How to Make Copper Tubing Yard Art

Copper Pipe Trellis

• 1

  Clamp your pipe cutter around your ¼ inch wide copper tubing. Cut 13 1 foot lengths of copper tubing and 14 6 inch lengths.

• 2

  Run a bead of silicone caulk around the inside of the left opening in five four way fittings. These fittings look like copper plus signs. Press the fittings onto the left ends of five horizontal 1 foot copper tubes. Repeat on the right side of each tube.

• 3

  Space the horizontal copper tubes about 1 foot apart. Glue a vertical copper tube into the four way copper fittings between each of the horizontal tubes.

• 4

  Glue a 6 inch tube into each of the remaining openings in your four way fittings. Allow the entire trellis to cure overnight. Bury the bottom 6 inch pieces in your garden.

Copper Garden Insects

• 5

  Clamp your pipe cutter around a copper tube. Rotate the cutter around the tube to cut a 4 inch piece of tubing.

• 6

  Hold a three way fitting so the center fitting points downward. Glue the 4 inch copper tubing into the left fitting with silicone caulk. This creates the tail for your butterfly or dragonfly.

• 7

  Cut a second piece of copper tubing about 4 feet long. Glue this tubing into the center opening in your three way fitting. This is the pole that holds up your copper insect. Allow the entire structure to cure overnight.

• 8

  Nip a 3 foot piece of 12 gauge copper wire. Bend the wire in half, dead center. Bend each half of the wire into the shape of the top set of a butterfly's or dragonfly's wings. Use pliers to help create little crimps and long, narrow lobes in your butterfly wings.

• 9

  Create the lower set of wings for your insect from a second 3 foot long piece of wire. Glue the centers of both sets of wings to the center of your 3 way fitting. Allow the wings to dry overnight. Bury the last foot of the 4 foot pole on each insect in the soil.