How to Make Moving Lawn Ornaments

Clean out an empty 2-liter soda bottle with dish washing soap and water. Turn the bottle upside down with the cap off and let it dry out overnight.

Drill a hole into the center of the bottle cap with a drill equipped with a 1/4-inch drill bit. Place the cap in a vise grip to hold it while you're drilling it out.

Unbend a paperclip then cut off a 1 1/2-inch section with a pair of tin snips. Bend the paperclip in half to make a loop. Feed the end of the paperclip into a swivel ball bearing hook. These hooks are used to attach lures to fishing lines and are available at fishing supply and hardware stores. Feed the paperclip through the end of the bearing without the hook.

Insert the ends of the paperclip through the hole in the top of the cap. Pull the paperclip through until there is only 1/8- to 1/4-inch of paperclip sticking out. Twist the ends of the paperclip together inside the cap. Bend the ends of the paperclip outward to secure it inside the bottle cap with the loop sticking outside. Place the cap back on the bottle.

Decorate the outside of the bottle as desired. Use acrylic paints or colored electrical tape to add stripes, shapes, polka dots or abstract patterns on the bottle's surface. If you choose to paint the bottle, let the bottle dry for three to five hours before coating it with acrylic sealant. Let the sealant dry another hour.

Mark the bottle every 3/4-inch around its circumference with a pen. Place the marks one-third of the way below the bottle cap. Place a second set of marks every 3/4-inch around the circumference of the bottle one-third of the way from the bottom.

Cut the bottle from the first set of marks to the second set of marks with a utility knife and a ruler to make the cuts straight.

Push the top of the bottle toward the bottom of the bottle so that the slits make the bottle balloon outward. Squeeze the middle of each slit to crease them. Then fold the top and bottom of each strip at a 45-degree angle. Fold the top of each strip to the right and the bottom of each strip to the left. The folds give the slits a slant to make it easier for the lawn ornament to spin.

Tie a 24-inch piece of string through the hook end of the ball bearing swivel in the bottle cap. Tie the ends of the string into a double-knot to secure it in place. Hang the string from a tree branch in the yard.