Turtle V isn’t just any SUV, what do you use the Turtle V vehicle for?

The Turtle V is an experimental prototype of the Turtle Expedition research trucks, used to travel and explore the world. Replacing four previous travel/research vehicles, The Turtle V and its European-style Tortuga Expedition Camper is the latest home on the road. Based on a Super Duty F-550, it is carefully outfitted with equipment of proven quality and reliability.

What happened to the tire and how did you use Shoe GOO to repair it?

There were two occasions. Once, while exploring backroads in Canada’s Northwest Territories, one of our BFGoodrich Mud Terrains tires suffered a severe rock cut in the face of the tread. We cleaned the cut thoroughly, filled the cut with black Shoe GOO, and drove the tire onto a flat board covered with plastic. In the morning, the tire was ready to roll. It was not a permanent repair, but it kept dirt and gravel from working its way into the tire and to the core. The plastic was gone in a few miles. The Shoe GOO lasted until we got home.

Most recently, we caught a sharp piece of metal on the side of the rear tire the day before we headed to SEMA where the truck was part of the Specialty Vehicle Exhibit. It was an ugly gash about 7 inches long on the side wall. We drove to Las Vegas, filled the gash with Shoe GOO, (all we had was clear), and placed wax paper and tape over the area. In the morning, the wax paper and tape were removed, showing a much improved damaged area. A black felt pen added some color to the clear Shoe GOO. We expect it will look even better when we get the black Shoe GOO. This is a $535.00 tire, so we don’t throw it out because of a cosmetic problem.

How is Shoe GOO different from other repair adhesives you’ve tried?

We have not tried other silicon products to repair tires. Shoe GOO just seems to be tough enough that it’s worth a try in an emergency.

Do you use Shoe GOO for anything else?

All the normal things: Birkenstocks shoe soles, hiking boots, running shoes, cracks in the rubber bottom of bath mats, etc.

To learn more about Gary and Monika Westcott’s expeditions, visit www.TurtleExpedition.com.

Note: This story is Gary & Monika’s personal experience. We love this story, but we always recommend hiring a professional to make tire repairs.

Below are instructions… now hop to it and get crafty!

You Will Need:

• Old pair of shoes, any kind will work.
• Shoe GOO
• Anything you want to cover your shoes: pictures, magazine clippings, candy wrappers, comic book pages, poetry book pages, fabric scraps, etc.
• Rhinestones, beads (optional)
• Tweezers (for rhinestones or beads)
• Fast drying glue such as Amazing QuickHOLD

Step One

Step One:
Organize the items you want to place on your shoes and construct a design. Place the clippings on the shoes, starting with the larger items first. Place a drop of fast-drying glue such as Amazing QuickHOLD on the corner of the clipping to hold it in place and then cover the paper with Shoe GOO. Don’t be stingy with the Shoe GOO.

After the larger clippings are in place, start filling the spaces with smaller scraps until the shoe is entirely covered.

Step Two

Step Two:
Once all of the clippings are in place and the shoe is covered, start putting drops of Shoe GOO on the shoe by rubbing it over the shoe. Only rub the the Shoe GOO over the shoe once to get a clear effect. Rubbing over the shoe more than once will cause the shoe to become opaque. Apply Shoe GOO lightly on the most visible parts of the shoe.

Tip: Place a generous amount of Shoe GOO near the sole of the shoe and where the shoe bends. Without a helping of Shoe GOO, the clippings may crack off.

Step Three

Step Three:
Place a dollop of Shoe GOO where you would like to add embellishments. Apply rhinestones or beads to the Shoe GOO with tweezers.

Step Four:
Allow the Shoe GOO to dry completely.

Step Five:
Add another layer of Shoe GOO on places that look thin and, again, around the soles and where the shoes bend. Wait for the Shoe GOO to dry.

After this, you are done! You will have a funky pair of recycled shoes that will catch the eyes of people everywhere.

To view more photos of Stacie’s ShoeGOO photos, visit her Flickr page or visit her blog Stars for Streetlights.

Baby Name Art Canvas

You will need:

-12 x 16 inch pre-stretched art canvas
-12 x 12 inch scrapbook paper
-Vintage wrapping paper or other paper with scenes
-Acrylic paint
-Wood letters
-Sand paper
-Mod Podge
-Tube of E-6000
-Bottle of Amazing EcoGlue
-Ribbon
-Ric rac

Step 1 – Begin by prepping the wood letters. Some wood letters may require a quick sanding. Once the letters are smooth, apply a coat of white acrylic paint as the base. Set the letters aside on a sheet of wax paper or a baking rack to dry.

Step 2 – While the letters dry, start working on the canvas. Gather two pieces of scrapbook paper to cover the front of the canvas. Trim one piece of paper to fit the canvas, leaving a 1/2 inch border of white around the edge. If the paper has a pattern, line up the second piece of paper with the edge of the cut side to be sure the pattern matches. Trim the second piece of paper to fit the remaining exposed canvas.

Step 3 – Make a tiny mark at each corner of the paper with a pencil. Apply Amazing EcoGlue to one piece of paper. Line up the paper with the pencil marks and rub over the entire surface. Repeat this step with the other piece, making sure to line up the pattern.

Cut out scenes from the wrapping paper.

Step 4 – Cut out the scenes from the wrapping paper. Decide on the placement and mark the corners with a pencil. Place a light amount of Amazing EcoGlue on the back of each scene and line them up with the pencil marks. Rub over the entire surface, making sure edges are sealed.
*If you can’t find vintage wrapping paper, click here to borrow some from Joanna.

Step 5 – By now the base coat on the wood letters should be dry. Apply a coat of color to the wooden letters with acrylic paint. Set them aside to dry.

Step 6 – Once the letters are dry, embellish them with various details such as sponge painting, borders, and more. Once the embellishments dry, seal the letters with glossy Mod Podge or any other sealant.

Add embellishments to the wood letters.

Step 7 – Meanwhile, start embellishing the canvas. For example, trim each scene with a bit of ribbon and ric rac using E-6000.
*Quick tip: To keep the edges of ribbon or ric rac from fraying, dip them in clear nail polish.

Step 8 – Once everything is dry, attach the letters to the canvas with E-6000.

Any new mother will appreciate such a thoughtful gift.

This is a great way to use EcoGlue to turn something old into something new and one-of-a-kind.  Roll up your sleeves and put on your safety glasses because we are going to bust up some old plates and, using Eco Glue and some grout, create a beautiful mosaic flower vase.

If you don’t have old vases or plates lying around your house, take a trip to any thrift store, where you will most likely find at entire aisles dedicated to plates and vases.  For this project I am using an old plate that I already had with a vase I bought at a thrift store.  I also bought an extra white plate just in case I didn’t have enough pieces with my plate, to use as filler.  Tell the checkout clerk that he/she need not waste paper to wrap them up; you are going to break them anyway!

TIP: When choosing a vase, choosing square instead of round makes it easier and faster for the mosaic tiles to lie flat while drying on each side. When choosing plates, find ones that are as flat as possible.  Look for patterns & colors you like…textured decorations and gold edges make nice details.

Time to get out those safety glasses and head out to a driveway or sidewalk! To break the plate, I like to put then in a clear plastic storage bag so that I can see how the pieces are breaking as I go.  If you do this, use a heavy duty freezer bag.  Better yet, use one that has already been used for something else.  This is all about recycling, people!

Just make sure the bag and the plate are clean. It’s a lot easier to clean a plate than a hundred little pieces of plate.  I also set the bagged plate on a brown paper grocery bag to help absorb some of the impact underneath.  Then it’s time to go to town with your hammer!  There is really no special technique for this; just hammer away until you have a variety of different sized pieces.

Open the bag and pour them into a tray or box.  I am using the lid from a shoe box.  Flip any over if necessary to see the patterned sides, like you would if you were starting a jigsaw puzzle. Gloves are not a bad idea either when handling the glass…be careful as they are SHARP!

Next I traced the 4 faces of my vase onto some pieces of scrap paper.  More recycling…I used the backs of bad computer printouts and papers I no longer needed.  This will give you a frame to work in when laying out your pieces.

Now it’s time to lay out your composition!  This just takes some time to find pieces you like and that fit together, and arrange them so they look good to you.  They don’t need any particular rhyme or reason, but I picked out some of the scalloped edges of the plate to use around the top.  You can arrange them randomly, or into patterns.  It works best to lay out larger pieces and then fill in with smaller ones where needed.  Be sure to leave some space between each piece to fill with grout later.

TIP: Lay the paper outlines on a hard board or hardcover book.  This will make it easy to move your project if you need to set it aside for a while, without disturbing your loose tiles.

Once you have all your sides laid out how you’d like them, it’s time to crack open that fresh bottle of Eco Glue and start transferring them to the vase.

Working from one corner/side to the other, Apply Eco Glue to the back of each tile and to the vase and set each into place.  This is where choosing a very flat plate comes in handy.  The flatter the pieces are, the more surface area you have for the glue to bond, and the smoother it will come out in the end.

TIP: If your vase is not square (tapered like mine) and the tiles are sliding down, prop up one end to make it more level while the tiles dry. (Now you can see why we did not choose a round vase!)

After you’ve finished gluing down all of the tiles on one face, leave your project to dry for an hour.  Repeat the transfer & glue process for all sides of your vase and allow the whole thing to dry for at least 24 hours for the glue to reach full strength.

Next it’s time to fill in the gaps and cover the sharp edges with grout!  Pick up some grout at your local home improvement store if you don’t have any already lying around from a previous tiling project.  Start with a very small amount, because it will go farther than you think!  Pour a little into an old food container and then start adding water in small amounts.  I like to stir mine with old paint stir sticks.  Get it to a good consistency…you want it to be thick enough not to run down your vase, but not too thick or dry to work with.  Peanut butter or frosting-like usually works pretty well.

Start spreading on the grout!  This part is messy and will look ugly.  But, the main goal is to get all the spaces between your tiles filled full with grout.  Once you have laid on the thick layer of grout and have filled all the cracks, you can scrape off the excess.  It’s a good idea to use a trowel for tiling.  I use my fingers because I like to feel the tiles and what I’m doing.  But, if you do this, be extremely careful not to cut yourself!  Try to scrape off enough so you can see the tiles, but are leaving the grout in the spaces.  It’s a good idea to do small amounts and one side of the vase at a time as the grout dries quickly.

After you’ve scraped off most of the excess and exposed the tiles, let it dry for a while (15-30 minutes or so: check your grout package). Then, use a damp sponge to continue wiping off the tiles.  This is where you’ll want to scrub off any chunks that are left ON the tiles and expose or cover as much as you want to get the look you like.

TIP: If you like a smooth grout look, dip your finger in some water and smooth the edges.  Pay special attention that you’ve grouted and smoothed the corners and top/bottom edges to your liking before it dries.

Let the grout dry further, according to your grout package directions.  Once it is more hardened, take a dry rag or towel and buff off the tiles.  (Optional: If you like you can then also apply some grout sealer to your vase.)

Voila!  You have just given an old, mismatched plate a new life as a beautiful, one-of-a-kind mosaic vase!

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