Creative & Darling Bird Bath Projects For The Yard

Here are a bunch of ideas for making bird baths using a variety of bits and pieces from around the house or harvested from garage sales & thrift stores.

Most are quite simple to make with several featuring creative, original ideas though some are fairly similar to each other…these are included to show how different projects can look using assorted sized pieces, or adding color by using paint and other embellishment ideas.

Tips before getting started:

• Keep in mind that the interior basin holding water needs to be bird friendly, we don’t want to poison the darlings! Do some research on products like sealant before using. Outer materials don’t matter as much.
• No matter how lovely the structure, if you don’t keep it clean…it’s not healthy for the birds. Fill with fresh water daily. For regular maintenance use a plastic scrubby with a bit of bleach until stains are removed. Rinse well to remove all traces of bleach before filling with fresh water.
• Location, location, location! Position a fair distance from feeders, those seeds (and droppings) fly everywhere and can quickly dirty the water.
• If you have a cat at home or on the prowl in the neighborhood…keep that in mind when determining the location of the birdbath.

As with all project collections here on Tipnut, I’ll be adding more goodies to this page as I find them so you may want to bookmark this page for future reference. Enjoy!

Free DIY Tutorials & Ideas

Easy Wreath: Three strands of rope are tied together then a wreath is nestled inside with a saucer placed on top. Hang from a tree and fill with water. (webarchive link)

With Feeder: A flower pot is glued between two clay saucers (different sizes) then set inside a hanging basket, one dish for seed and one for water.

Pan Topped Garden Columns: An upcycled handled pan is attached to a column, gaps filled with spackle.

Tiered: Goodwill raid for supplies which include a large table lamp, flower shaped bowl, platter & decorative glass cup.

Planter/Urn Combo: The top holds water, the bottom holds plants and flowers…so pretty! Two urns are used (17″ and 12″).

Restoration: You’ll have to check out the before & after to appreciate the work done.

Charming: Recommends using a copper pipe even though it’s expensive because it will develop a lovely patina over time.

Salvaged Chair: No step-by-step instructions, but are any needed? A terra cotta saucer is fit into the seat of the chair frame.

Serving Bowl: An old colorful bowl fixed onto the top of an old table leg/spindle from the thrift store.

Stacked Stones: So rustic, so lovely! Topped with galvanized trashcan lids picked up at a garage sale.

Stacked Teapots: An Anthro inspired bird bath for “cheep” lol. A simple bowl, teapot, various cups, containers, dishes, a large plate, ceramic glue.

Tomato Cage Hack: Now isn’t this clever! Cut the cage down to the size you want then add a decorative dish to the top.

Recycled Lamp: . One lamp, a few hours, spray paint and some epoxy just about did it.

Simple: Three rods (doweling or broomstick handles), a decorate basin and exterior-grade paint.

Feeder/Bath Combo: A few vintage pieces are stacked is the order desired then glued together with epoxy.

Leaf Shaped: You’ll need cement mix and a large leaf from a hosta, rhubarb, burdock, castor bean or elephant’s ear. Also see these concrete leaf instructions.

Terracotta Saucer & Pot: A square saucer is glued to the bottom of a terracotta pot then embellished. (links for both projects are to webarchive pages since websites no longer available).

Terracotta Bowl Stand: An old bowl is glued to the bottom of a planter using liquid nail then pebbles and a brick are placed in the center (for birds to rest on).

Stacked Planters: With a little paint and some glue, you can turn your tired old terra cotta pots into quite a charming piece for your garden.

Hanging Basin: (Video tutorial) Made with nylon twine and a large lipped basin.

Candle Plate Style: Made with three wooden dowels (or old broom handles), varathane and a candle plate.

Mosaic: A flower pot, saucer, colorful tiles (or pebbles) and tile adhesive are used to make this project.