How To Make A Tiki Statue

Video How to make a tiki statueI love creating outdoor living spaces and outdoor DIY projects. This spring, I started working on a tiki hut. Just a little retreat in my yard with some privacy, a few chairs and a fire pit. It’s a great little space… everyday I feel like I’m on vacation in my backyard! The tiki hut needs a little tiki decoration, so today I’m going to share the plan for DIY tiki statue coffee boxFor your convenience, this post contains affiliate links to the products or tools I used to complete this project. Click here to view my site policies. Read: how to make a tiki statue I have a lot of tiki decoration ideas floating around in my head that I want to make to go with the hut. A few weeks ago, I saw an empty Folgers coffee bin on top of a trash can. In my head I said, “this looks like a tiki head!” And so the madness began. I collect two more coffee containers (Maxwell House) that also look like a tiki head. I now have all the supplies to make a three-tiered tiki statue. My friend Jamie and I always go camping at least once a year. This time I decided to bring my tiki project with me. It seems suitable for making wooden tiki statues, wooden fake tiki statues, in the forest! Ahhhh, there’s nothing better than camping. Fresh air, birds chirping, the smell of campfires and Alice Cooper Nights playing on the radio! Alice isn’t on the air in my area and I can certainly listen to it online, but that’s just another thing that makes camping so special. In addition to us humans, our furry friends are also tagged along with us. Jamie’s dog, “Glenberry” and my dog ”Coco”. They are both rescue dogs and have both camped before, but only for a few nights. This full week trip will test their camping skills.Glenberry caught a few rays… Both did a great job. Coco likes, doesn’t love the tent! As soon as she set up the tent and unlocked the door, she flew in as if it were her own dog house! In fact, after alternating between sunbathing and lounging in the shade, she’ll stick her nose in the tent door, so she can rest on an air mattress.Back to the tiki statues… Anyway enough about camping trip and back to tiki monument project. In fact, on a camping/tiki related note, this would be a perfect project for kids to make while camping. There are some steps adults should take, but it is possible to do an entire tiki in one day. So it’s a quick project that will get kids excited. You’ll soon know how I know you can make tiki one day. I should note that these tiki statues are a bit in progress (and the reason I know I can make one in a day). See, before going camping, I sprayed some primer on three large coffee buckets and then brushed some brown paint I had on hand. Well, I noticed at camp, the primer doesn’t stick very well and scratches easily. I decided to finish painting their faces and try a different painting technique when I got home.The brown primer and paint that I applied was very susceptible to scratching the plastic. A primer for plastic and plastic paint would be a better option. Jamie suggests we have plenty of time on our hands, so let’s pick up some plastic spray paint on our next trip in town. We found two small empty containers in camping gear, one for instant coffee and one for ice cream supported to test plastic paint. Read more: how to be a good network administrator Paint works well on the clear, hard plastic of an instant coffee container, but easily scratches the tougher plastic of an ice cream container.Here’s what I think I’ll do differently for the next tiki sculptures… I will lightly rub the plastic with steel wool or fine sandpaper, coat with a resin primer and then paint. I’ve included these tips in my guide below. Have you successfully painted plastic pictures? If so, what technique or product do you use? Here are some extra considerations: I used a utility knife to cut out the eyes and mouth, but I might try the Dremel Rotary Tool next time. I think the glow in the dark paint can be fun to paint around the eyes etc. And the final consideration is how to weight these things down, because they are lightweight and WILL blow away. I’m just going to use a handful of rocks/cobbles on the bottom to weigh them, but there’s probably a better alternative. Do you have any suggestions? Here is a tutorial that includes modifications that I have developed over the course of… DIY Coffee Container Tiki StatuesMunition Folgers Coffee Container, Maxwell House Coffee Container, or Other Plastic Container(s) Solar Light (Walmart’s inexpensive 97) Utility Knife or Rotary Tool Dremel Steel Wool Rust-Oleum American Accents Satin Espresso Rust-Oleum American Accents Gloss Marigold Rust-Oleum Spray Clear Sealer Resin Primer Drill and Drill Bit Caulk and Caulk Gun (only needed for tiki towers) Artist’s Tape Tissue Craft Paint Small Paint Brush Stone/Gravel (for heavy tiki tiki) )Step 1 Draw the eye and mouth slits and cut them carefully with the utility knife or the Dremel Rotary Tool. If you’re making a tower, cut the slits between the containers to let light through. Also drill a hole in the center of the top so that the solar light can be inserted.The hole for the solar light just needs to be wide enough for the light to protrude into the container.Step 2 Lightly brush the container with steel wool and spray the interior/exterior primer. Read more: how to make a simple walking robot at homeStep 3 Spray paint yellow interior.Step 4 Once the yellow paint has dried, stuff a paper towel into the container and cover the solar cell over the solar light. Spray barrel and solar lights painted brown. The tissue protects the yellow paint from excessive spray from the eyes and mouth. Remove the paper towel once the brown paint dries.Step 5 Decorate with handmade paint. Make sure to line the eyes and mouth with yellow paint, as it makes it look like they’re glowing. For the large containers, I used the contours of the coffee container as a guide for my design.Step 6 For the tiki tower, glue the caulk to the top rim of the tiki head and place the next tiki tip on top. Repeat for the third tiki head. Glue a caulk bead to attach the sunlight and hold together with painter’s tape for 24 hours. Paint brown if necessary.Step 7 Hand spray paint with sealant, weight tiki with a handful of rocks and display in your garden… or campsite!Read more: how to avoid embolism with lip fillers