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- Disregard the shellac and stain, the shellac is inappropriate for outdoor use.
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- Turning wire hangers into stakes.
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- Making a little flat hook gives you more surface to hold epoxy which will increase durability.
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- Stage everything to be glued before mixing epoxy – you only get five minutes to use it.
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- As the instructions suggest, the package makes a good stir container. The other end is available for the next project.
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- I dipped the wire hooks into the epoxy then set onto the wood.
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- Since the wire stakes laid at a slight angle off the wood squares, I placed an extra spot of epoxy for good measure.
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- I had already removed it, but note the cap sits in the plunger when you open the package.
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- I lined them all up and ran two strips of tape so I could paint a space for the plant names. I covered the wire stakes with newspaper
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- Apply primer first if you have it, otherwise the wood absorbs the paint and it looks uneven.
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- I used a Sharpie – you shouldn’t. A paint pen would be ideal.
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- Give your plant marker a slight bend with pliers for easy reading from above.
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- These work great for pots or in the ground.
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- Hello, my name is…
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- I left a few blank for a new flower bed in the works.
This post is #5 in a 5-part series. Thanks to the great folks at Gorilla Glue, The Soil Toil has 5 Gorilla Glue Prize Packs to give away! What’s included in the Prize Pack and how to enter to win is all detailed here.
To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post. A winner was randomly selected on June 17th at 8 am. However, you can still share what project you have in need of Gorilla Epoxy or testify to Gorilla Tough awesomeness by telling of projects completed with Gorilla Glue products. The winner from today’s post will be randomly selected Sunday June 17th, 2012, and announced at 8:00 am EST has already been chosen.
If you blog, tweet, pin, tumblr, Facebook, G+ or StumbleUpon, feel free to leave your site or social media handle in your comment and share the Gorilla Glue contest throughout your networks.
This Gorilla Epoxy project came about when I realized that, really, I do need plant markers.
Whether or not I need them, our apartment building neighbors with whom we share our back yard garden need them if I’m serious about “you can cut what you need” from the culinary herbs.
Ah, but from what to make them? I was chatting this over with our friend and neighbor, Mark Silva, who showed up later that afternoon with a few old architectural samples and the most delightful thin wood squares. They recently installed an attic door and he had cut original pine from the c. 1900 ceiling. It still smelled like pine.
Click the pictures above to view the plant marker construction.
A Few Notes:
1. Check for fit by fitting the pieces to be glued together before applying any glue.
2. Once you mix Gorilla Epoxy, you have 5 minutes to use the amount you mixed. Have everything staged and ready to go before squeezing it out of the tube.
3. If you use heavier items for markers, such as little tiles, bend a length of coat hanger (or other stiff wire) in half to make a two-pronged stake instead of the single-pronged stakes I made. Glue the bend to the tile. The little single-pronged stakes may swivel with the weight of a top-heavy marker.
4. Read the full package instructions before using.
I need to seal these markers and I left a few totally blank until I finish a final flower bed. They turned out exactly how I hoped – easy to read, easy to relocate, easy to adjust height and compact. Now other folks can spot the summer savory and not think it’s tarragon
To learn more about Gorilla Glue and their other products, visit their Facebook page. You’ll also find incredible user-completed projects, safety tips and a handy Gorilla Glue Guide for navigating your own projects.
Leave a comment below for your chance to win a Gorilla Glue Prize Pack! to share your Gorilla Glue stories, but a winner has been chosen for this post. Thanks!
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Very awesome. great for out garden.
Love it! I am doing this today for my veggie garden
I would love to use gorilla glue for a few house projects my family has coming up this summer! I’ve never used it before but I’ve heard its good, so I’d love to give it a try.
Couldn’t survive without Gorilla glue and totally like your plant markers.
Nice! Soooo much more classy looking than those plastic tabs they give you when you buy herbs!
Have got to start using Gorilla Glue more. Always needing glue that holds stronger, but keep using what I have laying around…..which never holds well enough. You would think I’d learn.
Cool idea . I love Gorilla Glue and the Soil Toil
I really need to use the epoxy. I picked up a freeby in a box at a yard sale. It is a water timer for my garden. It has a crack in it though. Gorilla will be perfect to revive this unit and the price was right. Thanks for the info. Joe Deater
Other good epoxy mixing stuff:
Pringles (or similar) plastic lids and toothpicks for small batches
4 oz fruit/applesauce cups and popsicle sticks for larger batches. (rarely used with 5 minute epoxy)
Its very easy to mix more 5 min epoxy than you can use before it sets up. Better to make several small batches.
Note also about epoxies: The time in bold letters on the package is “average pot life” or how long you have from start of mixing until you need to be done applying it. Please read the note about time to bond vs handling vs full strength on the package.
Very large batches can “cook off” rapidly due to the exothermic reaction. This can reduce pot life to less than 2 minutes if working outdoors above 80 F. you can reduce this effect by floating the mixing cup in ice water. (but don’t get water in the epoxy…)
Thanks for all the additional epoxy notes! I’ve helped others use it but don’t use it often myself. Even for this small project, I mixed two or three little batches so it wouldn’t set on me.
Just how good is Gorilla Glue? Well I’m glad you asked. As the father of two boys, there is certainly no shortage of segmented, separated or just plain destroyed items. Toys with missing parts are a common occurrence. The favorite weak plastic trinket, of the day, suddenly decides to undergo a form of Cytokinesis and become multiple parts where once only one part existed. I prefer to call it Plastokenesis. Gorilla Glue reverses the dreaded Plastokenesis and restores peace, calm, and order to an otherwise chaotic world. Ah!
Nothing puts a smile, on the face of your child, more than being the Greatest Dad ever, or Mom, that can repair their favorite (insert applicable toy name here). And, oh the joy, when you’re the one that gets them back to decimating aliens in the gamma quadrant or assisting Kidspeare in hosting the greatest play ever; starring plastic, fuzzy and furry critters, of every kind, in the great hall of The Grand Theatre Royale. I’ve got my ticket. Do you?
Who knew that an adhesive, named after a primate, could be so awesome? Well, apparently You did. Thank You Gorilla Glue. Because of you, I’m the Greatest Dad Ever! And that’s just fine by me. :-)
You’re speaking my language – I had to explain to my daughter that she shouldn’t break things on purpose just so she could watch me fix them… I try make sure she is around for most of our build and repair projects so she can get her handyman fix without sacrificing her own stuff;)
Epoxy NICE!…I have some tin can crafts I’d like to try this out on…
My husband knocked the head of my skeledog planter…no fear, Gorilla Glue is here. His head is now securely fasted to his bony neck once again and looking fine in my front yard.
shel704 at aol dot com
Another Gorilla Glue project for the garden is making fun and fanciful cloches. I would use random pieces of glass bowls, vases that I thrift. Then, I would piece them together by simply roughing up the edges to be joined with heavy grit sand paper and then applying the epoxy for a strong weather proof seal. To embelish further, epoxy a few colorful glass stones for interest. I love the durability of Gorilla Glue for most indoor/ outdoor projects. Thanks The Soil Toil for hosting this give-a-way.
Congratulations, Betty – by random selection, you won this post’s Gorilla Glue giveaway! Check your email for a message from the.soil.toil@com so you can receive your price pack.
Oh neat! I have tons of old barn wood and tile samples, this would be so great to make for my mom! We have 26 garden beds, these are a wonderful idea! Thanks tons!
I would love to win since I am a very crafty gal lol
Everyone’s comments are great – if reading through these doesn’t get you excited for summer projects, then maybe you just aren’t into building and fixing things;)
good idea
I could use markers for my dahlias. I get confused on what kind is which and people always ask me.
Ohhhh, I love this project! I’m already a fan of Gorilla Glue and tape but haven’t tried the epoxy yet. Great tutorial!
Have I confessed yet that I usually don’t like ready-made plant markers? These have been out in the garden for a few days now and I LOVE them!
I have tons of broken cars and toys that need glueing. I also love the plant marker idea!
Hello all! A winner has been selected for this post.
I love all the comments and please continue to comment and share your Gorilla Glue projects!