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How to Make Junk Art Owls (Easy Tutorial)

Published on May 17, 2019Last updated October 6, 2021 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
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Make your own garden junk sculptures including owls, cats, and robots, using cheese graters and other repurposed items.

If you love a good rusty patina, also see these rusty garden art ideas.

Garden art owl made from kitchen supplies.

Easy Way to Make Garden Junk Art

Garden art owl made from upcycled kitchen and hardware items.

Time to empty your kitchen junk drawer, all those what-nots in your workshop, and gather all those metal gizmos and gadgets you never use.

Anything that can withstand the weather is fair game.

Combined with the right, long-lasting outdoor adhesive (see below), you can create all sorts of fun garden junk decor.


1Gather Supplies

Supplies for making junk art creatures
Old kitchen junk makes great recycled art

I look for anything metal and fairly lightweight, so it’s easy to glue and will endure the weather.

Here’s some suggestions:

  • Knives, forks, spoons
  • Strainers
  • Fuses
  • Canning jar lids
  • Springs
  • Metal beaters
  • Utensils
  • Whisks
  • Door handles and knobs
  • Nuts, bolts
  • Candlesticks
  • Jello molds
  • Metal filters
  • Saw blades
  • Empty food cans
  • Can & bottle openers
  • Gears
  • Measuring spoons

Making earth wise owls from corrugated cardboard.

Related: DIY Earth-Wise Owls Recycled Craft Project



2Get the Right Glue

Funny garden art owl
Planning the owl

I use GE II silicone sealant (outdoor, clear-drying) for all my garden art. It forms a permanent bond that does not give up. You can buy it in a small tube or for a caulking dispenser.

If you want to know more about this product, I have answered frequently-asked questions about silicone sealant as a glue here.

GE II silicone sealant.

Different types of glue.

Related: Glue Resource Guide for Garden Art Projects



3Play With Ideas

Diagram of garden junk owl parts.
Diagram showing parts used for garden art owl

Put your supplies out on a table and start playing with ideas.

The best tip for a cute creature is to have obvious eyes. Once you’ve got the eyes, the rest is easy.

Cheese grater funny bird art
Cheese grater and springs—perfect!

If you want to make a specific creature, google junk art + name and view the images tab to get inspiration.


Garden art created from old kitchen items.

Related: 20 Creative Ways to Repurpose Kitchen Junk into Garden Decor


Garden junk colander creature
Funny critter

I’m really fond of goofy robot-like creatures and owls.

Cheese grater owl
There are countless options

Here I used a cheese grater as the body of the owl. I then switched to using a metal filter—the type used in range hoods.

Garden art owl
Cute little owl

TIP: Think about how you’ll want to display your art. If it doesn’t have an obvious way to hang it up, you’ll want to add something to your design to accommodate this.


Garden art made from recycled household stuff including a chandelier.

Related: 50 Creative + Recycled Garden Art Projects



4Glue Pieces Together

Assembling garden art owl
Use clamps to hold pieces in place while the glue is drying


Some pieces like the eyes of this owl are worked in layers, from back to front (above).

The eyes are made from two different sizes of canning jar lids and old fuses plus springs for eyebrows.

Use clamps to hold things in place while the adhesive is drying.


5Display in Garden

Garden junk owl hanging on fence.
Don’t forget to provide a branch to perch on

Make More

If one looks cute in the garden, a whole bunch look even better. Challenge yourself to make a whole flock—or gang—and give all that old junk a nice, long second life in the garden.


Garden art owl decorations.

Related: 14 Owl-Inspired Garden Art & Craft Ideas



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25 Garden Art Projects & Ideas

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~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Garden art owl made from upcycled kitchen and hardware items.
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Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
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