Making a Mickey Mouse Bench

My neighbour’s daughter gave me an old powder coated steel bench and I’m modifying it…

Donald Duck Statue!

My good friend Dean found this Donald Duck statue in Hamilton at an antique store.  I was looking at this on ebay before and it was selling for over $400 US!

Spring Garden Tour

A little walk through our garden early this summer including my Mikey Mouse topiary.

Magic Kingdom Gate Sign

I finally got to mount the Magic Kingdom sign I bought years ago on ebay.  It looks great on an arch I made over my entrance gate.

Mickey Mouse Gate

I was constructing the new fence in our backyard and decided to add something special to the gate.  This was a simple thing to do but looks great.  I just bought some soft aluminum metal from Home Depot and bent it into shape using a paint can as a guide.  I put it up against the gate and traced it’s shape then used a jigsaw to cut it out of the wood.  Some brown caulking around the edge makes it look more fitted.

Tiki Room Roof Complete!

I added the purlins (cross-members) to my pergola and finished off with sheets of corrugated polycarbonate sheets.  This stuff is super tough, lets the lights through, and also protects the furniture from UV light and rain.

I finished just as the rain/snow(!) started flying.  Now on to the deck boards, fence, etc.

Sculpting Jose

I’ve decapitated the plastic macaw I bought and started to add details with two part epoxy putty.   This is working pretty well as I’m trying to get him closer to Jose from the tiki room before I make a mold.  I have to order silicone mold making rubber and liquid plastic to make duplicates of the head.

Tiki Room Birds!

Just when you thought you would have to sculpt the Tiki room birds from scratch…

You’re walking through Canadian Tire at lunch, round a corner in the gardening section and see this…

He’s not 100% accurate but a good starting point to making Jose, Michael, Fritz, and Pierre.  I can cut off his noggin and use is to make a silicone mold and more heads.  And I can use the body (cut in half)  to fill with plastic and make a “buck” for vacuum forming more bodies.  Yay Crappy Tire!!!

The Tiki Room (Deck) Under Construction!!!

Here is the framework of our new deck.  The old one was too far gone to save.

The frame of the old one (that I did NOT build)  was filled with concrete from a demolished patio.  Which leads to trapped moisture and rotting.    The 6X6s have proper concrete pile footings under them now:

This new deck will be partially covered with a pergola attached to the house.  It will have poly carbonate roofing to keep the rain off our patio furniture.  Just need to finish off the joists and add the proofing then the deck boards.  I say that as if it’s easy.  Here is a 3D rendering of the structure:

And it will be a TIKI ROOM like the ones at the Disney parks with animatronic characters.  See future posts for developments.

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Disney Fantasia Fountain Part 2

With the upper part of the broom characters designed, I’m now sculpting the lower bristle parts.  They will be molded in fiberglass resin in two halves.

Disney Fantasia Fountain Part 1

Building a Mickey Fantasia Fountain including the Fantasia brooms from the scene with Mickey Mouse and the multiplying brooms. The brooms will be pouring buckets of water to form the fountain!

Sunflowers in our front yard.