{"id":47199,"date":"2014-02-18T00:09:26","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T08:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=47199"},"modified":"2014-02-18T00:09:26","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T08:09:26","slug":"birds-merit-badge-intermediate-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/47199","title":{"rendered":"Birds Merit Badge, Intermediate Level"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThe adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/a>, now with 5,730 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20148,037 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> former life<\/a> \u2026\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For this week\u2019s Garden Gate\/Birds Intermediate Level Merit Badge<\/a>, I was inspired by a few different things:<\/p>\n

Pinterest,<\/p>\n

the stash of freebies I\u2019ve collected from tag sales, curbs, and craigslist,<\/p>\n

and our fine, feathered friends.<\/p>\n

Now that the weather outside isn\u2019t so frightful, I\u2019ve been longing for more time out in my garden. And with that longing comes an intense need to decorate. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re familiar with the emotion; it\u2019s usually what hits us after an afternoon of weeding or planting, or just lounging on your favorite porch swing. Pillows, you think. Or a DIY walkway. Or an arch over that spot of begonias. Or perhaps more twinkle lights? There\u2019s always room for more twinkle lights, let\u2019s be honest.<\/p>\n

And while making your garden or lawn the cutest on the block, you can also make some winged creatures pretty happy (and well hydrated, to boot). After all, I don\u2019t know exactly how much energy it takes to fly, but I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s more than your average stroll through the park. So \u2026 properly hydrated fowl and<\/b> an adorable way to decorate? Two birds with one stone! Ha! I love it when I get a bit punny during merit badge time.<\/p>\n

I lugged out my collection of things that needed some TLC.<\/p>\n

MBA Jane\u2019s DIY with TLC, that\u2019s me.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the creative muse that resided within me (and several Pinterest tutorials), I lined up my eclectic collection. Turns out, making bird baths or bird houses is limited only by your own imagination. You can use everything AND the kitchen sink! My kitchen sink was currently at work in the kitchen (I know, how mundane of me), but I did have other options, including:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0two teapots with broken and\/or missing lids
\n\u2022\u00a0several teacups with chipped saucers
\n\u2022\u00a0cereal bowls from the dollar store
\n\u2022\u00a0a large silver ladle
\n\u2022\u00a0a few old license plates from other states
\n\u2022\u00a0a bundt pan
\n\u2022\u00a0a lighting sconce
\n\u2022\u00a0some candlesticks that weren\u2019t a matched set
\n\u2022\u00a0a plant stand
\n\u2022\u00a0clay pots
\n\u2022\u00a0a broken, but sweet-looking decorative water fountain<\/p>\n

Also, I had: Gorilla glue, hammers and nails, and several half-full containers of spray paint in a lovely shade of Robin\u2019s Egg Blue (appropriate, no?)<\/p>\n

My whimsy and imagination took hold. I like to think blue jays and sparrows and hummingbirds flew around, alighting on my shoulder as I worked, singing with me like a Disney princess, but I\u2019m pretty sure it was just me. No matter\u2014after they see what I\u2019ve done with the place, they\u2019ll be back and they\u2019ll tell their friends. I\u2019ll be the busiest bird hotel and spa in town. I considered hanging a Vacancy\/No Vacancy sign up on my cutest mini house: a three-level Victorian, made out of my leftover roof shingles. I contented myself with washing up in my newest bath (made from the candlesticks and bundt pan) and straightened my second favorite bird house (a tipped over teapot hanging from the branches) before going inside my own home.<\/p>\n

The birds in my neighborhood have it made in the shade.<\/p>\n

I hope they like spending time there as much as I do.<\/p>\n

 \t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,730 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20148,037 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ Wondering … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gladsome_sisters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}