Monday 11 May 2020

Cutlery Bird


     I have always admired the amazing items made from old metal cutlery, sadly I have neither the skills nor the tools to make my own. What I do have is a selection of plastic cutlery, a heat tool, a glue gun and the challenge to try it my way.
     I used to play around with my plastic stir stick and hot coffee on the train journey back from college, so if hot liquid and mild force will bend a plastic stick then a heat gun should be just as good, if not better........it is!
     Making sure to use a heat mat, a silicone mat and finger guards I started to go all Uri Geller with my cutlery. There were a few melt downs but it didn't take long to work out just how much heat was too much.
     I confess I used a photograph of a metal bird as a guide, but this one is not exactly the same as the photo, I used whatever plastic items I had to hand.
     Using spoons for the body, forks for the wings and knives for the tail the bird started to take shape. Feet were a bit of an issue for a while, then the penny dropped and I payed a visit to my local discount shop for some hair accessories. Small claw clips turned out to be perfect and while I was there I got some other bits and bobs for future projects.
     I have also bought some coloured plastic cutlery to play with, it will be interesting to see if the core colour takes over when melted. I would suggest making sure the windows are open when melting plastic, or better still try and do it outside.

     As this bird was made with white plastic I wanted to see what I could do to colour it. For this one I used a special grey primer for use on plastic, followed by a copper spray paint. There are some craft paints that may work on plastic but I have yet to try them.
     My collection of small plastic bits and bobs has increased a little so I will try some other birds or animals soon.
     Not Just Cards is the perfect challenge blog for a non papercraft project, so pop over and see what else we have for inspiration this month.



I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes With A Critter
Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
Love To Craft - Anything Goes
Worldwide Open DT - Anything For A DT Goes
A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes
The Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes

11 comments:

  1. This is brilliant Rocky, definitely looks metallic xxx

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  2. Wow! This is stunning, I thought it was made from metal cutlery so when I read it was plastic cutlery I was surprised, how clever you are.

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  3. Wow. I actually saw this method being done last week on the internet using metal forks. The end result was amazing and so is yours too. You did such a fabulous job with this project. Well done and must have been very satisfying for you too. Thank you for sharing with us over here at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge and best of luck with your entry.

    Annette DT / Admin / Registered Owner for https://worldwideopendesignteamchallenge.blogspot.com/

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  4. This is amazing - I honestly thought it was metal! Fabulous work
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  5. How creative! Thanks for sharing with us at Crafty Animals. Lisa DT

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  6. Oh wow this is just amazing. I thought you had used metal cutlery. It looks amazing. I had to have a closer look. Take care. Hugs Jackie

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  7. WOW! This is amazing. Love your creation.

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  8. This is fantastic, Rocky! How clever of you to figure out how to do that kind of project. I'm so tickled that ou chose to share it with us this month in our "Anything Goes with a Critter" challenge at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies. Good luck and please come play again.
    NanaConnie DT

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  9. Oh my goodness, Rocky - this is incredible! I could tell this was spoons, but was totally gobsmacked to see it was plastic cutlery! This is amazing - thank you for sharing it with us at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies!

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  10. Lovely work. Thank you for joining the 2 Crafty Critter Crazies challenge and A Bit More Time to Craft.

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  11. Your bird is absolutely amazing! I couldn't tell that you used plastic utensils to make it at first, but once I started reading your post I saw the knife, fork and spoons! You are so very clever! It does really look like a sculpture made from regular silverware! YOur bird is awesome! Thanks for sharing it with us at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenges!

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