Tiki-On-A-Budget

Very nice, you'll have to make a new one and take pix so we can see! :)

A couple of recent low-cost additions to the tiki hut:

I needed an unusually narrow table for a seating space. Leftover maple plank from another project. Prefab unfinished coffee table legs from Home Depot. Postcards that are reproductions of tiki-bar matchbook covers. Glued to the board and then finished with bartop coating.

Bamboo and reed fencing scraps turned into a garden lantern. A glass votive candle holder is suspended inside.

[ Edited by: Tiki Zen 2008-07-11 16:33 ]

The fan below is a copy of one from the Marquesas that was pictured on pg. 160 of Pacific Encounters: art and divinity in Polynesia 1760-1560 by Steven Hooper. I thought they were cool so I made my own on the cheap (Total cost was less than $12). The fan part is two round woven placemats from the World Market with a piece of cardboard sandwiched in between for support (~$6.00 total), the "bone" toggle is made out of polymer clay (white + translucent with some brown paint to make it look more like bone; total cost ~$4.00). The handle is just a stained piece of scrap wood that I cut rather poorly and sanded a lot to make it look kind of correct.

On 2008-07-11 16:31, Tiki Zen wrote:

Glued to the board and then finished with bartop coating.

Hey, is "bartop coating" a special kind of stuff or just varathane or something? (I'm working on a bar)

[ Edited by: spy-tiki 2008-07-20 21:24 ]

It is two-part epoxy that you mix and pour. It is largely self-leveling, but you have to help it spread around a bit. There are several brands, and you can probably find some in the paint department of your local big-box building supply place where they stock the polyurethane products.

thanks.

I believe the bar top coating is called EZ Pour or something close to that, do a search for it on here.

I needed some sort of cooler to ice down extra beer for big parties. A friend salvaged this rolling cooler/display from a convenience store that went out of business:

Tiki-fied with some reed fencing, rope and shellac:

[ Edited by: Tiki Zen 2008-07-21 13:40 ]

That looks really nice, TikiZen.

Ditto. Nice work!

Wow fugu...that is really nice...great idea and well done.

Hello everyone, I had a project that I kind of made on the cheap and I wanted to share it with everyone since it was fairly simple.

I had some extra parts lying around so I wanted to make a tiki bar.

Here is what I came up with.

I made it with mostly spare parts and street finds.

Item----------How I acquired it--------------------------------------------Cost

Bookcase------found on the street------------------------------------------free
Googy top-----freebie on craigslist some guy was remodeling----------------free
tiki fabric---1 yard at fabric store on sale-------------------------------$5.00
bamboo--------mostly grows outside, but I had to purchase a few---------$2.00
stain---------I got the stain for free, but I will say I used $2 worth-----$2.00
casters-------yard sale----------------------------------------------------$2.00
bottle shelf--scrap piece which I routered---------------------------------free
black drainer-1ft. Worth at OSH--------------------------------------------$2.00
tiki mask-----bought at Tiki Farm event (still learning to carve my own)---$25.00
Wooden edging Iron on laminate----OSH--------------------------------------$6.00
Rubber edging---Old flat bike inner tube – cleaned, cut and glued----------free
Barstools-----Yard sale- covered with remaining fabric---------------------$5.00
assorted glues and hardware Shelf supports, bolts for the top,
glue gun sticks, sealant, sandpaper,staples--------------------------------$5.00

The total was $54.00 in costs

The top is removeable with 3 bolts and the bottle shelf on the bottom will hold the larger bottles.

Here are a few more pix.

It's not perfect, but for about $50 I have a tiki bar.
I may try to sell it on Craigslist or something.

If anyone has any ideas or feedback, let me know.

Just added on 9-18-08

Woo hoo, I sold it on Craigslist for a fair profit.

[ Edited by: geedavee 2008-09-18 20:56 ]

Fantastic!

CHECK OUT THIS SIGN I BUILT OUT OF OLD FAN BLADES AND AN OLD FENCE BOARD!

[ Edited by: readyfortheweekend 2008-07-23 11:32 ]

There's some great stuff happening here. I like the improvising and improvement that is going on, great. I saw this product and thought I would share it here, as I am sure someone will find a use for it.

Tiki Adhesive Tape

I like the idea of the routered bottle-holes - good to keep the things from being drunkenly toppled all the time (lots of "Oops." around my bar).

I think this is a great topic, lots of creative thinking and great results being shared.

I always wanted a cool hat, but my gourd is just too big for most baseball caps (7-7/8 hat size). I soon learned that "one size fits all" really means "one size fits everyone but you". So I went to my local sporting goods store (Big 5 here in Los Angeles) and found a straw sun hat for $6.95. Well within my budget. I took it home, scribbled some with a Sharpie and dabbed a bit of acrylic paint on it. I found a terrible shirt at the thrift store for $1.98 and cut a swath of material from it.

I am by no means a tailor, so it was hot glue to the rescue to apply the cloth around the hat. I already had the glue gun from a sock puppet project, so there was no cost there. When I needed the glue gun though, I went to Big Lots and purchased it for $2.80. A small package of glue sticks was $0.80. I wasn't sure what to do with the bunched material going around the hat, but you can hardly notice it in the proper tiki-esque lighting.

I was thinking about cutting the brim a tad with a pair of scissors to give it a distressed look, but I am unsure if the final results will look right. I will probably clear-coat the whole thing matte as well since acrylics are water-based. I hope that gives some ideas to folks.

100 Tikis for free:

Go a carpet retail outlet and get an empty cardboard tube that they roll the carpet around. They usually give them away when you ask.

Cut it into the desired length/ hieght. If you're really ambitious, you could cut them lengthwise in half for mini masks.

Get carving with a dremel or X-Acto knife.

The cardboard is thick enough to allow for some relief carving and hold up to quite a bit of abuse. Its paintable and if you mess up, what does it cost you?

The resulting tiki can be used as hurricanes for candles, lamp covers, centerpieces,pencil holders, coaster holders or whatever.

On 2008-07-26 07:41, TikiMango wrote:
I think this is a great topic, lots of creative thinking and great results being shared.

I always wanted a cool hat, but my gourd is just too big for most baseball caps (7-7/8 hat size). I soon learned that "one size fits all" really means "one size fits everyone but you". So I went to my local sporting goods store (Big 5 here in Los Angeles) and found a straw sun hat for $6.95. Well within my budget. I took it home, scribbled some with a Sharpie and dabbed a bit of acrylic paint on it. I found a terrible shirt at the thrift store for $1.98 and cut a swath of material from it.

I am by no means a tailor, so it was hot glue to the rescue to apply the cloth around the hat. I already had the glue gun from a sock puppet project, so there was no cost there. When I needed the glue gun though, I went to Big Lots and purchased it for $2.80. A small package of glue sticks was $0.80. I wasn't sure what to do with the bunched material going around the hat, but you can hardly notice it in the proper tiki-esque lighting.

I was thinking about cutting the brim a tad with a pair of scissors to give it a distressed look, but I am unsure if the final results will look right. I will probably clear-coat the whole thing matte as well since acrylics are water-based. I hope that gives some ideas to folks.

Thats hot! :)

Wow, shampoovta!

You are TOO modest! You make it sound like "Oh, I just scribbled a little with a sharpie and then slapped on some acrylic paint"! Jeez! I'm an artist myself, and I'd be damn proud of that beautiful job!

You could SELL those for decent money, I'm tellin' ya!

Could I COMMISSION you sometime??? :)

Cheers! :drink: :tiki:

By the way, I'd be real cautious about cutting the brim if I were you, as it looks like it might just start to UNRAVEL at that point. Besides, it looks great as it is.

I really love your subtle and delicate use of color. (That pinkish tone is also acrylic?)

And is that a BROWN sharpie you used? If so, I wasn't aware Sharpie's came in that color.

Lastly, did you draw the design on lightly with some kind of pencil first? Because Sharpie is not exactly the most forgiving medium when it comes to mistakes!

Cheers again! :drink: :drink:

This was a photo from a newspaper article on Oceanic Arts some years back. At the time I needed more Tiki things, so I cut out the image from the newspaper pic, glued it to a dark paper I had around, and penciled in some shading.

No scanner, no Photo Shop, no motor cars. As primitive as can be. And more importantly: Cheap and simple with nice results.

KreepyTiki, I used a Sharpie to outline the figure and section-off the tapa design on the hat. It also had a vinyl sweatband around the outside that I marked-up, but it wasn't looking too good. That's when I had to cover it in the cloth. Sharpie does make several different colors of ink, but I only used black. The rest is mixed acrylic paint, I was shooting for a natural/organic color. Up close it is about the color of dried blood, a nice color.

I was blasé about how I constructed it simply because they don't compare to Cammo's awesome lids. Cammo's work inspired me to create this... on a budget.

I absolutely LOVE this thread. BTW... I'm new. Hi.

For the last five years, my husband and I have thrown a luau every September. So around July or August I go crawling the net for anything Tiki related. Inevitably, every year I end up here, searching through your pages of Tiki Decorating Gold.

I'm a little embarrassed to be posting a picture of ANYTHING I've done, considering the seriously talented people here. But I wanted to show how you don't have to spend a lot of money to come up with some interesting decoration.

This was a decoration for last year's luau. He's a 4 foot tall lump of chicken wire, paper mache, and granite paint (by far the most expensive part). He's not authentic or original, but he was cheap, and super impressive at the party.

Great job on the Tiki!
There are many thread here showing how you can have a really cool luau and leave the colorful party city tikis for the kid's area and such. Not saying your luau's have been bad b/c you use part city. They have alot of good stuff to have for the party. Anyways, this website is the greatest. Welcome!

Texas Tikiphiles Unite!

[ Edited by: Unkle John 2008-08-14 10:32 ]

Wow... I'm a little.... bewildered. I guess you wouldn't know this because I haven't posted before, but you made an incorrect assumption when you assumed I buy plastic decorations from places like Party City. Maybe I didn't make it clear that I turned my kitchen upside down for a week while I made that tiki... for my diy mini golf course, or that my evenings are being spent in my garage as I dremel tool wood for our patio... or that the ONLY time I've used Party City is when I bought a 3-D plastic decoration to make concrete tikis with (an idea from here, btw).

Sorry if I seem defensive.... I go to a lot of trouble (and have for the last five years) to NOT use run-of-the-mill commercialized tiki decorations. It never once dawned on me that you would assume that from one home-made tiki decoration in one photo.

Guess from now on, I'll keep my ideas, my party, and my photos to myself.

ClassiTiki - Please do not stop posting your ideas here simply because one member made a false assumption. I can't imagine how Unkle John came to the conclusion he did, but remember, it was just the opinion of one person. I encourage you to continue to visit Tiki Central, learn what you can, and contribute when you can.

By the way - I applaud your resistance to the Party City kind of luau. :wink:

Classi - I can't speak for Unkle John but I don't think he meant to offend you. He commended your tiki and said you came to the right place. This is a great board with lots of artists (as you've seen), lots of inspiration, and lots of great supportive people. Just keep creating & posting, and welcome to TC :)

I realize I'm probably a little sensitive in this subject... lots of work goes into throwing this kind of thing, as you all know very well.

Let's move on!

Anyone got any cool decoration ideas I just can't have a luau without this year?

:)

Mike is right Classi, I had no intention on sounding offensive. I apologize for that. I had been drinking and I assume I read the post wrong. I was stating a tip for anyone who was reading. I would like to see photos of your tiki (from above) during the luau.

Hey Classi! Welcome to TC! Glad you're posting! My hubby and I got into tiki pretty much the same way - we've been having Luau parties for 10 years. :) I made a tiki head a lot like yours - paper mache and granite paint!
Check out this thread for my volcano: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=23711&forum=18&start=0&hilite=volcano

I made it with the "greatSTUF" expanding foam, it was really fun to play with.

We also made some pub tables and a fold up bar that's been really useful for our party, I could share some of those pictures if you're interested.

Wow, now that's a volcano! I'm not sure if I'm ready to have something that permanent in my yard, but it definitely gets the wheels spinning... I've thought a little about a volcano in the past, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Now I've got some solid ideas.

This is a little off the subject of tiki crafts... but I'm in the phase of the luau prep where it's time to order flowers. Every year we've ordered flowers from a farm in Hawaii that we've really liked. But a little googling turned up a new seller that has a little higher prices, but better selection and a couple of values I like (for instance, I can order fresh flower leis from them and they don't charge me extra shipping like the other farm)... The website is http://www.hawaiiblooms.com Anyone ever heard of them/used them/know of a different fresh cut flower supplier that ships to Oklahoma that I should be considering?

On 2008-04-03 15:25, jpmartdog wrote:
Aloha.... for those of you in desperate need of Tiki bar art, I picked up this cool FREE poster from the NH State Liquor store. Sailor Jerry spiced Rum is giving them away - just tear 'em off the cardboard point of purchase display.. and its yours. It would look quite nice in a wood frame.
It's 16" x 20". I assume its a promotion, wherever Sailor Jerry spiced Rum is sold, but definitely aavailable at the New Hampshire State Liquor stores...FREE! Now, that fits the budget!

Ah man, I drink Sailor Jerry's too, good stuff. But missed that deal, bummer.

Okay, in one of the most ironic posts on TC, Im posting a signed Shag print in the tiki on a budget thread :D :lol:

I got this invite to a Shag exhibition at Outre gallery here in Oz. So a mate suggests I take that in and get it signed - cool idea! So i got it signed (and bought his book and got that signed too).

So I decided the best thing to do was frame it. So i bought a standard frame from a discount store, made up my own matting (from the stationary supplies store) and made this - a Shag print, personally signed by Shag, for like $15 all up :D :D

Nice one Hewey, great job!

So I decided the best thing to do was frame it. So i bought a standard frame from a discount store, made up my own matting (from the stationary supplies store) and made this - a Shag print, personally signed by Shag, for like $15 all up

Now that is classic "Tiki on a Budget"!

Here's another, a mate brought me back some items from Trader Vic's :D So there's a postcard, serviette, business card and an information card. Throw in some black cardboard as a backing, arrange them so they look okay, more easy cheap tiki art :D

As I've said before I always like to see low cost solutions that don't look cheap.

A couple of great projects from Tiki Kupcake which she posted HERE

Good use of one of those cheesy boat shelves:

And here's an excellent transformation of an ordinary shelf:

I really like Tiki Kupcake's use of the fabric covered panels which is a technique one could also use on a boring door or on a wall which you either can't or don't want to change permanently.

And speaking of the impermanent:

Tiki Cupcake said "I do not own my own home yet and can't do the full tiki bar like I want to...Until then, I have a little tiki corner in the house and work on projects for when I do finally have my home tiki bar."

The use of the net and the inexpensive hula skirt trim are two more nice ideas for situations where something permanent isn't an option. A securely mounted net would also gives more display options as just about anything can be hung in the net.

Another good point: If you can't create your dream Tiki environment right now then at least work on projects you'll be able to use in the future.

Thanks, woofmutt! I have a lot of fun transforming items I find on the cheap. All I did for those panels was cut cardboard to fit, cover it with tacky glue, wrap the fabric around the cardboard, and then glued the panels with more tacky glue to the book shelf. That was if I wanted to use the shelf or panels somewhere else I could easily rip them off with out ruining the fabric. I've had that shelf since I was two and it's gone through many transformations. I think it's finally found it's rightful purpose. I've done a bunch of these projects and will post more pictures soon.

Here's another project I did real cheap and real quick. The bamboo frame was some kind of candle holder where the candles were just placed on the center tray part. I found it and the mask both at the GoodWill. Again, I covered cardboard with glue and then covered it with the leopard fabric. Glued the board into the bamboo tray making it look like a frame. Glued the mask on to the fabric.

Just a timely reminder ... rather than throwing out last year's Tiki Daze Calendar ... take it apart and frame your favorite monthly graphics for tiki art on the cheap! Or maybe cut out individual motifs from the pages, using an exacto knife, and decoupage them onto a bar top, table top, or serving tray.

this ceiling fixture cost me 2 dollars ( well 4 dollars I bought 2)
the local DOLLERAMA had these baskets and trays and they fit together ....just cut a whole in the bottom and pulled the bulb through WHALA! I used those curly floresent bulbs cause they dont heat like regular bulbs so there is no chance of the basket igniting !

[ Edited by: TIKIVILLE 2009-01-09 10:51 ]

Nice lamp. Its stupid cheap. Kinda looks like a tiki's tiki

Hey guy's just a little note to say that I found a great website http://www.sailorjerry.com, click on the word MUSIC then scroll down to where it says SWAG & MORE and then that gives you access to an archive of Sailor Jerry free downloads!!! Great to print off and frame...there are a few hula girls available to download for free and other nautical/tattoo inspired designs...here's one I made earlier as they say on Blue Peter...lol :lol:

Isn't she lovely??? :D :drink:

My work is done...now scatter...:P

Hey Gooberfreek thanks for sharing that link... great idea.

Very Cool Gooberfreek!!

Here's a way to cover those fugly recessed can lights, on the cheap...Big ass drink umbrellas!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30989&forum=18&start=last&25
(scroll to the bottom of the thread )

On 2009-01-30 19:22, sasquatch wrote:
Hey Gooberfreek thanks for sharing that link... great idea.

My pleasure sasquatch, I think its a cool website, some great stuff on there...:sheckymug:

hewey - I've noticed Shag exhibits in OZ surprisingly often - very nice. I'd really like to do that some day.