Painted Pebbles to Keep Birds Away From Your Fruit

 From Mother Earth news Magazine:

It’s always a bummer to lose sweet fruit growing in your garden or orchard, but one method for saving your harvest could be as simple as a box o’ rocks. Some say painted rocks or pebbles can deter birds from pecking at ripening fruit.

The idea is that if you paint pebbles red and scatter them in your garden, birds will peck at them and be discouraged. Then, when your strawberries or cherries ripen, the birds will ignore them. Or, a gardener could try using larger rocks painted red or yellow to teach chickens not to bother pecking at tomatoes, squash, etc.

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-it/have-you-used-painted-pebbles-to-keep-birds-away-from-your-fruit.aspx#ixzz1xM62g718

Originally posted in June 24, 2002, n an Album by Lee Wismer, and re-posted several times on different blogs, this is an incredible idea, for decorations inside and out, to fool birds, to use as a table decoration on a picnic table, etc. Enjoy :) 

  

                                                     

Collect some strawberry shaped stones. Wash well with soap and water and let dry.

 Use acrylics.  To achieve a bright red result, undercoat stone with white.  The white undercoat makes the red "pop out".

 

 Base-coat with any red of your choice.  You will probably need two coats of red.
In these examples [I] used Delta Ceramcoat Fire Red.

 

 Look at your "berry" and decide which end would be best suited for the hull. One end is usually less pointed and that is where the hull would go. With Hauser Medium Green, or any medium green of your choice, base in the hull, making 6 or 7 pointed leaves that come about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down the strawberry. Try not to make your hull so small that you can't see it from a side view. 

With Hauser Dark Green, or any dark green, outline each hull leaf, put in a central vein on each, and add a circle at the top centre

With Hauser Light Green, or any light green, randomly add  highlights here and there.  No need to wash out your brush between greens..mixing them is more interesting.

With Black, using a liner brush,randomly add the little pockets where the seeds grow.
Avoid the temptation to add too many.
Also, keep them small so they don't end up looking like watermelon seeds.  lol

 Again, using a liner brush, place a dot of off white in each little pocket to represent the seed.  I used Ceramcoat Light Ivory.

 

The final step is to give your berry 2 or 3 coats of varnish..either in spray form or with a wipe-on product called Final Coat.  The varnish protects the paint from chipping,gives depth to the colour,and it keeps the paint from sticking and lifting when you pile the berries in a basket.
(When I used a brush on varnish I found the berries would stick together when stacked.)

Display your berries in a decorative container.
For example,this is a recycled tuna can or in a basket fancied up with a bow and a little white doily for contrast....just the right size for displaying your painted strawberry rocks! Very pretty!

I can't wait to make my box of strawberry rocks :D

Happy tatting and crafting, Bree!