Building With Nature

Whether you live in a city apartment, or have a yard, this is a rewarding activity to pursue. Create a display of natural found objects in your home or build a bug hotel to enjoy in your garden or on a patio.

Bug Hotels are outdoor collections that support the biodiversity of your garden. The Centre for Alternative Technology has a free webinar on March 10, 2021 to share ideas on how to make our homes and gardens nature friendly.

Create a Display Cabinet for natural found objects in your home. I found an old IKEA cabinet at a second-hand store. It is so easy to paint on the glass doors, we used water-based pens for this – easy to wipe clean if you are unhappy with the result or to change as often as you like!

Any deceased bug, moth or butterfly is a possibility for the cabinet.

Jars of pretty herbs stored in my grandmother’s canning jars.

Beautiful pinecones for their symmetrical structure.

Pretty rocks that glisten with mica chips. 

Abandoned eggs.

We often find abandoned bird nests on the farm when we are harvesting herbs. I carefully gather the abandoned nests and put them into the greenhouse to sit for a year and bake in the hot sun before I put them into a display (I don’t want broken, smelly eggs around!).

The possibilities are endless and can be changed on a whim.
A fun purposeful cabinet to create and enjoy!