Topsy Turvey Flower Planter

Hello my fellow crafters! I'm so sorry I've been MIA for so long. I have been super busy planning my wedding. For those of you who are also planning a wedding, I will be posting wedding related ideas on here so be sure to come back and take a peek.

So today's project is something I created back in the summer, but am only posting about now. I call it the Topsy Turvey Flower Planter. It is a piggyback off of the Topsy Turvey Birdbath idea that you might have seen around. Let's get started shall we:

Things you Need:
- a metal rod (or a bamboo one, which is what I used)
-an 8" clay pot
- some 5" or 6" pots (3-5 depending on how big the rod is)
-spray paint (outdoor is preferable but if you don't have any, indoor will be fine as long as you have a sealer spray as well)
-soil (2-3 medium sized bags should be sufficient)
-little plants/flowers from Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart or wherever you buy flowers/plants from

Step 1:
First, you are going to want to paint the clay pots. You don't have to but I think it looks better than leaving them the orange-y colour they come as. I painted mine red because it is one of my favourite colours and it would pop in our garden. Once the paint is dry, spray it with a sealer if necessary.

Step 2:
Once everything has dried, take the pots outside. Put the metal or bamboo rod in the preferred spot. I chose a corner spot in our outdoor garden. Once the rod is in place, place the 8" pot on the bottom. NOTE: the clay pots should have holes in the bottom of them. This is so that you can slide them down the metal pole.

Step 3:
Once you have slid the 8" pot down the metal rod, start sliding the smaller pots down. You will need to fill the 8" pot with soil before putting the next clay pot on top of it. You will need to alter the direction of the pots so that every other one faces the opposite way.

Step 4:
Fill each of the 6" clay pots with soil and then add your plants and flowers. Because it gets heavy with the soil and flowers added, you may need a wood post to stabilize the metal rod. This can be done with some twist ties or some twine.

Once the flowers or plants have been planted, water them if needed and ENJOY! You now have a topsy turvey flower planter. HAPPY CRAFTING!!! xo

Popsicle Stick Birdhouses

Hello my fellow crafty friends! In honor of my mother, who just celebrated her birthday this past weekend, I thought I would share with you the gift I made her. This craft is time consuming, and not entirely as easy to make.

Things you will need:
-Popsicle sticks (a lot)
-a hot glue gun
-glue for the glue gun
-paint to decorate
-varnish or modge-podge to seal the paint

Step 1:
Make a square out of Popsicle sticks (approximately 11 sticks). Once you have 11 laid out and in a square take three more Popsicle sticks and glue them in a "z" shape across one side of the square. Do this again to make another two squares. This will become another wall and the bottom. For the other two walls, do the same thing as you did with the other three squares but make sure the square only has 10 Popsicle sticks. The side walls need to be slightly smaller than the front and back walls.
NOTE: Make sure you cut a hole for the bird to enter the birdhouse in the wall that is going to be the front wall. I did this before gluing that wall together as I found it to be the easiest way.

Step 2:
Once you have all your walls, carefully glue then together using a hot glue gun. Do this one wall at a time and not all at once, as you will have to hold them together until the glue hardens. once they are all together, glue the walls to the bottom of the birdhouse. Next cut off the end of a Popsicle stick and glue it in the inside middle of the front wall. (Make sure the cut half of the Popsicle stick is sticking out above the end on the walls). Do the same for the back. Next glue a third Popsicle stick to the two Popsicle sticks you just glued to the house. This is the start of the roof. Then glue a Popsicle stick to the corner of the front wall on an angle (see picture). Then, on the other side, do the same. Do the same for the back. After this, glue a Popsicle stick on top of the points made by the triangles in the back and front of the birdhouse.Next glue a Popsicle stick to either side of the one you just glued.

Step 3:
Next you will glue approximately 11 Popsicle sticks to make up the roof. You will have to determine how long you want the roof to hang over the edge and then cut each Popsicle stick to fit. Once you have cut them, glue the cut edge underneath the little ridge you made in step 2 (Not the one attached to the triangles, but the little one underneath it). The round pieces of the side walls will also have to have glue on them as you need to glue the roof to this as well. Do this over and over until both side of the roof are complete.

Step 4:
Once you have finished step 3, you will need to add the trim. Take a Popsicle stick and place it to form the bottom of the triangle. Mark where it needs to be cut and then cut there. Glue it into place. Do the same for the back. Once you have done that, make a ledge for the hole to the birdhouse. I just used an extra little piece I had from a Popsicle stick I had cut. If you would like, you can fill in the little triangle parts of the roof with left over Popsicle sticks. This is quite difficult, so you can choose to leave them open or to fill them in only slightly.

Step 5:
If you choose to fill them in. Take a Popsicle stick and hold it next to the one in the middle. Mark off the angle you need to cut and then cut it. Also cut the end off so you're not wasting Popsicle sticks. Do this as much as you like and then glue them into their proper places. *NOTE: This is really tricky and help may be needed.

Step 6: Once you have completed the birdhouse, you can paint it however you like. I did two coats of paint on the walls and roof. Once those have dried, you can decorate it. After that is complete and dried, seal it with varnish or modge-podge. (I used modge-podge because I didn't have varnish). I then sanded it after it dried to make it look kinda old. It also takes away some of the stickiness that modge-podge has when it has dried.

Step 7:
Once everything is dry, get a thick piece of rope and loop it through the ridge part of your roof. Then find somewhere to hang it and enjoy the bird who comes to live in it.

I hope you enjoyed this craft. It is a lengthy craft so you could even just buy a birdhouse that is already built at a dollar store. It might make it easier for kids to do. I gave this to my mom last weekend as a birthday gift.  You could give it as a gift or make it for your own backyard. Happy Crafting!