The Craftiest Workshop

I have been trying to come up with projects to make to make the garden more of a place where I can go to not just garden but also to relax.

With that in mind, I wanted to add some things that are whimsical and musical to the garden area. As it turns out, most of the things I used were things from my kitchen that I no longer use.

I made this mushroom from a glass bowl and vase. I added some different glass beads to the vase and tried adding some glow in the dark rocks. It does not appear to glow at night but we don’t get very dark here at night in the summer.

These flowers that I made using some straws and plastic juice/baby food lids are stuck in my various garden boxes. Just a bit of colour here and there to brighten things up earlier on.

I had these two wire whisks that had loose handles. The metal handle would slide down while you would tried to stir. We tried some different glues but nothing seemed to work as the handles would come loose again after washing. I repurposed the whisks and some baby food lids into two butterflies. The whisk handle fit perfectly over some bamboo sticks we had in the garden shed.
Here is one of them.

I tried to find some cheap wind chimes at Dollartree but almost their summer stuff is mostly gone. I decided to come up with my own version of wind chimes. You might recall that I spent some time making some wooden spoons. I had used oak and later discovered that oak is very porous and not a good choice for wooden spoons used for cooking. I have had these spoons sitting in the basement since then and I didn’t want to just burn them in the fire pit. I tied them to a bamboo stick using some scrap yarn. I tried hanging them near our garage side entrance on a windy day. The sound is marvelous!! Today I moved them into the garden in a corner of the fence. I plan on finding two branches with a “V” top so that they have their own stand in the future.

My other DIY wind chimes, I am especially pleased with. I had this metal wheel of sorts. It was previously part of a fondue set; in the circles is where the dipping bowls would sit. I have kept this thing for probably 15 years through many moves. When I was visiting my parents this winter, my mom was throwing out her old mix master. I asked to take the beaters and the turn table. I tied these beaters and four other attachments from my own older mixer to the fondue wheel. I painted a stick with outdoor paint and jammed the wheel onto the top. I love how the metal gleams in the sunshine. You might think that these heavy objects wouldn’t move much in the wind but you may have not experienced Alberta winds in the summer. The metal tinkles together and makes a very pleasing sound.

I love the idea of repurposing things from the kitchen. Sometimes things break or you just stop using something that you used to need. Before you decide to throw it out, recycle it or donate it, think about what else you could do with it.
Find some ways to brighten up your own garden.