I made these Junk Flowers to hang on my fence. I had a motherlode of metal pieces- odds and ends, flotsam and jetsam. I started with a large metal lid - a garbage can lid for two of them, enameled pot lids for the others. I like using a large lid as the base - it has a handle on the backside which can be used for hanging the completed "flower" on the fence. From there I just played around with different shapes and configurations until something just looked right. It helped if there was a hole in the middle of whatever piece I was adding, but an electric drill with a high-powered bit solved that problem with little effort. I did drill a hole in the center of the lid that I was using for the base. The main component holding the flower together is a long machine screw with a washer and wingnut, threaded from back to front.
This large "flower" is composed of a flat round metal grill underneath a bicycle tire frame with gear derailer, capped off with a old water spigot handle.
This "blossom" has a jello mold layered over a car hubcap, topped off with a smaller jelly mold. I had the metal screw protrude about one inch out from the center where the nut is attached, making it look like a flower pistil.
This "bud" has a plain jello mold cradling a circular mouli grater, capped with the cover from a chicken feeder with a finial of a sink strainer.
As you can tell, the options are endless. Just playing around with the parts, varying the textures & finishes while adjusting the depths will give you as much variety as exists in the floral world!
