How to Make Metal Garden Markers
Garden markers add definition and decoration to your garden space and container plants. You can make your own metal garden markers with craft wire and brass, copper or aluminum foil. Metal craft foils are thin and sold in rolls at your local craft store and online retailers. Decorate your metal garden markers with acrylic paints or colorful, flat-backed glass stones to enhance the beauty of the metal.
Things You'll Need
- Metal foil
- Newspapers
- Marker template
- Stylus
- Acrylic paint
- Artist's brush
- Exterior polyurethane
- Awl
- Sharp household shears
- 18-gauge craft wire
- Wire cutters
- 24-gauge craft wire
Instructions
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1
Roll out the metal foil on top of a stack of newspapers. The newspapers provide a work surface that is firm enough for you to write on and soft enough to allow the metal foil to indent as you apply pressure.
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2
Trace the outline of the garden marker template onto the metal foil with a stylus. The template can be as simple as a rectangle or as detailed as a star. As long as there is a clear outline that you can cut, you can make any shape garden marker that you like. A stylus can be the blunt edge of a crochet needle, a dry ball point pen or a specific tool from a craft store. Press down firmly as you trace the outline onto the metal.
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3
Write the names of your plants inside each of the garden marker outlines with your stylus. Press down firmly with the stylus to create clear indentations in the metal. The backside of the metal will have embossed lettering; the side you are writing on will have an engraved appearance.
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4
Paint the individual letters with acrylic paint. Select a paint color that stands out against the color of your metal markers. Let the paint dry.
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5
Cover the acrylic paint on the metal markers with a coat of exterior polyurethane for protection. Let the polyurethane dry.
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6
Puncture a small hole in the top of each marker with an awl. Cut out the individual garden markers with sharp household shears.
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7
Cut a 14-inch length of 18-gauge craft wire. Bend one end into the shape of a shepherd's hook with the tip end curved upward. This is the hanger for your metal garden marker.
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8
Cut a 6-inch length of 24-gauge craft wire. Thread the wire through the hole in the metal garden marker. Bring the ends of the wire together and twist. Shape the twisted end into a circle.
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9
Insert the straight end of the wire hanger into the ground in your garden or plant container. Hang the wire circle attached to the garden marker over the hook.
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