*Updates* Shipwreck Kelly & Tina's Backyard project.

I'm new to this board, but I've been an avid Tikiphile since a trip to Disney World's Enchanted Tiki Room in 1974. I have been making and enjoying various Tiki stuff, since then.
Recently, my girlfriend (whom I sometimes call "Tiki Tina") wanted to theme our back yard. We live in Phoenix AZ. We schemed up some cool ideas, and I'd like to share them with you folks.

We began our project with only a dream, and raw materials. This weekend though, we moved on to creating a reed & bamboo fence. There's a long, fun trip ahead!
Here's a slideshow of the fence building.

http://www.astrodesia.com/Fence/index.html

I'd love to hear your feed-back!

Mahalo,
Kelly

[ Edited by: kewlava 2007-10-07 18:14 ]

[ Edited by: Kewlava 2008-07-21 16:02 ]

[ Edited by: Kewlava 2008-07-22 06:16 ]

Welcome aboard! Great start! Check out Bongofury's thread on his place as well! It is very inspirational!

Nice work! Looks like you have a nice start to work from........

I'm relatively new to this too. I started with my old deck and over the spring, I've been able to convert it into somewhere far,far,away. Kinda a South Pacific hangout with a little Caribbean influence as well. It's all good..........

Keep us updated on your progress!

SJT--

Nice start and welcome to TC!

There are hundreds of inspirational threads regarding homebound paradise here. Just remember....They don't happen overnight and be patient. Mine took over a year. Many here took longer and some shorter, But, they are all fantastic!

Mahalo

McTiki

Welcome to TC....and looking good so far. Need some tiki torches & tikis, but at least you already have the tropical lagoon. :lol:

That fence looks absolutely perfect. You did a beautiful job with it. It really gives the yard a great tropical background, and the horizontal contrasting framing was a great touch.

You're smarter than I am! When I put up reed fencing two years ago with 1/2 staples, I was CONSTANTLY having to restaple. Putting the "rail" over it is such an obvious solution. I'm glad you thought of it.

Thanks so much for the support, everyone!
Yea, I know it will take a long time. In fact the smaller place I had in LA several years ago was an on-going project, as this will be. My hat's off to Queen Kamehameha for sharing pics of her great place with the Pirate Ship! That gave me some terriffic ideas, which I'll implement in a slightly different way.(No Priate Ship tho!)
Yea, It needs masks on the wall, several Tikis all around, and those smaller torches will become Tiki-fied. There are plans for a lounge/bar under the back porchwhich will become "The Lanai". Our tentative name for the place is "The Paradise Cove". Oh, yea. I have designed a 5ft. lava rock tiki with glowing eyes as well.
Again, thanks for all of your support. I'll keep-a-postin!

Oh, here's one of my original tiki mask designs. I'll use him somewhere.

Kelly

if you need custom tikis done---look me up--I am in Gilbert--you design I carve--or let ME design--I almost have a current order done so I will be freed up

It's been awhile, and our backyard project is coming right along.
Take a look. And please let me know your opinions and thoughts!

http://www.astrodesia.com/kewlava/PL/index.html

Kelly

It is looking beautiful. I love those two palms you have planted right next to your pool...nice touch. :)

Nice work! That backyard was a blank slate if I ever saw one. My backyard project too was inspired by the Tiki Room at Disneyland.

What is it about the Tiki Room that made such a lasting impression on us?? I mean, we're not building backyards based on the Small World ride..yikes!

I added a new Tiki that I carved from a VERY dry piece of palm. I left it to look kinda crude so it would look old when it weathered a bit.

Kelly

Since my last post, I've added more stuff.

A sign...

A Self-Serve bar...

a Pond and waterfall...

...and just more Tiki stuff!

Oh, can't forget the Tiki-Room style birds!

Tune in for more Tikification coming soon!

Shipwreck Kelly

[ Edited by: Kewlava 2008-07-21 16:35 ]

Kwel!!!

That's a beautiful backyard setting! The surfboard bar looks awesome, nice work! We've got a "tiki-fication" project going on in our back yard as well, around a pool that was put in earlier this year. Where did you get the ringed "curtain" that's next to the paddle in that one photo? That's a neat way to create some separation without blocking the view.

I started a Moai that I scaled up from a picture of the one in front of Trader Vics Outrigger.
Here is the wood and metal skeleton-

Just waiting for the stucco...

And after the first coat-

I still have to finish the ears, and the back. Then an all-over finish coat!

Kelly

[ Edited by: Kewlava 2009-06-10 14:17 ]

Awesome Moai! Beautiful backyard.

Very nice!!! I like seeing what I wish I could do...

Great job Kewlava!
btw--where did you pick up those birds? They're cool and definitely look like the Enchanted Tiki Room birds.

Thanks MP, Beachbum Scott, and Mr Pupu.
I just now finished the back and ears. I'll let it sit for a couple days before I add the faux stone paintjob. I'll post finished pix then.

The birds I created. The red parrot was a party store parrot that I added better eye and cheek areas to, as well as new tail feathers. The toucan was a halloween crow that I fashioned a bill for, and added colorful areas with fun fur, and new eyes.
The perches I made from split bamboo, twine and hotmelt glue. The inspiration came from someone else on this board who made some cool Tiki Room birds for his own pad and named them Sven and Olie!

Okay- Next day -
Today, I did the pigment coat, aged & finished it off. I will probably plant a vine to creep all over the short wall behind the Moai.

More updates to come!

Kelly

[ Edited by: Kewlava 2009-06-11 14:26 ]

Here it is torched up at nite!

Kelly

That is so kewl! :D

Very nice . just love it .

That moai turned out great! You did a really nice job on it.

It looks like you've had a lot of fun making that big maoi head, I can imagine it's awesome at night! Hide a speaker behind it playing the Hawaiian War Chant and it'd be perfect!

Thanks one and all!

It was a fun project, but my hands are a wreck from the metal mesh and the stucco.
I already have a sound system out on the lanai, the speakers are at each end of the house, and they're the small ones you see on restaurant patios and such. The amp and CD player I keep in a cabinet I built.
Here it is closed.......................................... And here is the hardware

I'd like to hide some radio controlled "rock speakers" out there though, but since I got the outdoor ones I have at goodwill for $10.00, I kinda spoiled myself.

I'll post more pics of the whole thing later- since the bar is no longer self-serve, but a service bar, and there have been many other changes including a 14" floatlight and tin signs.

Kelly

Way to go, Kelly!

That Moai is FANTASTIC!

And that night shot with the torches is just soooooo koolamundo!!!

that tucan is amazing , i cant believe that was ever a raven

I spent a few hours and ripped this guy out of two, 2 1/2 foot palm logs pinned together with re-bar. He's a little over five feet tall. It's the first time I used an oscillating saw to carve bamboo. It works like chiseling, but there's no hammering!

I'll do more refining, and something with the bottom, but he's done enuf to show.

[ Edited by: kewlava 2010-07-04 07:57 ]

KewLava!!!!!

I was looking up your fake bamboo today and wondered what happened to you. Low and behold you had posted TODAY! Nice lookin' carve, good to have you back.

Thanks Maddog! I HAVE been away for too long. This summer I'm planning to add to my yard's T.I.P.S.Y. factor quite a lot.

Here is a Fire Bowl, and patio area that I added this spring. The fire bowl runs on a propane bottle I have hidden under a fake rock (see pink arrow)in the picture on the right.

The bottled gas made it so I didn't need to get it "inspected" but I made sure I built it to code,anyway.

I also re-worked the little pond and waterfall. I put blue rope lights in the bottom, and built a little meeting hut around the waterfall, which I moved to the back of the pond. The seashell has an amber light behind it.

I call it Menehune Falls.

Looks good, I posted your pond pic in the Let's See Those PONDS thread. Looks like you've learned the secret to tropical plants in the desert (silk :lol: )

That big Moai is great!

Very nice place you've created!
I agree...the Moai is great!!