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February 19, 2010

Painted Garden Stakes



These wooden stakes cost about 30 cents each at the hardware store.  They are about 8" long by 1" wide.  First paint them with a base coat (I used acrylic paint). I chose a different color for each vegetable, and made at least two stakes per vegetable for each end of the row.
Then, with pencil, write the name of the plant, and then using an embossing tool, paint the name with black paint.  Finally, draw a simple picture of the vegetable with pencil, and paint it in. 
I used google to find cartoon examples of some vegetables - to give me ideas of how to draw them by hand. 
Sprayed the stake very well with a clear coat when it is all dry - this will help to weather-proof it. 
To add the dragonflies, I got a spool of 20 gauge (.81mm) copper wire from the hardware store, and a pack of inexpensive plastic beads.
I put one bead in the middle of a length of wire, made four wings, and twisted and bend the wire to get the rest of the beads to stay on the dragonfly.
I drilled a hole in the top of the stake, and wound the ends of the wire through the hole, twisting and knotting the wire to make it stay put.
This made a very fun, very inexpensive, and thoughtful gift for my friend!

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