Owl

So as I was doing my Kitchen room Blitz recently, I found a cherished item on top of the refrigerator. It's something which means a lot to me, because my daughter made it at school. She gave it to me for Mother's Day, the same year her brother was born.

 Owl

Naturally, I've wanted to put it on display, but it had an awkward shaped bottom, so prone to falling over when leant against something. I didn't want to glue any eyelets on it, for hanging, in case it fell down and broke. So Owl sat on top of the refrigerator, constantly being righted, and sometimes not.

When I did my weekend project, back in July 2015, gluing up our dinning chairs, I realised you can buy, super strong epoxy glues, which holds up to 150kgs. My recent project blitz, got me thinking about that glue again. I kept it capped, and tucked away in the laundry closet.

Bibs & Bobs

Which is the original tube, in the image above - along, with some of those bibs and bobs, I was telling you about being purchased from the hardware store. Owl was not going to sit on the fridge any more. Owl was going to defy gravity, like all birds of prey, should.

One of those triangle hooks would do the job, and I planned to use the other two, for another project I have on the go (I'll share another time).

Placement (without glue)

Owl was made of modelling clay, which was also varnished. Fortunately, not completely on the back. The centre was clean and dry to apply the glue. I positioned the triangle, to see where I wanted it to be placed. Then it was a matter of mixing the epoxy glues (according to the instructions) and applying it to the clay, and metal.

Reading the instructions on the glue, it could adhere both those materials. Always check the selected glue is appropriate for what you want to join.

Glued & taped

Because this was not an instant glue, it needed an hour to start solidifying. I wasn't going to stand that long, holding the metal tab down. So I found some electrical tape, to do the job for me.

It worked really well too. I didn't remove the tape for a whole day, which is the duration needed, for maximum bonding capacity. I could have removed it after two hours, but I wanted to wait the whole 24. I wanted Owl to stay in place, after all.

Boo!

With the help of my new cordless drill, I attached a screw into the dividing wall, between the kitchen and lounge room. Owl is now hanging beside the fridge, and right at eye level, for maximum adoration.

I love Owl, and it's one of those projects I was immensely satisfied, upon completion. Because I've always wanted to do something special with my daughter's creation of love. Now I have. It was worth the spare change I spent on parts, to do it. Sometimes you've just got to commit to doing those little things, which always seem to be put off.

So if you need to, write a list of small projects you can realistically achieve on a weekend. You'll be surprised by what you already have around, which can be used. You probably don't need to buy much at all - if anything. Which is the the theme of the next project I intend to share.