Birdhouse City
Today's post is in honor of the BIRDS! Between the cardinals and bluebirds of Pennsylvania to the crazy wild variety of tropical birds here in Puerto Rico, I am completely enthralled and have so much to learn! I love inviting the birds into my garden, be it a 5 acre woodland or a singular rooftop terrace. Water, food and shelter are the musts. Today we focus on the shelter!
To keep the "birdhouse city" in one piece and to save my garden from having random wood houses blowing around it in every thunderstorm, I attached all the houses to a thin piece of plywood, stained with the same walnut stain that is on the birdhouses. They are simply hot glued on and have been solid through wind and rain thus far.
The whole city can be moved at once which is nice!
Supplies:
- Gingerbread House (optional: one of my houses is from THIS previous project)
- Small Wooden Church
- Small House with Star
- Medium House with Star
- Medium sized Double Decker Birdhouse
- Green Paint with Chalky Finish
- Grey Paint with Chalky Finish
- Rusted Metal Sheet
- Wood Stain in Walnut and Foam Brushes
- Sealant for Weather Proofing such as polyurethane
- ***NOTE Birds will set up house in the medium-large houses. The smalls are just pretty :)
Instructions:
Start with your walnut stain since the paint will go over the stain, but the stain cannot go over the paint.
I stained anywhere I planned to put the rusted metal sheets just in case any popped through.
I wanted the color to be a consistent dark brown throughout.
See those little traingular "roofs"? They are simply made from cutting a rusted metal sheet in half
(just with regular scissors!) and bending it. The metal is strong, but lightweight, making it easy to work with.
Simply hot glue the bent metal pieces to the rooftops or any other decorative areas where you want some added texture.
Once the stain has dried, you can add in your colored paints on large areas of unfinished wood.
I like using a foam brush on these for the smoothest finish possible.
When the large areas have dried, come in with a small brush for detailwork in your second color.
To keep the "birdhouse city" in one piece and to save my garden from having random wood houses blowing around it in every thunderstorm, I attached all the houses to a thin piece of plywood, stained with the same walnut stain that is on the birdhouses. They are simply hot glued on and have been solid through wind and rain thus far.
The whole city can be moved at once which is nice!
Did you notice that I took off a few of the more "Christmasy" details from the gingerbread house?
By losing the red washi tape, the house fits in nicely with this summer look as well!
Happy Crafting!
If you liked this tutorial, then you might enjoy the BOOK!
Make your own coconut oil.
Gather your own sea salt.
Grow your own grapevines for wreaths.
Give gifts naturally grown and crafted from your backyard garden.
Each chapter focuses on a plant or groups of plants and how to grow them in your home garden. Then, gather up those natural ingredients and get crafting! From lavender wreaths and hypertufa planters to lambsear angels and pickled tomatoes, there are projects for beginners on up!
Crafting with Nature is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, POWELL's! (!!!!) Booktopia (Australia!), IndieBound, Alibris, Glose.com, The Book Depository and Walmart.com. Books are also rolling out to retailers and libraries, so check for them there.
If your library does NOT have it yet, this is why you should talk to your librarian!
