New Bird Feeder, um, I mean Cage, no, Feeder!

So I went yard-saling last weekend...again (becoming addicted!!) and found a slew of great items to recycle! One of them was this bird cage. Nothing fancy, nothing old (you can find this same kind in the pet stores) but I thought I could do something neat with it. See the big old wrought iron one beside it? Wow!!! I'm thrilled with that find and can't wait to re-purpose it! But that will be another post. :)

Had some red & yellow Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint, so I painted the top...

 The dogs just had to investigate, aren't they adorable!!

...and the bottom...

...and decided it looked pretty neat!! And decided to put it on one of the shepherd's hooks in the bird garden. I have some of the chicken scratch feed in it (Larry bought the wrong kind, we need layer feed, and we can't use it so we figured some wild-life will like it!)

 Just noticed I forgot to put the perches back in...have to do that tomorrow.

I spray painted some steel wire yellow to match the cage and secured the door and 'food holder doors' open so the wild-life can get in & out with ease. 

Haven't seen any bird in it, figure they must feel too 'caged in' so they use the regular feeders. BUT, the chipmunks love it!! Saw one this morning peeking his head up every once in a while. They probably feel safe from the cats in the cage. I'm so happy they feel at home in this feeder!

And the great thing, the chickens love to scratch around the feeders...they devour all the seed that falls, which is wonderful!! We don't get a lot of weeds growing under the feeders.

Pebbles under the feeder loving the seeds the birds drop

Update:
Even though I had drainage holes in the bottom, when it rained the feed became soggy & clumped together. So now I only use it for the peanuts, and yes, the blue jays love it! They go inside to get their treats...never thought I'd see that!

Yard Sale Finds

Larry & I walked up the road last Saturday to check out a couple of yard sales going on in the neighbourhood. And, of course, I came home with some great finds!

I bought this old milk can...something I've wanted for years ever. It is smaller than I wanted, and has a painting of farmland and animals all around the body, not naturally rusted the way I like them. But, bonus is, the dairy stamp is still visible!  On closer inspection, I found it still has the UPC code! It is made by a company called Houston Harvest Gift Products from Franklin Park IL. The woman told me she could never figure how to get the lid off...probably because it doesn't come off, never meant to. I was so happy to finally find one at a good deal, I didn't check all this when I picked it up. I didn't even barter...then again, I rarely do...I usually just pay the asking price or when I have a few items ask what do you want for all this and then give it to them. lol Yard sale people probably love me. :) I don't go often enough to feel comfortable haggling about price. 

Laurel from The North End Loft posted on how she took a milk can that had been painted red then black and 'restored' it to it's original rusty patina. And all with paint! I was amazed at how natural it looked! I have to look into this...I'm hoping the picture can covered and the can will turn out rustic & old. Using her technique, I'm sure it will turn out to be just the way I want it. This is a project I will post when I finish...hopefully soon. 

The family was also selling a bunch of bird houses. I only bought 2, brought them home and immediately started spraying them with some paint I had left over. 

These need a coat of something or other...

I didn't get rid of all the decor on this one, just touched up a bit of paint here & there. Messed up the front, but hopefully the birds won't mind. Will probably work with this one some more, not happy with it...I was too trigger happy and in a rush! (Oh and the one in the background...dollar store, thinking this one's going to have a paint-job in the near future)

 I do like the way this one turned out! Used a pretty blue and 'splashed' some old ivory on top to give a bit of a worn look. I know the birds will be happy here!

Saw this metal container, now this is a patina I love!!! Didn't need to do anything with this fella, just fill with stones, soil & plants!

A couple of Echeveria and a crassula

I also found this old container that I don't think needs a thing done to it. I did have Larry drill a few drainage holes in it, now all I need to do is figure out which plant I'm going to transplant into it.

The church was having a huge sale. And all I came away with was this small Blue Mountain Pottery gravy boat for 50 cents.

 Potted it up with some succulents and it looks great!

 Off the yard sale topic, but still recycling...a nieghbour was getting rid of some old stairs that led to their porch, once upon a time. They brought them over to burn one night when we were having a bonfire. I really have to keep an eye on Larry and his fires...he loves to burn 'garbage' to get rid of it...I keep digging in his burn pile and rescuing stuff. I rescued these stairs and they make a perfect potting 'stand' for my collection of hibiscus!! And I don't need to do a thing to them! :)

I love finding reusable stuff that is usable as is!! And so much of these are perfect just the way they are. :)