It's Getting Buggy Around Here

Lady Buggington has made herself known.  I have been hiding this beauty inside, hanging on my door to the garage, waiting for the right weather to come outside.  Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota, and I thought an effort to welcome CUTE bugs would be well worth my time.  Heaven knows the ugly ones will start appearing any day now ;0}

I made this sweet lady out of 1/4" mdf and a little bit of beaded plywood.  She is a simple one, but the splash of red on my porch complements the flurry of activity in the neighborhood just fine.  I love the swirls that make up the wire antennae.  I think that thick, flat floral wire would be a nice way to make the antennae, but I was a little impatient and wanted my girl complete like yesterday!  This 16 gauge black aluminum wire did the job.

After she was all painted and sanded I sprayed her down twice with a nice clear spray paint.  I love the stuff.  I might as well invest in the Rustoleum company because I use a couple cans a week with my orders and all my new stuff.  

Speaking of new stuff, I found a fabulous Garage Sale Store in Eagan, MN.  I say it is fabulous because, unlike all the chain thrift stores in these here parts, it was actually affordable.  This lampshade would have cost me $7.99 or more at Savers or Goodwill.  It was $3.00 at the Garage Sale Store, and then 50% off after that.  

That low, low price was what made it possible for me not only to purchase the lampshade, but to reduce it down to this wire frame.  I bet you can't wait to see what I make with it, can't ya'?  Hopefully later this week I will get the chance to tackle that small sewing project.  

Things have been so crazy lately I am finding it harder and harder to get real work done.  I don't know if it is just spring, or the fact I now have teenagers that have to be driven all over the state, but I find myself wanting to just sit and rest OVER CRAFTING!!!  What is this world coming to!?!  

Don't worry.  I have plenty of projects up my sleeves.  There is a whole pile of started Memorial Day/4th of July projects sitting here, dozens of patterns waiting to be written, photos to edit and post, a stack of sewing projects...Whew!  Just the thought makes me want to retreat to the couch and play a couple more rounds of Candy Crush.  

I will be back.  After all, Lady Buggington isn't the only Bug buzzing round my porch.  See you soon with more little critters and hopefully a pattern to go with them!

Happy Spring!!!

Tea Cup Bird Feeders

I made a set of three of these lovely tea cup bird feeders for my grandma this year.  Sweet Grandma is pretty hard to shop for given that she is so content with a puzzle and a smile, and all.  She does love her birdies outside and throws birdseed out for them all summer long, so I thought this might be just the gift to make for her.  

Basically, you just need a tea cup and saucer, one 1/2" copper cap {about $.40 each at the hardware store}, and a 2 ft copper pipe {sold 2 ft long at Home Depot for just under $5}, and some E6000 glue.  We have tons of tea cups and E6000 glue lying around so the only thing we had to buy was the copper pipe.

Rough up the saucer top and tea cup bottom just a tad with a bit of sandpaper, then apply the E6000 in a generous blob.  Press the tea cup down into the glue on the saucer and let it dry overnight.  Then you can turn the whole thing over, add another blob of glue to the center of the bottom, and press the flat side of the copper pipe cap into the glue.  Leave the whole setup upside down over night, and then you should be ready to go.  

When you are ready to place the bird feeder into the ground outside {for Grandma-who lives in Minnesota- she can't do that for another 6 months}, use a hammer to drive the copper pipe at least 4" into the earth in your desired flower bed, then place the cup on top by placing the copper cap over the copper pipe.  Fill with bird seed and the birdies will fly in from all over the world to snack from your stylish feeders.  

Right now Minnesota looks a bit like this.

but in my mind, I imagine the tea cups looking something like this this spring ;0}

Whatever keeps us warm, right?  Now to make some of these for me!