Paint Can Bank

This is a project for my bowling league, where we call ourselves the Odd Balls.  We've been through a few seasons together and wanted to do a fun game this time.

We decided to have the game be that we would pay a quarter each time we did not pick up a split, missed either the 7 or the 10 pin, got a gutter, missed the double wood (when there are only two pins left and one is directly behind the other), and some other hard-to-get shots.  For this game, we needed a coin bank or some vessel to deposit the money into at the end of the three games each week.

The team (that's us, above, last season) gave me the liberty of doing anything I wanted for the bank. I looked online and there were some plastic banks that were bowling ball shaped, but eh, I wanted something unique.

Vince and I went to Lowe's and bought a small 2-quart aluminum paint can with a lid (yes, they actually sell empty cans without a lid) and a spray paint can of chalkboard paint.  We also went to the dollar store and bought a bucket with a handle.

First of all, this is one of those projects that I had the idea for, but knew that if I did it myself, then I would have messed it up somehow.  So, this is where Vince comes in and pretty much does it, and I just help.

The first step is to sand the metal can down with fine grit sandpaper so the spray paint will adhere well to it. 

So, when that was done, Vince drilled a hole in each side of the can for the handle.  We took the wire handle with a plastic hand guard off of the bucket and trimmed it to fit our can.

We put it on to try it out before we painted it.

Once that was fitted, we removed it and put it aside.  Then Vince took the Dremel with a grinding wheel and zapped the lid with it so we could make the hole for the coins.  I say "zap" because this was sparking with the metal wheel against the metal lid!

Next step was to paint.  I have tried spray painting items in the past and I'm just not that good at it.  They have come out uneven and drippy.  So, Vince hung the can from a hook with the leftover wire from the handle and held it at arm's length and sprayed.  It got two coats of paint and left to dry overnight.

Once it was dried, the paint instructions said to rub chalk over the entire surface and rub off (I did this part!).  Once that was complete, Vince put the handle back on and bent down metal end inside the can so it will not pop out.  Now, it was ready to go.

We decided that with the money we pay into it each week, we will take ourselves out to a great dinner and a night on the town.  The rule is that we cannot pop open the can until the end of the season.  We have been paying more than we thought we would each night, so this is going to be one mean dinner!

Come on down to the bowling alley on Wednesday's...we'll even let you make a donation!

Odd Balls Flower Pot

This post is coming from my picture archives.  Back in March, my friend Stephanie and I wanted to make something special for our friend Cathy for her birthday.   Some background: we are on a bowling team with Vince and we call ourselves the Odd Balls.  Her birthday was falling on a bowling night, so we had to do something special.

Stephanie came up with the idea of doing a potted plant.  But we just can't buy a plant and say, "Here."  So we decided to take a plain terracotta planter and paint it.  For this we bought kids paint, sponges and brushes.  Stephanie had yellow paint already for a home decor project that did not go well (for the record, none of her rooms are this color yellow!).

Stephanie painted the pot with with few coats before we got together, so we would not have to sit and watch paint dry.  When we got together, we made "stamps" out of the sponges.  This was done by printing out an outline of a pin onto paper and cutting it out.  Then we traced the outlines of the bowling pin and drew a circle for the ball on a sponge.  Once they were traced on the sponges, we cut out the surrounding sponge so the pin and ball were raised from the sponge.  Very clever thinking!

Pin Sponge Stamp

We used paper plates as the paint tray but found out that if we paint the paint onto the sponge, we would get a more even coat.

Blue Bowling Ball Stamp

Once we got the kinks out of our painting technique, we were off and painting.  She did the bowling balls and I did the white pins.

Pins Are On!

Here is another view:

Balls Are On!

Cathy's bowling ball is like a Star Trek ball where it is a dark blue swirl with a hint of glitter, like the galaxy.  So, to add that special touch, while the blue paint was still wet, Stephanie took a gift bag that had glitter on it and scrapped it onto a plate and blew the glitter onto the ball.  It stuck!  She did well!

Around the rim we painted Odd Balls, Cathy, 2011.

Lettering Is Complete

We let the artwork (and it was a piece of art, let me tell you) dry overnight.  Stephanie sprayed it with a sealant so it can withstand the weather and not chip.  She also went out and bought a few different plants and flowers and planted a small container garden in the pot.  We brought it to bowling the following day with balloons on fishing weights and buried them in the soil.  We celebrated with cheesecake!

Finished

We were pleased as punch that it came out so well.  Happy Birthday (again), Cathy!