Feathered Friends & A Little Project

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  I've been spending a lot of time out in the yard and have had a chance to do some bird watching.  They've been really active with the nice weather!  And there's a nest in one of our apple trees that is super cool.  Here are a few shots.

My husband actually saw mom feeding the little baby birds.  I was hoping to get a picture of that... but not yet.  Mama is protective!

I'm amazed I actually got this one!... This fella had a hay-day out on the front lawn!

Okay, so now for the project.  I had this old bird feeder and one of the plastic inserts broke in it. 

Nothin that a little spray paint and creativity won't fix!  I simply removed the plastic inserts (they slid right out of the top).  Then I busted out a mixture of brown and black spray paint.  I put a coat of brown on first and let it dry.  Then I used black over the top of that... but before it had a chance to dry I used an old cloth and rubbed some of it off.  Then I added a little extra distressing by lightly sanding off a few areas.

Once that was done, I took the old inserts and used them as a template to create the new ones.  I decided to put chicken wire in where the plastic used to be.  I simply used wire snippers and cut out the rectangles, then assembled them on the inside.  I put a candle in it and voila!

This was so simple!... and FREE!  Plus super fun and cute to use as an accent or centerpiece for an outdoor party.  Have a fabulous week!