Garden Decor and Accessory

Yard Art Friends- Yard and Garden Sticks
Project by Vickie Morrow
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Yard Art Friends - Yard and Garden Sticks

Are you ready for a smile, even a chuckle? You've seen whimsical "yard sticks" with bees or dragonflies, even jumping dancers, hearts, suns and flowers.

Many of these are made out of metal with other embellishments, some are even used as votive candle holders. You can find them at craft stores and garden centers.
Look for sales mid to late July.

My favorite finds have been at arts and crafts shows and sold at yard sales by the maker. To make these you don't need metal cutting tools and welding equipment.

You only need a drill, wire cutters, and needle nose pliers to create these fence picket and rebar friends!

Supplies you need:

· 6" wide picket cut to 18" to 24" long. This can be new or from an old fence.
· ½ " rebar 48" long 
· 22 gauge wire or larger. It doesn't matter if it is utility, copper, brass… If you have wire on hand, that's best. 
Use it. 
· I keep 20 and 22 gauge copper wire and a roll of general utility metal wire on hand. Both can be found at general hardware stores and home centers. 
· Rocks, buttons, beads, old dangle ear rings. Whatever you have on hand that suits your fancy!
· Craft acrylic paint in a few colors. If you are doing lips on your faces, you might want pink, red or orange.
· ½ " craft paint brush.
· Strong hold handyman glue or liquid nails glue.


Step 1

Cut your fence picket to 18" to 24". This will be your face or pallet.

If you don't have a large saw and you are purchasing the picket at a home center, they will usually make several cuts for you free. You might want to use the unnotched end by cutting the corners yourself at home with your jigsaw. Maybe you will add a little flair to your own cut corners. 

Step 2

Drill holes in the picket face to attach the rebar with wire later.

Draw a line down the center of the back of the face. About 2" from the top drill a hole on each side of the center mark ¾" apart. Do this again 2" from the bottom and again in the center of your top and bottom holes.

Thread 10" of the thick utility wire through the holes and twist to hold them in the back while you create your new friend's face.

Step 3

Embellish your face.

If you are going to do overall painting on the face and body, do it first. Otherwise accent with paint later. 

Lay the picket face up flat on your work area. Assemble your pieces for the eyes, nose, lips etc before you glue, wire or paint anything. This way you will know where all the pieces go before you start drilling and wiring

Small river rock, beads and wire are the embellishments to do the trick for these friends.

Size your rocks for the eyes. If you have a couple oval to round flat rocks close to the same size, that would be perfect. For the iris you can add smaller rocks flat color beads or paint. You will use your thin wire to wind around and attach the eyes together. When you attach them you may want to glue them as well as wire them to the board as described bellow.

Shape the eyes and lashes with your thicker wire. You may want to use one continuous long piece of wire for your eyes, lashes and your nose. The angled nose on Gloria is the same piece of wire as the eyes. 

When you drill the holes, drill two between the eyes for the nose and two at the outside corners of the eyes.

Gidgett's nose is rounded and a separate piece of wire. Drill two holes, one under the top scroll and the other under the bottom scroll. Attach with one long piece of 22 gauge wire threading it from the back around the back of the top scroll then back through the same hole to the back. Without cutting the wire go to the second hole under the bottom nose scroll thread it to the front secure the back of the scroll thread it to the back. Then twist and curl the two ends together close to the board.
Cut off any access over 2 or 3 inches.

Notice their lips. Gloria has two red river rocks, the upper lip smaller than the lower and wired together. Gidgett's is an oblong red rock with a white bead wired on to the top.

Check out these ears shaped from the thicker utility wire and hung with ear baubles made from the thinner wire, beads and other embellishments . Drill holes in the side of the board 1 to 1 ½ deep. Fill with glue or liquid nails and stick the end of you ear in the hole. Let dry.


Using at least twice as much wire as you think, thread your wire from front to back or back to front which ever works best for your design. Then secure by wrapping it around the embellishment several times or twist it in the back leaving one or two inches of wire. 

You may have some wire from the back and front on the same face. 

Step 4.

Don't forget the hair do! 

Gloria's hair is thin wire (22 gauge) with beads strung on after the wire was threaded through the drill holes from the front to the back and brought back to the front again. Curl the wire hair around a pen adding an occasional bead. Put in as much hair as you like. Style it by expanding and bending your curly wire for a fun look.

Drill the holes above the eye area near the top of the face.

For Gidgett's do, drill holes in the top of the board about 1 to 11/2 inches deep. 
Shape her hair with the thick utility wire or another thick wire shaping around a small cylinder or with needle nose pliers. Fill the holes with your glue or liquid nails then stick your hair in the holes. Let dry.

Step 5.

Paint any accents that will make you happy. Gloria has painted rouge and a red painted heart. Some paint accents were added to Gidgett after all the wire work was done.

Step 6.

Attach the rebar. It should be flush to the top or a smidgen higher. Take the wire you put through the holes in step 2 and wind it securely around the rebar in all three places.

Step 7.

Stage your friends in a special place in your yard. Maybe they will greet people coming through the gate or from the back door. You may want to smile at them out your in home office window or see them from your breakfast table.

Step 8.

Put them in your yard where they will greet you or you can peek at them for a personal smile.

Pull their hair forward so if you miss the rebar you won't smash their do. You may want to hold a small 2x3x1 board on top of the rebar and face when you hit it on top to secure the rebar stick several inches in the ground.

Now, fluff their hair and adjust their earrings! Enjoy!

Find supplies online:

You can purchase your power drill/screw driver, jigsaw and palm sander, screws…. from the corner hardware store Power Tools Department.

You can find your paint and brushes at joann.com. At both sites the 
search box is the fastest way to shop if you know what you are looking
for. Have fun!
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Let me know how your Yard Art Friends turn out….This project is fun….

Until next time!

Bye for now,

Vickie

Art Objects For The Home 
www.inoutdecor.com
mailto:inoutdecor@msn.com

Other Free Garden and Yard Accessory Projects including mosaic pots, our garden bench or planting table might be projects you would enjoy. Check them out here

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