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Tiki-On-A-Budget |
FroggieTiki
Member
Joined: Jan 10, 2006
Posts: 4
From: Louisiana
|  Posted: 2006-08-10 8:40 pm Permalink
In rural Louisiana, tiki is rare in any form...even the cheesy plastic bargin store stuff is hard to find. I'm *slowly* building a collection of 'real' carvings and mugs (and trying my hand at carving), but it's also fun to rework the cheap stuff into something useable. Here are my first two attempts:
Plastic flaming Tiki from Big Lots ($5.99 on clearance):
After a basecoat of plastic primer and some granite spray paint:
Resin Target Tiki ($8.00 on clearance):
FroggieTiki
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The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 785
From: Nashua, NH
| Posted: 2006-08-10 9:06 pm Permalink
Wow! The Flaming Big Lots Tiki wins the award for most improved upon!
That original blue color turned me off to buying one when my Big Lots had them.
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LavaLounger
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Dec 27, 2005
Posts: 81
From: The Great Plains of Kansas
| Posted: 2006-08-11 07:06 am Permalink
Terrific job, Froggie!!
What a super idea for a great effect!
Oh man, they had those nasty blue and purple plastic flaming tiki heads on sale here and I waltzed right on by....aGHHHHH, now I wish I'd bought about 5 of them! Dam!
LavaLounger
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Thortiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 29, 2006
Posts: 190
From: Maryland (Land of Pleasant Tiki Living)
| Posted: 2006-08-11 07:56 am Permalink
Flame on really like that big lots piece!!!!
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FroggieTiki
Member
Joined: Jan 10, 2006
Posts: 4
From: Louisiana
| Posted: 2006-08-11 10:34 pm Permalink
Thanks, glad you all like the plastic tiki remake! I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing the purple flaming tiki while they were on clearance (d'oh!). They're made to be stacked into a flaming tiki totem pole. Oh well, maybe next year...
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Eleio the fleet
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Posts: 170
From: The mountain jungles of Denver CO
| Posted: 2006-08-12 12:35 am Permalink
I'll have a go.
The hanging lamps were actually woven waste paper baskets I purchased at the local dollar store ($1 ea. of course). I then also purchased tap lights at the same store (same price), attached to the bottom of the baskets with sticky back velcro. A small package of sticky back will run around $2, but can cover at least two lights. If you're budget conscious and also plan to hang multiple lights, I recommend the 10ft. (if memory serves) package. Then there was the twine, which set me back about $3-$4 for 100 (if memory serves) feet.
Oh and batteries=$2 each light.
The lights pictured ran me about $5 each. I bought some extra, which I plan to try a mini fish trap light, in the future.
Positives: Since the lights are battery powered, they can be hung anywhere and don't require any wiring. They throw off a decent amount of light and seemed to be an effective answer to "down and dirty, yet cheap" tiki lighting.
Negatives:
-Don't buy your tap lights at the dollar store! You'll notice that one of the lights is dark. In all, I made about 8 lights and each lasted a different length of time. Some lasted the entire party (6 hours). A few seemed to use the batteries up faster (3-4 hours) and some actually burnt out after an hour or so (meaning the light bulb burnt out). Problem with the burnt out bulbs is that the bulbs were welded into the sockets. It's actually cheaper and faster to buy extra lights than to try and replace the bulb.
-Batteries. I found that "normal" power consumption ran about 4 hours. That's great if the party is only that length of time, but a hassle if you have to take the time to change out batteries. Plus it does disrupt the illusion for a bit. Cost is also a major factor. If you're going to go with this style of lighting, don't use dollar store batteries (maybe an hour or two if your lucky), but rather purchase the big bulk packages of namebrand or use rechargeable batteries (assuming you've purchased these kind of batteries for another item, like a camera).
-"Life" of the lights. With the one exception pictured, all of my lights functioned acceptably for my first party; however, most died within 2-3 hours of my second party. The batteries were fresh, but the bulbs had just reached the end of their short life span.
Recommendation: I still would advise this style of lighting for parties on a budget and if you have an aversion to wiring lighting (like me). I would recommend that you purchase the usually more reliable $3-$4 tap lights at your local Target, Wally World, etc. I'm not sure, but you may even be able to change the bulbs in those versions. I use rechargeable batteries and have a 20-minute charger for my camera, so I think I'll be purchasing more rechargeable batteries over the next year.
Hope that helps.
Mahalo!
-Eleio
[ This Message was edited by: Eleio the fleet 2006-08-12 00:39 ]
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The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 785
From: Nashua, NH
| Posted: 2006-08-12 01:42 am Permalink
Great work!
Another cool thing about "Tiki Lighting" is that it's okay to be dim! In fact, it's preferred! So inexpensive (and less dangerous for those of us who really shouldn't be playing with electricity and Mai-Tais at the same time) battery powered lights fit the bill.
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rwhgeek
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 16, 2003
Posts: 58
From: Richmond, VA
| Posted: 2006-08-12 07:36 am Permalink
Here we have a small tiki bar built from Ikea shelving, fabric covered plywood for the walls, mounted on wheels since it was built for a small apartment. Yes I know the masks are not tiki but I thought they worked and added light up eyes. The lamp on the left was made from a chipped mug and I added some cheap coasters to the lampshade.
Top of the bar once again not 100% tiki but who can resist pin-up girls and this one is definitely tiki.
Outdoor fountain picked up on sale at target, concrete moai heads and broken salt shaker added and plants which I think will continue to cover it and add to it. I am sure that more will be added to this one just don't know what.
Currently making a covering for my small fridge so that cold beverages can be consumed outside. Beer may not be tiki but damn it's good. Will post when i have something to show.
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Eleio the fleet
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Posts: 170
From: The mountain jungles of Denver CO
| Posted: 2006-08-14 12:31 pm Permalink
Nice improvisation!
I especially like the lamp.
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kingstiedye
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 05, 2005
Posts: 1229
From: sackatomato
| Posted: 2006-08-14 12:35 pm Permalink
great work and creativity by all. i'm really enjoying this thread.
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hiltiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 10, 2004
Posts: 2775
From: Reseda, calif.
| Posted: 2006-08-14 5:14 pm Permalink
I just found this thread, I find it very interesting. Keep those pictures coming, I love how you have changed the actual pieces to something so different and great looking. There should be a book on this subject matter, "Creating tiki on a budget".
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Surf tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 28, 2005
Posts: 254
From: Va Beach
| Posted: 2006-08-14 7:29 pm Permalink
Wow, you're like Marquesian Stewart. I am all about doing this stuff for as cheap as possible.
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The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 785
From: Nashua, NH
| Posted: 2006-08-14 9:44 pm Permalink
Here's a trick that everyone probably knows already, but there's a nice story that goes with it.
Upon our first visit with a realtor to the house we bought, we considered it a good omen that the only piece of furniture left from previous owners was the table seen below, and now it sits in the middle of our Tiki Lounge, the longest occupant currently living in our house!
I printed out a bunch of postcards from the computer and placed them under glass and a Scorpian bowl.
[ This Message was edited by: The Granite Tiki 2006-08-14 21:47 ]
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kctiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 22, 2003
Posts: 439
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2006-08-16 04:18 am Permalink
Regarding lighting that doesn't require electrical wiring, I saw where people were using glow sticks inside paper lanterns for a big lantern festival in Canada. It looked great in the photos.
Being a tightwad by necessity, I'm really enjoying this thread. Believe me, if I had any spare cash at all, I'd be filling my house with the works of all the phenomenally talented Tiki Central artists.
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Eleio the fleet
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 11, 2006
Posts: 170
From: The mountain jungles of Denver CO
| Posted: 2006-08-16 11:07 pm Permalink
I like your use of imagery for the table Granite. Very cheap and very clever.
Regarding using glow sticks for tiki lighting. I like your idea, kctiki, especially since it takes the light and battery elements out of play.
I must admit that I don't have much experience with glow sticks, so when the local dollar stores in my area start carying them (should be around Halloween), I'll have to pick up a few and try it.
[ This Message was edited by: Eleio the fleet 2006-08-16 23:40 ]
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