Recycled Garden Crafts

Homemade Birdhouse

• Store-bought birdhouses are expensive and not always aesthetically pleasing. Make your own birdhouse using any number of recycled materials. Use leftover scraps of plywood and trim to fashion a traditional wooden birdhouse. A one-gallon milk jug can be fashioned into a birdhouse by cutting out round holes in the sides; decorate the outside with leaves, fabric or other materials that can stand up to the elements. An old metal gas can from your garage or one picked up from a garage sale can also make a cozy home for birds; nail two pieces of corrugated metal to the top for a roof and hang the can on its side.

Garden Markers

• If you have a few paint stirring sticks lying around from your last painting project, don't throw them away. Instead, turn them into garden markers that help you easily identify flowers, plants and vegetable plants. Paint the stirring sticks with chalkboard paint to create a writable surface; once the chalk paint has dried, they are ready to use. Write the names of your flowers and plants with a white grease pencil on the sticks and place them in the ground. Grease pencils are water resistant; remove the writing with baby oil when you are ready to move them to a different location or use them the next season.

Light Fixture Birdbath

• If you have an outdated light fixture that is ready for the thrift store or garbage turn it into a birdbath. Any bowl-shaped light fixture will work for this project. Decorate the fixtures with broken pieces of china, tile or ceramics; decoupage paper leaves, flowers and designs; or leave the fixture as is. If the light fixtures has a hook or chains attached to it already, all you will need is a small shepherd's hook to hang it from. If the light fixture cannot be hung, then you will need a metal stand to place it on.

Wind Chimes

• Wind chimes are not only beautiful to look at, but they also create soothing sounds to make your time outdoors even more relaxing. Make your own wind chime with mismatched silverware and cooking tools from your kitchen that have run their course. Use old spoons, forks and knives for the chimes; use different sizes to create different sounds when the utensils blow against each other in the wind. Use a metal colander for a chime hanger; tie the various utensils to fishing line or string and hang them from the holes in the colander.