Upstyling A Bicycle Planter To Sculptural Decor
Full disclosure. I purchased this antique bicycle piece years ago and I do mean years ago. In going through some of my crafting stash boxes recently, I found it again. It once had two back wheels and a basket to hold a plant. To be honest, I didn’t find the basket that came with it. It is probably in another box. 🙄 When purchased, it had been previously dipped in plastic coating but it had dry rotted and the coating was falling off. I purchased this piece for $3.00 from a local thrift store. When I found it recently, I began to finish removing the remnants of the plastic coating. This is how it looked after I cut off the spare wheel with my Dremel saw. It jutted out too far to be used in the vision I had for this piece.
This is the extra wheel and remaining part where the plant would sit. I plan to try to use it in another project. I don’t toss anything metal away.
My sweet hubby was commissioned by me (Lol) to cut two boards for the base for this sculptural piece I had in mind. He found some scrap board pieces he had in his shop. Once he put them together, I spray painted them with black Rustoleum paint. I also painted the bicycle with black Rustoleum paint as well. Then my hubby bored a hole in the bottom of each wheel. He then secured the bicycle to the base with screws. This is what it looked like then.
Well, after sleeping on it over night, I decided that it needed something else. I found I didn’t like the entire piece being totally black. Sooooooo, I decided to paint the base to look maybe like granite. I used a new household sponge I had at home and cut it into several pieces. I then pulled out my acrylic paints. Using silver, white and gold, I began dabbing diluted paint on the base. I then began liking more of the gold than the other two colors. I liked this look and it differentiates from the solid black bike. Long story short, this is the final look, I “think”. With me, you can never tell. Lol 😆
I hope this inspires your inner crafter/DIYer to “think outside the box”. FYI. The reason I didn’t remove the horizontal rod in the smaller wheel is because I was afraid that it would weaken the bike frame. Happy Hometalking! Let me know what you think. Would love for you Hometalkers to check out my other projects and see what I have done with more unusual items.
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