DIY Garden Art: Wooden Bees

One of my 2025 New Year goals for the garden is to add more fun and whimsy. I love spending as much time out in my garden as possible when the weather warms up, and I just think that there is always something fun you can add for more interest out there. I’m starting to collect more garden decoration items like the fun giant echinacea flower from my aunt or the adorable frog with a pinwheel that lights up at night that Jake got me for my birthday last year! While I would love to purchase more, funds are a bit tight at the moment, and you know I LOVE a DIY project!

Thus, the idea for some buzzing little bees was born! I love attracting these little guys to my garden by planting as many flowers as I can. So, I wanted to pay homage to them and add something cute to this old fence. This little art installation (if you can call it that) makes me smile every time I walk out into the garden! The project couldn’t be easier and didn’t cost me very much to make! I highly recommend adding some of these little guys to your garden!

Supplies:

Wooden Bees (I got mine here)
Pencil
Black, Yellow, & White acrylic paint
Metallic Pearl Paint (optional – mine here)
Acrylic Sealer (Mine here)
Paint brush
Staple gun and staples (make sure they are long enough to go through the bee and not through the fence slat. Mine are 9/16″)

*NOTE:

If I did this again, I would use wood filler to fill the little holes in the bee’s head. But, from far away, you don’t notice the holes anyway.

Method:

Start by penciling in how you want the wings to look painted. I was able to find pictures of the wooden bees that I bought (it’s actually a banner kit) that someone had painted, but you can do any shape you want.
Next, I painted the body of the bees with the yellow acrylic paint. Then, I went in and painted the wings white. I did two coats of each. After the white and yellow paint is dry, go in with the black paint for the stripes. I painted the bottom, middle, and then eyeballed where the head would start on each bee. You can make the antennae all black but I thought it would look cute if the tips were left yellow! Do two coats of black and allow to dry completely.
This next step is optional. I had a pearly metallic acrylic paint and did one coat of that over the wings to give them a pearlescent sheen. This added a little more interest to the flat color of the bees. Allow to dry completely.
Decide how you want the bees to be mounted to the fence and attach them with the staple gun. I made sure to staple them in a certain section, in this case, the head. Once the bees were all attached, I painted over the staples with more black paint.
Next, take your white acrylic paint and add the little buzzing trails behind each bee. This doesn’t have to be perfect, I just think it looks so cute!
Once the white paint is dry, go over each bee and buzzing trail with your acrylic sealer. This will ensure they last out in the elements!