Fake Medals from Household Junk

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:36 am

For one of my outfits this year, I am attempting a sort of parody of Idi Amin Dada:

I want to make lots of medals out of household junk and gold spray paint. So far I've come up with:

Letter opener
Box fan blade
Coins
Spoons
Rope
Striped ribbon

Any other ideas for a pompus military glam-up?

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:39 am

A Thousand-Yard Stare.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:45 am

I was working on one made from a large washer as a base, then lots of buttons and necklace bits glued on. Easy to make medallions like that farely cheaply, then cast them (using that thermoforming technique of yours).

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:47 am

Freg magnets

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:24 am

bottle caps
can lids
unmated earrings
knock outs from electrical boxes
checkers

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:39 am

Ooh yeah! And checkers!!!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:33 am

Don't laugh. Most of those medals would double as shurikens.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:42 am

The foo-foo plates that go behind doorknobs.
Plastic christmas ornaments
Bits of gold paper doilies
coasters
shower curtain hooks, the fancy ones

Lady V · Post by **Lady V** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:44 am

One of our campmates is giving a workshop this year making badges from recycled aluminum cans. They are really easy to cut--you can use scissors--but be very careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges! All kinds of colors possible!

Davoid · Post by **Davoid** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:49 pm

old watches
electrical outlet face plates
CDs
salt shaker caps
bike reflectors (not painted, of course)
keys

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:10 pm

You could use those female pad things for the shoulder boards. That gold braid stuff could be handcuffs with long chains.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:28 pm

Oh, those little round plastic caps from milk jug bottles, juice bottles, etc. You know, the ones where you rip off the strip around the neck and then pop off the plastic cap?

Round pieces from assorted toys (tinker-toy hubs, etc)

The odd earrings are good for pinning to the cloth holding the medal as a device like "oak leaf clusters" are used on US decorations.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:50 pm

Wowie! Sportin' some despotic bling at Burning Man!

"I award myself with the knowledge that I am as cool as I think that I am... Oh no, I don't deserve this.... yes you do... step forward and receive this major award... OK but only because my country needs me to admire me as their despotic leader and...

Shit! I sound like Kernul Killbuck!

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:57 pm

Despotism is highly underrated.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:14 am

Making the medals is EASY...It's the TITLES that are challenging. You have to be able to go down the row on your (proudly protruding) chest and say, for example, "and THIS one's the Distinguished Flying Fuck, THIS one's the PBR Cluster, THIS one's the Purple Heinie...."

I keep numerous tackleboxes of little bits and pieces for making my Art Robots. NEVER throw away a pretty bottlecap, button or gewgaw! And OF COURSE you need LOADS of GOOP. For text on medallions, letter/number punch sets can be had at many Chinese Tool Outlets for ten bucks or so- Used on hard metal more than a few times, the cheapies will deform quickly. But on soft, thin aluminum (PBR cans?) they'll last quite a while. I got a bunch of wonderful aluminum blanks from the scrapyard last year, and used them as the basis for my Playatags. They were about quarter-sized, and thick. (Knockouts, for electrical wiring in aluminum sign "cans".)

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:29 am

Has anyone mentioned dominoes...?

B.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 7:56 am

Now I know how..... My kids have ben after me to lighten my estate of (stuff). I can rent a dump truck and Mr. Jelly'S driveway hmmmm

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:23 am

I seem to remember an old Richard Pryor (RIP) bit:

"I was at the battle of chateaubriand. Got mustard stains all over my body."