How to Make a Decorative Garden Shovel

I helped clean out a farmer's shed one time, and I ended up with a pile of shovels, garden hoes, picks, and other assorted, rusty old tools. Most of the tools had broken wooden handles, which explained how they ended up pitched into the shed and forgotten. When I first looked at the pile of tools that needed to be discarded, I chided myself for not ordering a dumpster. But then, I picked up one of the broken shovels, examined it from several different angles, and decided it had a purpose- with its broken wooden handle and rusty head- afterall.

Have you ever seen a decorative garden shovel? They are a really neat addition to any flower or vegetable garden. Here's how to make your own:

To start out with, you, of course, need an old garden shovel. The larger shovels with the longer handles work the best. If you don't have one you want to part with, check with neighbors, family, and friends to see if they want to get rid of an old one. You can always check auctions and garage sales too.

After you have acquired your garden shovel for this project, you'll need to remove any rust that may be on the shovel head and up the handle. (Don't worry about how the handle end looks, you won't have it for much longer.) A piece of rough sandpaper will do the trick nicely. Then, wash the entire tool off with soap and water. Be sure that you remove all dirt, grime, grease, oil, et cetera. Allow your garden shovel to dry thoroughly- setting it outside in the sunlight works fine- before you proceed onto the next step.

Now, you'll need your shovel to keep most of its handle, but not the end where the finger grip is. Use a handsaw or an electric Sawzall™ to cut the grip end off. If you've never heard of a Sawzall, it's a cordless or corded electrical saw that can be used to cut virtually any material. They're usually around two hundred bucks buy, but they are handy and worth every cent. Instead of searching through your saws to find the right one for the job, the Sawzall, as its name implies, does it all.

Now you'll have to decide how you want your garden shovel to be decorated. The handle will be stuck into the dirt, and the shovel will stand upside down once it's finished, so keep that in mind in your planning. Here are some suggestions to help get your creative juices flowing:

1. Paint the shovel head with a light background color. Paint the handle green or brown or another earthy color. Then, paint flowers onto the background. Or, if you're not handy with a paint brush, use stickers instead. You can then attach a few silk or ceramic flowers onto the handle near the shovel head.

2. You can paint the head of the shovel and the handle whatever colors you choose. Then, use a paint brush and paint or stickers to personalize the head. For example, it could read, "Welcome to Julie's Vegetable Garden" or "Welcome to Deena's Flower Garden", or, add a little humor with, "No critters allowed!"

A variation to both ideas is to only paint a decorative design on the shovel head. Then, use two thin, short pieces of light wood. Paint a background on the wood. Then paint or use stickers to put your message on each one of them. Finally, attach the wood to the front of the shovel handle by using a hot glue gun or metal screws.

Once your decorative garden shovel is completely decorated and the paint has dried, you can stick it at the entrance of your vegetable or flower garden. If you have a butterfly garden, you might want to paint butterflies on it and add a greeting that welcomes everyone.