Use fire to upcycle cookie tins into a flower water fountain!

Theresa

8 years ago

Fire helped us repurpose cookie tins into a flower water fountain.

In search of objects for creating a flower water fountain for our front porch, we found a collection of Christmas cookie tins priced at 50 cents each at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

While the connection might not be apparent to everyone else, I was inspired immediately to create a layering effect, building the tins one-by-one on top of each other, so the water could flow from tin to tin.

The DIY part. Mark and I needed to use our Bernzomatic torches and brazing rods to connect the steel cookie tins. A good way to check if you do this project is with a refrigerator magnet. If it sticks, you’ve got steel. To make all the pieces a single sculpture, we brazed them. Using Bernzomatic’s map gas (the yellow canister) and the awesomely awesome BZ8250HT torch head to make this flower water fountain, the map gas heats the steel enough to melt the brazing rods which forms a really strong connection. It was so much fun!

The design part. I had a vision to paint the tins so they would seem like lily pads. And while we were building the water fountain, and I was looking upon the lids discarded to the side, I was inspired by a vision of Monet’s water lilies. We needed flowers. So I cut and molded the tin lids into flowers that help create the finishing look for the modern industrial interpretation of Monet’s water lilies.

Holiday cookie tins from Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore and some old spoons are the materials for our summertime fountain.

Bernzomatic’s map gas, BZ8250HT torch, and brazing rods for steel make this project possible.

The cookie tin cascade begins. Tip: A cinder block is a great, easy base for doing torch projects.

We assembled the flower water fountain upside down. We propped pieces on blocks and other supplies to get them parallel to each other.

We found keeping the tins stationary helped make the connection, so a non-flammable weight like a hammer or wrench was really helpful keeping the pieces still.

And now the painting begins. We used Krylon primer for the base coat.

I am inspired by leftovers, cut-offs, and other things that seem like they can’t be used. Old lids…nah…New lilies! I cut the lids with my handy Fiskars utility snips that I keep in my tool pouch, then folded the ‘petals’ to create an organic look.

A new coat of paint and some 1/4-inch drain holes. The fountain is almost ready.

We ran plastic tubing from a pump in the bottom of the flower pot through the flowers and over some rocks and beads.

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