DIY Garden Accents

 

Creating DIY garden accents is a fun way to add interest to your outdoor flowers and plants. It's also a great upcycle activity to do with kids during the summer! It's so easy to gather all sizes of leftover plastic utensils from a get-together and fashion them into decorative garden accents like a lady bug or butterfly!

 

Welcome to our monthly Blog Hop Challenge hosted by Beverly @ Across the Blvd. The theme for the month of June is Summer Crafts

Creating DIY garden accents for the summer is an easy way to add a whimsical look to outdoor spaces - adding the perfect touch to flowering plants and gardens. You'd probably prefer to have adorable handcrafted bugs on your flowers instead of the real ones which can become quite a nuisance. So let's begin.

Materials: 

• Assorted sizes of plastic spoons 
• Cutting snips or utility scissors/hot knife
• RapidFuse All Purpose Adhesive
• Outdoor Acrylic Craft Paint/sponge brush/paint brush wood tip end
• 18/14 Gauge Stem Wire
• Wire cutters/nose pliers
• Button
• Googly eyes

Let's begin by cutting the bowls from the handles of plastic spoons using utility or heavy duty scissors. Be careful and try not to split the plastic.

You will need to cut two different sizes of spoons - two larger ones for the upper wings and two smaller ones for the lower wings. I had several plastic spoons in my stash, but most were basically the same size.  One set for the top is rounder than the bottom set.

And I had lots of plastic handles leftover from earlier spoon projects, so I found an handle that was wider on one end for the butterfly head.  

Next, applied multi purpose glue to the handle (body) to attach the wings for a permanent hold. Hot glue would not hold up outside.

First, glue on the top wings .  .  .

and then the bottom wings .  .  .

and let dry.

Once the wings are dry, cut and fold stem wire into a "V" shape, curling the ends to mimic antennae. Glue onto center of top (head)

Begin painting the butterfly. First the wings .  .  .

and then the body. Let dry between areas.

Add decorative pattern to wings. I'm not very good at painting - something I've always struggled with.

To make the ladybug, I used serving spoons from the DollarTree for the body.

And used a hot knife to cut the handles off. I tried using snips on the bottom of the handle to see if the plastic would crack and it did. So I used a hot knife instead.

Lining up three of the bowls of the serving spoons together .  .  .

and then painting two red .  .  .

and one black.

and then gluing the three together.

Painting on black dots using the wooden tip of a paint brush .  .  .

And gluing on a button with googly eyes on the top center for the head!

They certainly enhances the garden scene - don't they!

Each month, a group of craft, home decor, and recipe bloggers co-host a themed blog hop. This month, we’re all sharing Summer Craft Ideas.

 Meet this month’s hosts:
 Be sure visit their links to see how they met this month’s   challenge!

Beverly | Across the Blvd shared her Market Totes for the Summer with Cricut

Gail | Purple Hues and Me shared some DIY Garden Accents

T'onna | Sew Crafty Crochet shared her Crochet Coastline Cushion

Allyson | Southern Sunflowers shared Free Lemon Printables for Summer

Julie | Sum of Their Stories Showed us How to Make a Felt Cactus Bookmark

Click on the links below to see how the co-hosts met this month’s challenge!