Creative Conversions
Encourage visits from your favorite outdoor creatures with simple projects that are sure to garnish your garden, as well.
Attract feathered and furry friends to your yard with easy DIY projects.
Plant a Plate
Give birds, squirrels or rabbits a treat and at the same time dress up your yard with a concrete feeder made from a real leaf.
Choose a large leaf with deep veins from a plant such as rhubarb or elephant ear. On a flat, protected surface, make a dome-shaped pile of damp sand that’s larger than your leaf. Lay plastic wrap over the sand. Place your leaf facedown on the pile. Make adjustments to the sand to ensure your leaf is fully supported. Wearing protective gloves and a mask, mix a batch of vinyl cement/concrete patch with water, following the manufacturer’s directions, to get a consistency similar to cookie dough. Pat the mixture evenly over the leaf, at least 1/2" thick. Roll the plastic wrap upward around the edges as you go. When completely covered, top with a layer of plastic wrap and gently smooth the surface with your hands. Remove the plastic and let dry, preferably 48 hours. Once completely dry, turn the piece over and remove the natural leaf from the concrete.
Tempt a Toad
Toads (and frogs) are beneficial to a garden because they feed on many pests. These little creatures need a safe garden haven, too, and they tend to prefer cool, dark places. You can create a toad house easily by chipping a small section out of the lip of a terra-cotta pot and then turning the pot upside down in a shady spot. Or, build a little cave out of rocks for your amphibious friends.
Wine and Dine
This birdhouse can serve as a perfect accessory to a birdbath and feeder or even as a thoughtful gift for the wine connoisseur. To fashion a quaint quarters for your feathered friends, paint a preassembled wood birdhouse with black acrylic paint. When dry, lightly sand the edges to give it an aged look. Cover the house with wine label–themed paper napkins by cutting and decoupaging the paper onto the wood panels. Spray the entire house with a waterproof sealer. Carefully cut wine corks in half and secure them to the roof with hot glue. Attach an additional cork below the entry hole as a perch. Screw a vintage T-style corkscrew into the peak of the roof. Apply hot glue to secure it in place.