How to Build Windmills for Garden Art

Draw a circle with a 6- to 12-inch diameter on the metal sheeting. Trace a plate, or use a compass, with a grease pencil or magic marker.

Cut out the circle with tin snips. Mark the circle into eight equal wedges. Place a ruler so it divides the circle in half. Run the grease pencil along the ruler. Divide each half in half again and then again. Make a 3/8-inch hole in the exact center of the circle where each of the lines cross with the screwdriver. Use the hammer to punch the screwdriver through the metal if need be.

Cut along each line until you are about 2 inches from the center hole. You now have eight blades of your windmill.

Bend each pie wedge at a 45-degree angle so it catches the wind. Each blade should be bent in the same direction, either to the left or right.

Stack three terra cotta pots on top of each other upside down. Place the largest pot on the bottom of the stack and the smallest one on the top. The pots will overlap each other.

Place a washer on the screw. Place the windmill hole on the screw and a washer behind the metal windmill. The blades should rotate easily around the screw. If they don't make the hole slightly bigger.

Screw the assembled blades onto the wood dowel about 1 to 2 inches from the top of the dowel. The blades should turn freely and not be hindered by either the washers or the screw.

Thread the dowel through the drainage holes of the stacked pots. Leave enough clearance from the top of the pots to the blades so the windmill turns freely and doesn't hit the pots. Pound the dowel into the ground for stability.