Cup and Saucer Bird Feeder

I saw this idea somewhere online and it stuck in the back of my head.  When I happened to be at Goodwill last week poking around this idea suddenly burst forth and demanded to have attention.  The one I saw online used a teacup and saucer, but the ones I saw were so tiny that I just didn’t see much point.  I wanted cute, but I also wanted function.

I finally found a little dessert bowl and plate.  The plate is somewhere between saucer and dinner plate to give you an idea of size.  And I get tickled to think that the bowl, plate and spoon cost all of $1.78 – the best kind of project!

I am *enormously* pleased with how this came out!  I’ll admit that I haven’t seen any birds on it yet, but it’s only been outside for about 12 hours, so I am still hopeful.

Here’s how I made it:

To help get the pieces to stick together better I used a Medium grade sandpaper.  I sanded the bottom of the bowl, the top of the plate where the bowl would sit, and the backside of the spoon.

I used 30 Minute Slow-Cure Epoxy simply because that is what Keith had on his work bench and it said that it worked on glass.

On the bottom of the plate I glued a 1/2” copper cap (.53 cents at Lowe’s) after sanding it.  I let it set overnight to be sure the epoxy was good and dry.

We used 1/2” copper pipe that Keith hammered into the ground.  I just placed the feeder on top of the pipe and since it’s a good tight fit that’s all I did.

I found some bird food at Lowe’s for the pretty birds – goldfinch, cardinal, chickadee – since I’m hoping to entice them to stay.  I’ve seen quite a few around, so we’ll see.

And that’s it!  A very inexpensive birdfeeder for me because we just happened to have a piece of copper pipe in the garage.  I spent $2.31 and if I had bought the copper pipe it would add another $7 to the project.  Not bad at all.

 

Painted Ball Jar Flower Vase

In my past life I did a LOT of canning.  I made all our jams, hot sauce (my husband still pines over that hot sauce and I haven't made it in years), applesauce and others.  But sadly, I haven't done much of that lately.  And sadder still, I have boxes of Ball jars that I'm storing.

I saw this idea online somewhere and was excited enough that I immediately went to Michael's (40% coupon in hand) to get the paint.  I'm happy enough with the outcome that I think I'm going to make some red ones to use at Christmas and Valentine's Day.

Look for paint called Vitrea 160 in the stained glass section of your craft supply store.  In addition to whatever color you want, pick up a bottle of their thinner.  I also had to buy a paint brush as I don't have any around any more.  I think I paid about two dollars for the one I used.

Pour a small blob of paint on wax paper or something plastic (I used the top of a disposable lunch meat container) and then add about a paintbrush full of thinner.  Swirl around to mix it up.

Use a clean, dry jar and paint it in nice even strokes.  At this point I will add that the directions I had said that it doesn't matter if you see the paint strokes on your jar as they will disappear.  I'm here to tell you that is not true, but in the end I decided it was ok.  So whatever you see at this point is about what it will look like when it's done.

Let your jar set for about 24 hours, then bake for 30-40 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  I did not believe these directions, so did research on the Ball site and yes you really can bake these jars.  Another bit of forewarning - I put this jar in the oven, set the timer and honestly forgot I was baking it.  About 15 minutes later I was in a semi-panic because I thought I smelled an electrical fire.  ;)

Let this cool completely before trying to add flowers and, more importantly, water to the jar!

In the end you'll have a beautiful rustic looking vase!  And looking at this picture you will see that I clearly do not have a future in floral arranging....


I"m adding this post to the Metamorphosis Monday post on Susan's blog - my first!  There are some seriously great craft/decorating ideas posted every Monday.