Upcycle Thrifted Glassware Into Beautiful Bespoke DIY Garden Decor

A few pretty yard accessories can go a long way to help your property represent your personality and boost curb appeal on a budget. If garden ornaments, bird baths or feeders, and outdoor lighting features catch your eye in shops or online, then their price tags frighten you away. Make your own with thrifted glass bowls, glasses, vases, and trays for just a few dollars instead. With some epoxy and a few other bits and bobs, metamorphose your finds into a custom art piece, birdy pool, or lantern. A few layers of glassware, like an ornate platter, a scalloped-edge plate, and a tinted bowl, become a decorative floral stake when mounted on its side. Turn it 90 degrees, and you have a bespoke bird feeder or bath. With the right components, you can slide the lot over an outdoor light fixture for a step up from run-of-the-mill garden lighting.

Scanning the aisles of a thrift store can feel like the ultimate treasure hunt. Yet, if you go in with a particular item in mind, you'd be incredibly lucky to find it. If your thrifting hunts come up fruitless, a trip to Dollar Tree or an Amazon click-fest could help you put together the look you were envisioning. These projects are also great excuses for taking inventory of your own glassware stock. Out of storage come chipped vessels or under-used wedding gifts that will finally get some use as DIY garden ornaments.

Three pieces of dishware in different sizes stacked from largest to smallest form a pretty flower; as a base, use a sizable plate, platter, or bowl. Follow up with a smaller piece, and attach a bowl or cup as the center of your flower. While thrifting, pick up a metal spoon or butter knife to create a hanger for your project. You'll also need a hollow piece of metal pipe about 2 feet long to use as a stand and some heavy-duty glue. If you have an old mop or broom handle that's made of metal, you can cut it to size with a hacksaw. Even though you should keep E6000 glue in your home, an epoxy-based one, like Gorilla Epoxy Ultimate, is a better choice for long-term outdoor use.

Once you've got the right glassware pieces, give them a good washing before opening up the glue. Coat the contact points on the bottom of the dishes that will sit atop the largest dish and the one that will sit on that one. Let the glue cure for 30 minutes before moving on to the next step.

To make the hook that will hold the flower to the post, bend the spoon or butter knife in half at a roughly 45-degree angle. Hammer the spoon's bowl enough to make a flat surface on its back. Glue the back of the spoon or the blade of the butter knife to the base of the largest dish. Slip the pipe into your garden soil, and place the curved end of the spoon or knife into the pipe's open top.

Basic glass vases are something you're almost guaranteed to find at a thrift store. Either invert it over a light and top it with a lightweight bowl or fuse it with another vessel as a bird bath pedestal. For both DIYs, you'll need to grab a vase with a wide mouth and a cute bowl or collection of plates and bowls.

Pull off an easy solar yard light upgrade with a vase and a clear decorative glass bowl about 1½ to 2 times wider than the vase. The vase should be tall and have a mouth wide enough to fit over the light. Turn both the vase and the bowl upside down, and glue the inverted bowl to the vase's base. After the glue has cured, sink the stake light into your garden and place your custom creation overtop.

One or more vases elevate an ersatz bird bath or bowl feeder beautifully. For this DIY, you'll want an additional wide, shallow bowl or plate attached beneath the vase to keep the bath upright. Flip the base dish upside down and affix the widest end of the vase to the center of the base dish. If you're using more than one vase, attach them with the largest and heaviest items at the lowest levels to keep it from becoming too top-heavy. Arrange and glue on the water or food receptacle portion of your build once the glue has cured. One large bowl will do; however, setting it atop a wider plate will not only look more distinctive but can also give birds more perching space.