Here are the cutest bugs in the garden

Find some smooth river stones, or a bowling ball,…or anything round and ”buggy’ and you too can make a garden ladybug.  Easy project!

Take a peek at these easy projects and then we’ll show you how to make some of your own.

Stone ladybugs made by Kirk Willis’s daughter

Kirk Willis says, “One year, my daughter got the idea to paint lady bug rocks! She gathered rocks from our property and couldn’t stop until she painted a HERD of ladybugs! Aren’t they the cutest? She placed them in a corner of her swing set area. My creative daughter! I’m so proud of her!”

Carol Ann McLaughlin painted smooth stones in to ladybugs and turtles

Carol Ann McLaughlin

Mary Everett used lady bugs and bees as a theme for her game

Mary Everett says, “I made this for my front porch, the younger kiddos enjoy playing a game of Tic Tac Toe with Grandpop. They’re just painted and sealed rocks and I used a small table I had on hand. Too easy and lots of fun.”

Sue Jordan‘s painted leaf and bugs…This lily pad is occupied!

How to paint rocks

River stones

Outdoor projects need outdoor paint like this:

 Folkart outdoor craft paints, 12 color set $22.63

Bowling ball bugs…

Wanda Clark‘s first bowling ball project…is a ladybug

Trudi Wilbur painted a bowling ball and added ‘antenna’ from coat hangers

Diana See’s goofy blue ladybug

Fun facts about Ladybugs

• One Ladybug can lay up to 1000 eggs in its lifetime.
• Not all Ladybugs have spots.
• Ladybugs come in many colors like pink, yellow, white, orange and black.
• Over 300 types of Ladybugs live in North America.
• Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes bad so predators won’t eat them.
• Ladybugs hibernate in large groups in cold weather.
• Many countries consider a ladybug to be a sign of good luck.
• Ladybugs are actually beetles, so sometimes are called LadyBeetles.
• The bright colors of Ladybugs warn birds that they don’t taste good.
• Boy ladybugs are called ladybugs, too.
• Ladybugs eat lots of aphids and other pest insects, so gardeners and farmers use them for pest control instead of chemicals.

Ladybugs from surprising objects…

Michelle Jarrett  “This flower vase frog makes a cute ladybug!”

Jeanie Merritt’s surprising scrubbie

Jeanie Merritt‎ says, “In the ‘Something as Simple As That’ category… A lady bug kitchen scrubbie holder, purchased at a yard sale last year for, I believe, a mere 10 cents, looks right at home in my beautiful, vibrant sedums… an accent of color. I just turned the hole for the scrubbie around to the other side…Viola!”

Lisa Wilson found a ladybug bowl for her dish flower

Lisa Wilson For this ladybug dish flower, I used GE silicone II weatherproof..just glue around the edge..let dry a couple days. Everything I’ve made has held up all winter, but if your masterpiece holds water put it in the garage.

Lisa Wilson shows the back, too…

“I attached it this way…,” Lisa says, “with a flattened a serving spoon with a hammer and bent back and glued the spoon part to the plate..make sense? The handle fits into pole.”

More on how to make garden dish flowers