5 DIY Home Projects for Earth Day

What’s a better time to get out, talk to the flowers and beautify the garden than on Earth Day? Spend the annual day for Mother Nature with these simple DIY projects for the garden.

Old Key Wind Chimes

Somewhere in the old drawers of the house is a small pile of old keys that you may re-purpose into a tool that would help you wind down whenever lounging in the garden. Here’s what you’ll need and a step-by-step instructions on how to craft an old key wind chimes.

What You Need:

• Old keys (at least 5)
• Drift wood or a thick stick of wood
• String or thread
• Acrylic paint

How to:

1. Paint keys and stick with acrylic paint.
2. To be able to hang your stick anywhere, tie pieces of strings to the ends of it and have the ends of the strings meet in a knot.
3. Tie strings to each key through the hole or the neck.
4. Tie the keys to the stick. Remember to have the keys close enough to each other to allow movement and chime.

Mini Succulent Garden

Hop on the succulent garden bandwagon and start your mini version with this how-to.

What You Need:

• Small plant pot
• Soil
• Gravel and small stones
• Cacti and succulents

How to:

1. Start with your base layer of gravel or stones.
2. Put in your soil.
3. Create a hole in the soil, right in the middle, for your cacti and succulents.
4. Gently massage and loosen the roots of your plants.
5. Lay your plants down on the hole, and add soil to hold them in place.

Hanging Wall Garden

Space is no concern with this modern type of garden. Introduce greens on new spaces with vertical or hanging wall gardens.

Backyard Tipi

Help the kids mark their spot in the garden with a tent for a backyard tipi. Simply put up a blanket fort or a tent, lay a blanket inside and fill with throw pillows and stuffed toys!

Tin Can Lantern

Light up the afternoons and evenings with beautiful lanterns made from tin cans!

What You Need:

• Tin Cans
• Hammer and nails
• Pliers and wire
• Tea light candles
• Spray Paint

How to:

1. Clean tin cans. Remove labels and scrub off glue.
2. Fill cans with water and leave in the freezer until water is solid ice.
3. Once the water is frozen, take your cans out. Create holes for the handle. With your hammer and nail, punch holes on each side, near the top of each can.
4. Punch more holes for the light. You may follow a certain pattern or design in doing this.
5. Allow for the ice in the can to melt. You may flatten the bulge on the bottom of the can with your hammer.
6. For the handle, cut a 12 inch long bailing wire. Form a hook on one end and stick it through one of the handle holes. Twist to lock it in place.
7. Work on another hook on the other end of the 12-inch wire. Stick it through the other handle hole and twist.
8. Get your DIY tin can lantern with a colorful coat by spray painting Colorquick Quick Dry Enamel.
9. Once you’ve finished with your tin cans, you may now insert your tea light candles into each!

You may also take your garden plants into your living spaces with just a few Jungalow guidelines to keep in mind. Check out more home improvement projects and suggestions for all seasons of the year from Island Paints.