Added bamboo fencing to the walls

I have been trying to get around to this and did the other day. I put screw eyes on each side and in the corners and ran fishing line around to hold the stuff in place. It rests on the baseboards and stays put. I will trim it out with split bamboo eventually and put in that drop tahtch ceiling to cover the top area...

Before

After

Another corner. I want to cover that white door too soon...

Swanky- staples work too. (trying to save you a little time)

My daughter covered her baseboards in the bathroom with 6" from off the top of bamboo fencing. I've been trying to get her to post pictures of the tiki details she added to her apartment, maybe I'll just take pictures & post'em for her.

Tim, if you want enough bamboo halves to trim the top out you're welcome to them....I'd bet there's 400 linear feet in storage in my garage, from 6" diameter down to 1 1/2".

P.S. We'll just swap out for the Guanko. Cool? :)

Not to change the focus but your blowfish lamp is great! Where did you find such a large one? Did you make it or buy it already assembled? Wow!

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-01-03 10:33 ]

Ben: This way seems to me to leave less impact in a rental. Maybe not. It went very easy. Drill a hole, screw in an eye, have daughter hold fence in place, tie it off.

BK: I'll serve you tasty drinks in the vicinity of the Guanko maybe... You still down with a trade of Saint James Martinique Rum for El Dorado? I am getting low.

Swanky:

I don't think staples, even from a staplegun, would work on lath and plaster walls, which is what you probably have. So it sounds like you found a really good alternative that works for you!

About blowfish lamps...I have a dried blowfish that was given to me. I'd like to turn it into a lamp. There is another thread that mentions catching, skinning, drying.........then get lamp parts, rig it up, and you have a lamp! But I need to know the details, like: how big of a hole, what kind of lightbulb fits, what kind of hardware. Is reinforcement of a pre-dried and shellaced fish needed? I understand putting together lamp parts on spaghetti lamps and such, but not on a dead fish.

Any hints from any exerienced makers of blowfish lamps? My fish is about 5" across, not counting spines.

:drink:

Tacky

I have pictures here somewhere...

Here is the hardware you are looking for. You should find this at Lowes or Home Depot, but you'll have to search. It'll be in the lamp parts area with harps and other things.

It has this notch near the edge. What you are doing is making a hole about 1 inch in diameter, and squeeze these prongs and stick the sucker in the fish and set it so the cut out in the prong gets fish in it to hang onto. Below I have used a piece of cardboard to demonstrate.

A puffer fish is VERY tough. I started by drilling a set of holes in the fish to act as a guide. I drilled more and more holes until I was close to making a hole. I thne used some heavy snips to cut around. I found I needed the hole to be bigger and it was tough going. These guys stink too. You have to be careful not to damage the quills as you do this, so try to be gentle.

Use a lot wattage bulb. That's all there is to it. The tough part is cutting the hole without damaging the fish. A big drill bit might do it, but I am not so sure. It would likely catch the first piece it hit and rip it all around. A jig saw would work if you had one.

Here is mine from the top. He's a big mutha, which made it a bit easier, but, maybe he's a bit thicker.

The Swank Pad Broadcast - If it's Swank...

[ Edited by: Swanky on 2004-01-05 20:36 ]

Doesn't the heat from the lamp make the smell worse or does it just fade after awhile?
Thanks for the tech tips... I'm going to create a faux papier mache fish.

The stink is only noticable up close. I mean, with your nose right on it. And when you cut on it, it's bad, but you'll never notice it in the bar.

The stink is only noticable up close. I mean, with your nose right on it. And when you cut on it, it's bad, but you'll never notice it in the bar.

The fish you mean, right?

So, where did you get the blowfish?

Flounder: I got so lucky on that fish. I had been watching the big ones on Ebay and they went higher than I wanted to pay. Somehow this one slipped past. It had been on some guys desk for 30 years and I got it for under $20!
Here's Kiliki modeling it to show size:

Nice score.
Speaking of things slipping by on Ebay, check out the shrunken head (if it's real).
I think this would qualify as a body part which is a no no on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3265311184&category=128

Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2004-01-08 16:32 ]

I was just at Home Depot a couple of hours ago and they've got this bamboo fencing in 6' x 16' mats for just $22. I think two will cover my entire front bedroom/future tiki bar. Nice economical alternative for us renters.

On 2004-01-08 16:30, FLOUNDERart wrote:
Nice score.
Speaking of things slipping by on Ebay, check out the shrunken head (if it's real).
I think this would qualify as a body part which is a no no on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3265311184&category=128

---

Original Art by Flounder

http://www.flounderart.com

[ Edited by: FLOUNDERart on 2004-01-08 16:32 ]

Sorry to deviate from the original post but that ebay head looks like a fake(goat) to me.
While looking at shrunken heads for my drink garnish at Trader Pups party, I came across this informative site. Here they tell how to look for counterfeit heads
http://www.head-hunter.com/fakes.html
Love this site!
http://www.angelfire.com/id2/tower7/jivaro.htm
see/read the galleries

Hummmm, from bamboo walls to shrunken heads, quite a turn!

[ Edited by: laney on 2004-01-09 00:43 ]

Where exactly in home depot did you find the bamboo fencing?
I went last night on my way home and only bamboo could find were window shades (pretty cheep i might add) and "lucky bamboo" in the botanical dept.

Around here they seem to only have the fencing in summer, and not all of them have it. It was about $15 a section.

On 2004-01-10 11:31, Unkle John wrote:
Where exactly in home depot did you find the bamboo fencing?
I went last night on my way home and only bamboo could find were window shades (pretty cheep i might add) and "lucky bamboo" in the botanical dept.

It was outside in the garden section. In the back by the giant flower pots. It's called Intermas Canereed then underneath it says Chinese Bamboo. It looks just like what Swanky has in his pic. The only reason I found it is b/c I saw a guy with two bundles in his cart and I asked him where he found it. I was looking at other stuff.

There used to be a store in Miami Fl called "ART By GOD" and they sold allkinds of Natural and Wierd art, They had several similar "Shrunken heads" that looked real and they admitted they werent. However theyhad one they Claimed was real and it was in a similar looking Glass dome. The hide sewing the lips shut was different though and not New looking.
Here is a web link http://www.artbygod.com/

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-01-10 19:00 ]

kono, benzart thanks for he tip. they already have their summer gear out here in TX. I'll go scour the garden section and see if they may have a spot for it.

I was just on the Lowes web site and they have Bamboo Window coverings in a few sizes fairly reasonable. Just go to http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=165407-1170-0224104 and check it out

Me not really being the artsy, creative type....I followed Swanky's instructions for the blowfish lamp. Except he never mentioned what treasures a person can find inside a blowfish. I just always figured they were hollow. Well, my fish wasn't. He was stuffed to the gills. Literally, he had tons and tons of fuzzy stuff inside his belly, in the image all the dark spots on him is some of the stuffing still stuck inside, I have to try to dig the rest out. Maybe after my bloody stumps heal from the battle we had, from trying to carve a hole in his back. Thanks Swanky for the tips, I'm pretty happy with him, this being my first try at making a lamp out of a dead thing....It's not as hard as you'd think.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-02-16 01:22 ]

Nice job on that blow fish, Dawntiki! When you said it was still full, I thought you meant that when you would plug in the lamp, we'd see a silhouette of all the cool fishy inards!
Swanky your pad is...well...swanky. That "chinese bamboo" fencing looks great (I'm convinced it's really reed, but maybe the good reverend can clear that one up).
For you renters (like me): In my previous abode, I used drywall screws to attach and hold the reed to the walls. Worked great and was real easy - though you can see the screws if you use black ones.
Also... at IKEA they have these 4x6 floor rugs that look (almost) exaclty like woven grass matting for $10. In my current abode, I purchased a few of 'em, screwed them to the walls with drywall screws, and covered the screws with split bamboo. Looks great! (and was also easy)

(I'm convinced it's really reed, but maybe the good reverend can clear that one up).

Just Home Depot's way of trying to " Style it Up" a little. Maybe they figured out the name by the "Made in China" tag. just my 2$ worth. :)

p.s. warning!! do not let your puffer fish lamps sit out in full rain! Ours melted! and, stunk like a mutha!