Another Backyard Project
This old birdbath used to be the bottom of a fountain that I made almost 20 years ago. Back then, you could buy these huge terra cotta saucers for about $10 at Home Depot. I bought three of different sizes and made a three-tiered fountain to put outside our front door. The biggest one for the bottom was 25” in diameter for just $10. Unheard of nowadays! I can’t even find that size anymore, and if I did, I can just imagine how expensive they would be. I was just starting out in stained glass, and mosaiced the insides with blue and green glass. It turned out pretty cute, but no camera back then, so no pictures of it.
When we moved, I took the fountain apart, plugged the holes we had drilled in the center of each saucer for the fountain parts to come up through, found some sort of a bases and turned the three saucers into birdbaths. Over years of water, sun, algae and birds the glass started coming out, so I eventually took it all out and just painted them. A week or so ago, I decided to start all over again and give this one new life. Here is how the big 25” one turned out from start to finish.
Just starting out
All the pieces are glued in and ready to grout
Here it is grouted
Then I painted the grout with watered down blue acrylic paint and wiped it off the glass, let it dry overnight and filled it with water.
I placed it between a Holly Tree and the Star Tree. On the right, you can see some reflections of a couple of the stars from the Star Tree.
When we moved, I took the fountain apart, plugged the holes we had drilled in the center of each saucer for the fountain parts to come up through, found some sort of a bases and turned the three saucers into birdbaths. Over years of water, sun, algae and birds the glass started coming out, so I eventually took it all out and just painted them. A week or so ago, I decided to start all over again and give this one new life. Here is how the big 25” one turned out from start to finish.
Just starting out
All the pieces are glued in and ready to grout
Here it is grouted
Then I painted the grout with watered down blue acrylic paint and wiped it off the glass, let it dry overnight and filled it with water.
I placed it between a Holly Tree and the Star Tree. On the right, you can see some reflections of a couple of the stars from the Star Tree.