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5.28.2020

a tipsy tiki totem pole

art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
you may have seen the sign that says 'Tipsy Tiki Bar' in my last post...
that's connected to another recent 'restyle' of an old project.
a week before the tiki bar came into being, Mom had an idea for something else in our backyard.

she shared her idea with me, and i liked the fact that it was basically a way to re-use items
from our Happy HULA-days theme last Christmas.
i started noodling the 'how' of the project... and remembered a favorite feature at Disneyland.
yup. there's something there that my grandpa Ward helped to build in 1963
that we enjoy to this day, and that inspired this project!

continue reading to see how i re-used our Christmas decor!
one of the components of this project is the pvc pipe umbrella holders in our backyard.
a large umbrella in one of those holders cracked in half in high winds,
and we decided not to replace the umbrella. so the holder sat there empty.
it was that empty 18" pipe that Mom was staring at when she had her great idea:

'Deb, is there a way we can take those tiki masks and make a tiki POLE, 
kinda' like what you did on the Christmas tree last year? and put it in that holder?'

well, gee, Mom, i think there may just be a way to do that!
the before and after:
art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
on the left, the masks as seen on our 'Happy HULAdays' Christmas tree last year.
on the right, the masks became a Tiki Totem!
art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
the masks are attached with twine to a wood umbrella pole,
which sits in the formerly empty pvc pipe.
and because that umbrella was a small one - just 4' across - and has a smaller diameter pole,
it doesn't fit the pvc pipe perfectly. there's a little 'wiggle room'.
which means that when it's windy (often), the tiki totem wiggles and wobbles a bit.
he's a bit tipsy... even without mai tais. so, we named him 'the Tipsy Tiki'.
(and the bar is named after HIM!)
art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
that umbrella frame is one that i previously covered with a tablecloth. it's been removed.
so i was left with the bare arms of the umbrella frame sticking out above the top mask...
what to do???
get inspired by the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, THAT's what!

in the courtyard of the Tiki Room there are tiki gods,
and the 'pre-show' that plays while you are waiting to go inside tells their stories.
the last and largest tiki god is a big tree, 
from which bouquets of flowers holding little tiki gods drop from his branches.
his name is Tangaroa. (and he sounds just like Tony the Tiger... go figure! ;) )
Disneyland, Enchanted Tiki Room, Tangaroa tree at the Tiki Room, Adventureland, Disney, Disneyland attractions, Walt Disney, tiki culture, tiki style, inspired by Disneyland
i thought about those branches and the flower bouquets, and looked at what i had...

on last years' Christmas tree, i had also used some small coral/orange silk gladiola flowers.
i combined those flowers with some twine and orange paper straws to make flower pendants
that would drop from each arm of the umbrella frame - which are a bit like Tangaroa's branches.
art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
then i added vintage chandelier crystals and old costume jewelry beads to the center of each flower,
so that they'd sparkle in the sunshine. they spin and sparkle all day long, 
and a solar uplight beneath them makes them sparkle at night, too!

our Tipsy Tiki Totem is placed where we can see him from the patio AND the living/dining room,
so we enjoy him every day. especially when it's windy and he's tipsy!
and if you wondered about that orange tiki from the Christmas tree, i used him too:
art, beach style, Christmas Decor Themes, Christmas tree, coastal style, color, Disneyland, DIY, diy decorating, garden art, junk makeover, makeover, re-purposing, summer, tiki style, weekend makeover, tiki culture, tropical backyard decor, tropical decor, restyled decor
he's keeping an eye on the Tipsy guy!
i painted him to replicate one of the actual tiki faces that appear in the Enchanted Tiki Room.

cost of this project? nuthin'. totally free. because i found ways to re-use what we already had.

you've seen two tiki signs that accompany these past two tiki projects...
in my next post, i'll share the before and after of those
because they were also restyled from two of my previous projects!

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #530

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