Copper Critters!

This marble caterpillar is the basis for several other marble insects. It's simply some #12 copper wire that's been wound around a 1/2" dowel rod and then stretched slightly. Then just pop in the marbles and solder to a heavy wire stand. This stand is #8 wire.




This dragon fly is a "worm body" with the addition of 2 larger marbles for eyes and wire wings.

To make a butterfly add copper flashing material cut into a pair of wings to the basic "worm body".

Make your caterpillars as long as you like and give them a wave shape to make them appear more animated.

Start with a large "shooter" marble to make the snail body. Wrap the large marble with wire to form the serpentine look of a snail's shell.

This spider web is hung on our deck to contrast against the sky. It shows up best this way but you can hang one in a doorframe or window too.

One of my favorite critters is also one of the easiest to make! This daddy longlegs is just a copper disk with the addition of 2 marble eyes and 8 wire legs. (The legs are 4 pieces of wire approx. 3 feet long. They are soldered together at their center and to the bottom of the bug body then bent into a large rounded "M" shape to form the legs.)

Another favorite is the DoDo bird. This one keeps watch over our shade garden with his red "glass glob" eyes. (Glass globs are available in craft shops and stained glass supply stores. They look like a marble that's been left in the oven too long and melted flat on one side.)

Note: his legs extend about 12 inches through the bottoms of his feet. This allows him to be "planted" in the dirt and he is self supporting. He really glares at trespassers!

This is one of my most elaborate critters. The fish weathervane has rotating fins that spin with the wind and he rotates to point into the breeze like any good weathervane should!

This garden frog has 1/2 copper pipe legs and feet with glass glob eyes. The body is snipped from copper flashing material.

This frog gets his "warts" by banging his under side with a ball peen hammer!

This is another favorite and not too hard to build. The moon and stars is about 16" in diameter. It stands on a piece of 1/2" copper pipe and uses #4 copper wire around his face.

This is my most elaborate project but worth all the work! I've built several Smiling Sun faces that stood alone like the moon in the previous picture.

I also built this Sun Trellis for our climbing rose to hang on to. Once again, it's all just 1/2" copper pipe and copper flashing material.

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