most visible. Weeds have grown up around the other piles making them difficult to see let alone actually find them. I suppose I should find a way to dispose of all that scrap wood but there is always that nagging thought that keeps coming back. It is my dilemma.

The bench is of simple construction. I just made two rectangular frames for the end pieces (short pieces of 2X4s) and then nailed boards across (an odd shaped piece of plywood) for the seat. I added some braces and made a simple backrest. Although simple, it took a lot of time to make. That is because most of the lumber was twisted or warped. I guess that is why it was in the scrap heap to begin with. But that’s OK. Most of my wood working projects end up being mostly wood putty anyway.

I decided to paint the bench. Under my work bench I found some opaque brown oil paint that I used to paint the old cabin some 15 years ago. The old cabin isn’t here anymore. It burned down a while back. But I still have the paint. The paint seemed to be OK but I had to stir it for 45 minutes to get the solids back into suspension. After years of going through freezing and thawing cycles the solids had settled to the bottom to form a thick, stiff mud.

You might notice the red paint on the borders of the bench. That is just some of my foolishness. I had about two fingers of red paint in a quart can and I wanted to use it up. So I painted the edges. I thought it might give the bench a little more character. Now when I look at it, it looks like it’s smiling at me.

The bench is actually quite comfortable. My plan is to make a few more benches and place them along the walking trail that leads through the woods. I walk the trail every so often but knowing there is are benches every so often for me to sit and rest will make the walking more enjoyable.

I hope you will take the time to look at some of my other handiwork at my store “Really Cool Jewelry for Men.”

 

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Fire King Milk Glass

Milk glass is a type of white opaque glass that originated in the late 1500s in Venice. It can be made into dinnerware, vases, bottles and a variety of adornments. In the 1920s it was associated with prosperity and wealthy American culture. Some of the highest quality milk glass was produced during that time period. But during the depression era the glass was considered to be of lesser quality. Various forms of the glass are still produced today and milk glass items have become a very sought after collectible item. According to Kovels, “milk glass” was a most searched search term in 2013.

Modern milk glass is somewhat different than the old glass. One such milk glass was produced by Anchor Hocking in the 1940s.They produced a low expansion borosilicate glass perfect for use in the oven. It was named “Fire King.” It is a bit more translucent and less opaque. Fire King is also a very collectible product. Besides Anchor Hocking some popular manufactures of milk glass are Fenton, Imperial, and Indiana. There are several others.

I have several pieces of Fire King and other milk glass for sale in my ecrater curios store, Sirocco’s Curios. It is always fun to stop in a take a look around.

 

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Wrist Watches for Men and Women

I enjoy working with watches. Recently, I acquired a quantity of pre-owned and new watches. The photo shows a pile of used watches but I also have large boxes of new in-the-box wrist watches. There are some excellent watches in the lot. Some need minor repair like a new battery or a pin that holds the strap on. I will be adding these watches to the Sirocco’s Curios store over the next several days. Take a look at this fine Waltham men’s wrist watch.

Hand Painted Table Lamp

I found this interesting hand-painted lamp and lamp shade over in Tiger Creek’s gift store. It is a small decorative lamp just a foot tall. Its vibrant colors give it an attitude all its own. Stop in to Tiger Creek’s Gift Store and browse the wide variety of gifts and hand made items.

 

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The Eye a Halloween Horror Film

Here is a movie that can set you to screaming. It is The Eye. A Blind violinist, Sidney Wells and played by Jessica Alba, receives a corneal transplant to restore her sight. After receiving the transplant she begins seeing people after they have passed away. The Eye is a 2008 supernatural horror film. You can find the DVD of this movie in the Tiger Creek Gifts on-line gift store. It might be the perfect movie for a Halloween night.

 

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Dried Apples

Several years ago I planted an apple tree on our Northern Minnesota property. I planted a Haralson apple tree as it is one of the few apples trees that can survive the climate this far north. It is a full size tree, not one of those dwarf trees. It’s about 20 feet tall. The Haralson apple was introduced by the Minnesota Horticulture Research Center in 1922 and was named after Charles Haralson, a superintendent of the U of M breeding farm.

The tree has survived, sometimes struggling and sometimes flourishing. One time a few years ago a bear broke off a large branch leaving a significant wound in the tree trunk and in another year the leader stem mysteriously broke off but the tree continues to survive. It produces heavily one year and then lightly the next as is normal.

This year we got a bumper crop of bright red apples. We had a long cool wet spring and a long warm fall. Both are important to apple production in this climate.  And, this is the year the tree would have heavy production.

So, now the question is what to do with all the apples. Of course we will just store a lot of them. They store fairly well. In addition there will be apple sauce, apple pies, apple crisp and whatever else I can find to make with apples. What ideas do you have for using the apples? Right now I am drying apple slices. They make great snacks.

Check out my on-line garage sale at Sirocco’s Curios. You never know what interesting you might find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hand Crocheted Purple Scarf

The color purple is the blog theme for this week and there are many that claim it to be their favorite color. Take a look at this fine hand crocheted scarf in the LadyAnn Toboggans store. It is listed as mauve berry color but it is purple to my eye.

To me certain colors can only go with certain items. Purple might be a good color for a scarf but you probably wouldn’t paint your house purple. Red is good color for a car but you probably wouldn’t wear a red suit. Well… I guess there is one guy who likes to wear red. He brings presents to my grandkids every winter. Grey is my favorite color. It just seems to go with anything. It fits everywhere. You can have a grey car, wear a grey suit, or pint your house grey. It just works everywhere.

Handmade Greeting Cards

Our On Line Sellers blog theme for this week is paper. The first thing I thought of was Monica’s TaylorMadeForU ecrater store. Monica makes all kinds of paper greeting cards. They are, of course, all handmade. She is very creative. She designs and assembles each card herself. She has a good selection of cards in her store for immediate purchase. But, she will also do custom work. Besides greeting cards she also makes gift tags, place mats and a variety of other paper goods. Remember, Halloween is just down the road, Thanksgiving is down the road and around the corner and Christmas will be here soon. If you need greeting cards or if you have birthdays coming up or if you are hosting any sort of party, check with Monica for all your paper goods.

Hand Made Key Chain

Keys! We all carry numerous keys in our pockets. I seem to have accumulated an unusually large number of them I have multiple keys to the multiple vehicles in my driveway. There are the house keys and I have keys to my adult children’s homes. There are the boat keys and a variety of other keys. The list goes on and on. I might have more keys than I have passwords. Well, no, that’s not true. I have way more passwords. But I still have a lot of keys. It would not be so good to have all those keys just lying loose. I would loose track of what goes where.

All of the sets of keys are on various key rings or key chains as they are sometimes called. And, all of the sets of keys are kept in a nice little birch bark box on my desk that I cleverly call  the key box. Each key chain has its own special hand made design making it easy to grab on to the correct set of keys.

Tiger Creek Gifts has a wonderful set of hand made key chains in her store. One is pictured above. I am sure you will want to take a look at the others.

 

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Occupied Japan Ceramic Tea Set

 

Occupied Japan ceramics are still highly sought after collectables. During the American occupation of Japan after World War II from 1947 to 1952 exports from Japan were required to be stamped Occupied Japan. Many pieces so marked were toys. You will find this cute little Occupied Japan tea set for sale at the Sirocco’s Curios on-line curios store.

Signed Original Painting Neon Electric Lights

I was wandering through the Tiger Creek Gifts store when I came across this intriguing painting. Titled “Neon Electric Lights,” it is created with acrylic and metallic paints on a piece of high quality black Artagain paper. It is an original one of kind. I have always envied those who can draw or paint. It is certainly a talent that I have none of. Drop in to Tiger Gifts and see other original artwork.

What is Chintz Pottery

This is an adorable little pink rose chintz wall pocket. Chintz is a name given to patterns that consists of many small flowers and leaves covering the pottery. The patterns were popular in England near the beginning of the 20^th century. Royal Winton was a major manufacture of pottery with such patterns. Dinnerware with the chintz pattern is not as popular anymore but pots and vases are still sought after.

This particular piece has pink colored roses running all down the front and sides of the vase. Gold trim surrounds the top. The body of the piece has gentle swirls that wind up to ruffles at the top of the vase. It gives the vase a Victorian feel. The inside is glazed and all white. The back is unglazed and white with a hole for mounting on a wall. It is 7.5 inches tall. This piece is a contemporary piece from China.

You can find this item for sale in Sirocco's Curios on-line curios store.

The Park Bench

My project for this week was to recondition an old park bench that I had in storage. The finished product is at the left. I bought the metal components for the bench at auction last year and they have been laying in the garage since. I didn’t pay much for them; it seems that no one else wanted them. I thought it would not take much to bolt some 2X4s across for the seat and to make a wood frame for the back.

Well, it turned out to be much more work than I anticipated. That seems to happen to me a lot. I found that readily available dimensional lumber does not fit in the cast groves of the bench sides so I had to rip 2X4s to fit. That takes a lot of time and it makes for a lot of sawdust. In addition the bench seat is curved so I ended up using my block plane to shape the wood a bit. The metal parts were rusted so I had to clean, prime and paint them. It just turned out to be more than I wanted to do. But it came out OK.

I don’t know why I get myself into these projects. They usually consume more resources (time, money, and energy) than if I just went and bought a finished product. Well, I guess actually I do know why. I like to work with my hands. I need always to be making something, or repairing something or repurposing something. Just buying a finished product seems so benign. As Monk would say, “It’s a blessing… and a curse.” Now, I need to decide where put this thing. It’s very heavy.

When I am not fixing or repurposing something you will usually find me in my little studio making adornments for sale in Sirocco’s Trading Post. Stop in to the trading post and take a look around.

Scheurich Keramik Vintage German Pottery

This fine vintage pottery pitcher is from the Scheurich Keramik company in West Germany. It was produced in the late 60s. This decorative piece is green with raised relief of fruit, grapes, and leaves. The interior has a dark glaze.

Scheurich Keramik was founded in 1928 and is still active today. It is one of the largest producers of pottery from Germany. The under side includes the “W. Germany” Hallmark and the numbers 419-18. The “419” is a product number while the “18” is the height of the vase in centimeters. Nearly all of Scheurich pottery is hallmarked in this fashion.

You can find this piece for sale in Sirocco's Curios on line curios store. I invite you to stop in and look at the many items available.

 

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Men’s Brown Leather Slip on Sandals

I came across this fine pair of BROWN men’s sandals in the Le Petit Marche store. While I wear moccasins most of the time, I do frequently wear sandals especially in the summer heat. I rarely wear shoes anymore. My toes are seriously distorted from bouts of gouty arthritis so regular shoes don’t work for me anymore. But I like a good pair of sandals. I can’t wear the kind that have a thong between the big and second toe for the same reason I don’t wear shoes very often. These shoes would work but they are a tad too small for me. Stop in to the Le Petit Marche store and take a look at the various men’s footwear available.

 

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Noritake Hand Painted Nut Bowl

Some time ago I listed this outstanding hand painted Nippon nut bowl in the on-line store Sirocco’s Curios. The makers mark on the bottom is a green “M” inside a wreath of leaves and the words “hand painted Nippon” encircling the wreath.

Prior to 1890 pieces from Japan were marked with Japanese characters or were not marked at all. After 1890 American imports were required to be marked with the country of origin in English characters. The word “Nippon” means “Japan” and pieces were so marked until 1922 when the requirement was changed. After 1921 the word “Japan” had to be used.

The “M” in the wreath stands for “Morimura” and is the earlier name of the Noritake Company. It was introduced in 1911 and continued until 1921. It is clear then; this particular nut bowl was produced in the time period 1911-1921.

The bowl is in excellent condition for something that is nearly 100 years old. Stop in and take a look. Just click on the picture.

 

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