I’m not sure what season you are celebrating right now, but I am in the midst of spring bursting out everywhere. Wherever you look, there are flowers, grass and trees simply bursting with life and growth. What a wonderful time of the year! Of course, we also have the phrase: April showers bring May flowers, so here are a few ideas to help you through those rainy days.

First, don’t forget our feathered friends outside. This is one of the times they still need to be fed (and my article about bird feeders could be helpful), plus they need more food because they are in the process of establishing their homes. You can help with this in so many ways. You could purchase a bird house and decorate it before you hang it up outside. We’ve usually painted ours in some “natural” colors (and avoided the fluorescent colors). Building a birdhouse is not too hard and could be a nice project for a parent and child or for two children to do together for an afternoon. If you aren’t too sure, check out your local hardware store. Sometimes they offer classes on weekends and you could make one there.

This is the time of year that flowers come to mind. We have some beautiful crocuses in our yard (that the deer and rabbits haven’t eaten yet!) and the daffodils and hyacinths are sprouting and ready to bloom soon. If you like to start your flowers indoors, why not paint a few flowerpots before you plant your seeds? These would make very nice gifts for anyone, especially since Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Your plants would be well established before you give them to that special someone. First, be certain to seal your pot with an acrylic sealer to prevent your design from coming off the pot. The water will seep through the terra cotta if you do not do this. You could also decorate the terra cotta pot, but place your plant into a plastic pot and set this into the decorated pot. Use any good quality acrylic paints, or those on the market specific to painting on terra cotta. If you are going to use a plastic liner, you could become very creative and decoupage your clay pot.

If you simply can’t wait for your flowers to bloom, why not make a few of your own? There are so many different ways to make flowers, that it would be hard to list them here. I will have some ideas in my next article, and also, let’s share some ideas at the forum.