We think you’ll find inspiration in our small backyard landscape ideas! Planning and laying out a garden can be challenging in a small yard where space is limited, but we’ve got some solutions! Continue reading
Category Archives: Outdoor Projects
DIY Pond – Milk Crate Upcycle!
This DIY pond is our most creative milk crate upcycle. Not withstanding the fact that it also happens to be our only milk craft upcycle to date, if you want to recreate the look of our backyard pond, now is the perfect time of year to get started. Continue reading
DIY Indoor Water Fountain – Magical Floating Tap
Hubs always wanted to create a DIY indoor water fountain. Specifically one of those indoor water features where the tap is magically suspended above a watering can. He bought some of the supplies, but that’s as far as he got. When I stumbled on his stash, I decided to order a pump so I could make it for him. Continue reading
Stone Patio Installation – a DIY Achievement
A stone patio installation is likely the most backbreaking work you will ever attempt. But it’s also the most rewarding DIY! That’s because the money you save on labour can be put right back into high end finishes and accessories. In our case, that high end finish is real Travertine. We fully intended to splurge on this stone but as luck would have it, the company was moving locations and it was on clearance! Better to sell cheap than to shlep it to the new location!
Installing real stone is as easy as pavers and looks so elegant when it’s done! So it’s nothing to be intimidated by! Continue reading
Milk Can Decor – How to Stencil an Uneven Surface
Milk can decor has always been on my bucket list of things to upcycle. Thanks to this find at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, I’m finally able to scratch it off my list! It’ll make a beautiful fall decor display. Continue reading
Outdoor Garden Decor – Stencil Art
Outdoor garden decor is the focus of our very first stencil project using Cutting Edge Stencils! Typically the kind of stencil we’re using would go on a wall. But we’re not typical. I can’t wait for you to see our unique idea to turn a wall stencil into stencil art for the garden! But if you read to the very end, we have a giveaway so you can try it out stencilling too. Continue reading
Adirondack Chair Head Pillow – DIY Neck Pillow!
Aside from spending more time with Hubs, this Adirondack chair head pillow is probably the best thing to come out of the stay at home order this year. Hubs hasn’t worked since March so I want him to take advantage of the opportunity to take it easy for change. If anyone deserves some rest and relaxation it’s him. But I bet you do too and I’ll show you how! Continue reading
Fire Pit Upcycle
I wouldn’t have guessed that a fire pit would top my list of favourite upcycles! It’s amazing what you can find kicked to the curb every week. As I walked down the street on this particular day, I spotted it in the distance. Continue reading
Succulent ‘Seat Cushion’: Hypertufa DIY Planter
I have to say that hypertufa planter chairs are my all time favourite DIY upcycle project for the garden! What could be better than a ‘seat cushion’ made of succulents? Continue reading
How to Apply Polymeric Sand – Resand a Walkway
Resanding with Polymeric sand marks the end of an era at Birdz of a Feather. All good things must come to an end; nothing lasts forever. Today that sentiment is twofold: we’ve updated our logo and are replacing the polymeric sand in our front walkway! Continue reading
Pond Maintenance: Get Your Pond Ready for Summer!
Pond maintenance is par for the course if you want to enjoy an urban oasis. Are ponds high maintenance? Yup; but there’s a secret to keeping algae at bay if you continue to read. That will help keep maintenance during the season to a minimum.
Opening up the pond for the season is a dirty job. But somebody has to do it – and thankfully, it’s not me! I’m happy to take my place behind the camera to help show you how it’s done 🙂 Continue reading
Bathroom Light Fixture Planter
If you’re anything like us, you try to complete your inside renos during the winter months so you can enjoy the great outdoors once the good weather arrives. We just finished an accessible bathroom renovation for my Mom, so in this tutorial we’re showing you how to turn an unwanted bathroom light fixture into a planter for the garden. Continue reading
Guitar Planter: Playing a New Tune
This is a project that was 7 years in the making because I couldn’t bring myself to destroy a perfectly good guitar! However, when Hubs came across an abandoned guitar that was beyond saving as an instrument, it was game on! In the meantime, we kept busy with these 10 outside the box planter ideas. Continue reading
Front Paver Walkway Makeover
I had yet to install a paver walkway, despite owning and renovating two houses before this one. Hubs came into the picture shortly after I bought this house so it was great timing for me; maybe not so much for him! Faced with rows of underwhelming builder slabs that the previous owner lived with for over 20 years, the perfect opportunity presented itself for both of us to learn a new skillset! Continue reading
Repurpose Your Bathroom Fixtures: Garden Mirror
Why would you repurpose your bathroom fixtures in the garden? Because you can! When we left off in our last post, we had a blank section of fencing at the entry to our backyard that needed a little somethin’ somethin’. Continue reading
Phone Booth Upcycle – DIY Planter Shelves
Thee Phone Booth Planter is finally here! You’ve seen the teaser: now we’re excited to share with you one of our most interesting projects to date! We’ve got two ideas in store; we’ll show you one today and the other one next week! Continue reading
Outdoor Privacy Screen – with Junk Find!
An outdoor privacy screen is sometimes all it takes to keep the peace. You know the proverb: the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! Well, our house in the burbs has a wooden fence that surrounds it. It’s great that it defines the boundaries, but it’s not so great for privacy. As you can see by the picture below, we have a distracting view of our neighbour’s pool in the back yard. No grass – just a cool, refreshing, inviting pool that we don’t have access to 🙂 As if the sightline isn’t bad enough, noise transference is an issue too. Continue reading
Reshape a Pom Pom Topiary – How to Prune
With spring on the horizon, it’s time to reshape a pom pom topiary and start puttering in the garden again! Continue reading