Transform Thrifted Serving Bowls Into A Unique Garden Feature For Birds

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Thrifters know that any given day could be the one where they find something beautiful, perfect, or irresistible. What happens, though, when you stumble across something like that but you don't have anywhere to put it or anyone to give it to? If it's a lovely, thrifted, serving bowl, you can transform it into a unique garden feature for birds. It isn't much of a stretch to realize that a big bowl that could hold your mom's almost-famous potato salad could also hold water. And if it holds water, whether it's a store-bought basin, a puddle in a divot in a rock, or a thrifted bowl you couldn't pass up, your local birds are sure to think it's a bird bath. Make sure the bowl isn't too deep or too shallow, though. Most backyard birds will be the most content if the water is only a few inches (1 to 3 is best).

To turn a thrift store houseware into a bird bath, you only need to set it outside and pour in some H₂O. But that probably wouldn't do your resale find justice. If it was unique or pretty enough for you to buy it, spend a little more time to make it just right for the birds and for your garden. You can do that by adding a stable base that you could glue or cement to your bowl. And you should consider adding rocks to your bird bath because it gives a spot for the feathered friend to rest upon as they splash.

Birds love water sources because they need it for drinking and bathing. And the water is important no matter the season, so if you're a bird watcher or just love having feathered friends around, you'll likely see more if you provide them water. Using a bowl you rescue from a thrift shop makes your creation more interesting and customized, and it's generally easy to do, depending on what you want the finished bird bath to look like. But it all starts with the bowl, a common thrift store find that you can transform into beautiful garden decor. If you're wondering what kind of bowl to use, you have a wide variety of options as long as you keep in mind the safety of the birds. Be cautious about bowls that could be smooth and slippery unless you plan to rough it up to add texture. Also avoid anything metal that could get too hot in bright sunshine. In addition, assess the bowl's ability to withstand weather extremes (unless you don't keep it outside when the weather is dramatically inclement).

Once you've selected your irresistible resale store bowl, you'll need to attach it to your base, which could be as rustic as a few stones or as artistic as a mosaic column. Many bird-loving crafters recommend a good epoxy glue like B-7000 Craft Glue to attach the bowl to its base. The epoxy glue works on a variety of surfaces and is waterproof. Depending on the surfaces you're affixing, though, you could also consider using a professional tile adhesive to connect the bowl to the base.

Once you have a fabulous, thrifted serving bowl that is wide and not too deep making it an excellent choice to become a bird bath, next step is choosing a base. Although there are some birds that prefer a good ground-level pool or puddle for some splish-splash time, many will want the bath water to be higher and that means you can choose what type of pedestal or stand to use as a base for your serving bowl bird bath. Give the thrifted bowl more of your own personal flair by changing up its platform.

Ideas abound, but the first consideration is how to make your bird bath secure if wildlife other than flyers come to visit. While your neighborhood chipmunk, squirrel, or fawn isn't likely to do much damage, a raccoon might, which is why it's a good idea to anchor the bowl to its pedestal. Some items are more glue-able than others. If you opt to reuse an old chair to attract more birds to your yard, the seat and your bowl should glue together easily. However, if you're using a short tower of flat stones, it will be hard to use glue; a better bet is cement mortar. Use it on a few cement blocks before adding broken bits of ceramic, marbles, or china to create a mosaic stand for your thrifted bowl that matches its colors or theme. There's one last thing to do for the sake of stability: Give your bird bath a firm foundation with a paver platform; the one thing missing from your bird bath.