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Hand-Painted Birdhouses with Style

white birdhouse with red roof and spigot for perch
Our preschool silent auction is today. Every year I donate a one-of-a-kind hand-painted birdhouse to be auctioned off. I never spend more than $3 on the birdhouse and usually buy the unpainted versions at Michael’s or ACMoore. Then I get creative by hand-painting a scene and add unexpected touches to the house – thus creating birdhouses with style.
 
For inspiration, these are some of the birdhouses I’ve hand-painted in the past. I hope the birds find them cozy and love them as much as I do. 
 
white birdhouse with red roof and spigot for perch
white birdhouse with red roof and spigot for perch
 
2008 – Jardin da Girasoli de Vendere “Vendor of Sunflowers”

Painting sunny sunflowers and some green grass gave this birdhouse a sunny garden look. I added a gold spigot for the new perch. Using a spade bit in my drill, I cut a hole slightly smaller than the spigot, then simply screwed the spigot in place. For added stength I coated the threads with some E-6000. Can anyone guess what the roof tiles are made from? They are canvas shims! Those are the freebie scraps of wood that come with a painter’s canvas! Painting them bright red took the little birdhouse from cute to bidding war worthy!

round white birdhouse with red roof and silhouette of birds and branches

2009 – Red & White Bird Silhouette Round House

I apologize right now for the condition of this picture! Obviously this is the only picture I took of this cute little abode. The birdhouse was a $2 find at my local Goodwill. The roof was detaching and it was painted an ugly 90’s hunter green and burgundy. I gave the house a good cleaning, then glued and nailed the roof back on. After a fresh coat of primer and white paint, I hand-painted the red bird and branch design onto the curved birdhouse sides. Then the roof and base were painted a solid red. The perch is a curtain rod screw (that holds the rod in the curtain rod bracket). Then the house received a little green ribbon and a silver bell on the top. So simple, but one of my favorites!

clear-coat-rustoleum-sealant-protecting birdhouse

For the next auction birdhouse I wanted to focus on a woodland theme. I scoured my yard for pinecones that were dry and spread open. I glued them onto the roof of an unpainted birdhouse purchased from Michaels. The house got a beautiful woodland scene with a Christmas wreath on the front and a Christmas tree on the back. 

 
birdhouse with winter tree scene hand-painted, pine cone roof
 
2010 – Christmas Time, Snow and a Pinecone Roof
 
This house got some serious head-turning attention with a pinecone plank roof, white snow, glitter, and a stick for a perch. I hope the birds appreciate it. The tutorial to make your own pinecone roof hand-painted birdhouse can be found here. 
 

Creative Ideas for Decorating Birdhouses

 
I know that some of you might be thinking you can’t do this, but let me float some ideas for you. Instead of decorative painting try:

Protect Hand-Painted Birdhouses from the Elements

 To protect all my birdhouses from the elements (should they really be “for the birds”), I coated them with a few coats of polyurethane. If you don’t seal the birdhouses they will rot overtime. They may still take a beating after each season, so it’s helpful to be able to have an access panel to clean out the inside and let it air out. 

birdhouse with a can of rustoleum clear coat in front of it

So, how much do you think my pinecone roof birdhouse will fetch today? I hope more than $3!

If you liked this post, you’ll love these other creative bird feeders and birdhouses.

Hey bird lovers! My family loves bird-watching , too. Over the years we’ve experimented with several bird feeders, bird food, and resource books. I’ve created a list of our favorite bird-feeding and watching items on Amazon:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

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Feathers in my Wreath

I bought this basic white base wreath at Target a few months ago. I knew it would take me through several seasons.
Case in point, my magnolia-fied wreath from September.
Well, I stripped out all the dried magnolia leaves and was determined to give it a new look for Thanksgiving. When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of turkey! So, turkey, pheasant, and peacock feathers seemed like an ideal filler for my plain wreath. I also threw in some other feathers I had in my décor stash.
All I did was tuck some feathers into the wreath. Played with the placement of the feathers until I liked the look.
Then I added a dark teal satin ribbon.
Not bad, but not very exciting. I wanted to add some color, so I grabbed some green potpourri nuts and gave them a fresh coat of spray paint (Rustoleum Apple Green) to freshen them up.
Then, I put a small dollop of hot glue on the backs and pressed them onto my wreath. My goal is to continue to re-use the wreath, so I used the glue sparingly.
Now, that looks much better.
Then I hung my feather wreath up and my door is festively decorated for Thanksgiving.
After Thanksgiving, I’ll be haulin’ down the Christmas decorations. I’m trying so hard to keep the kids from dictating our decorating with inflatable santas, elves and more. Personally, I prefer the classic white lights, some greenery and a red bow to top it off.


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Create Your Own Decorative Bin

Do you remember that cute little blue striped bin in Renee’s storage unit? The one that she uses for junk mail and recycling.

How much do you think she paid for that? Would you believe nothing?! I made it for her out of a cardboard box and art supplies I had on hand.

Materials:
Cardboard Box
Black Spray Paint (or other color)
Spray Mount (Spray Adhesive)
Elmer’s Glue
Scissors
4 sheets of scrapbook paper (wrapping paper, fabric or wallpaper)

Instructions:

1. I started with a square Huggies Pull Ups box. I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so here is the picture to prove it.

 

2. Spray paint the inside of your box (be sure to wear gloves because the spray will coat your hand since it swirls around inside the box.)

3. Spray adhesive on the back of 2 sheets of scrapbook paper.

4. Attach them to opposing sides of the box.

5. If your scrapbook paper wraps around the sides, that is good. Be sure to snip the top of the paper at the corners of the box so it can fold over inside the box.

6. Cut your other two sheets of scrapbook paper to the exact width of the uncovered box sides. Spray adhesive on those two sides and attached them to the box. Then fold over the top edges of the paper.

7. If the folded top edges don’t stay glued, put a little elmer’s glue underneath and then use a book, clothespins, or binder clips to hold it down while it dries.

 

And you are done! Cute, easy and cheap! That’s how I like my men projects.
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Toilet Paper Pumpkins

I thought I’d sneak one more fun craft in before Halloween. Don’t fret, this craft takes about 5-10 minutes. You’ll spend more time gathering the supplies than you will creating it.

My sitter came over to make these pumpkins with my boys. I was a little skeptical when she asked for three rolls of toilet paper, but the results were so stinkin’ cute!

Materials: 

Toilet Paper Rolls
Fat Quarter of Fabric
Sticks for stems
Ribbons
Tissue Paper
Scissors
optional: acorn, sweet gum tree ball or other natural elements

Step 1: Lay out your fabric, and set your roll of toilet paper in the middle.

Wrap 1-2 sheets of tissue paper around the sides.

Step 2: Tuck one corner into the center of the toilet paper.

Step 3: Continue tucking in the fabric, folding any fabric under that won’t quite meet the center of the toilet paper.

 

Step 4: Fluff your pumpkin sides and work with the fabric until you have a nice round pumpkin shape.

Step 5: Add your stick to the center. You can glue an acorn to the top, or tie your natural elements on using your ribbon.
 Add ribbons or other embellishments if you wish.
Step 7: Enjoy! But don’t tell your prim and proper friend that you have toilet paper on your dining room table! It will be our little secret.

Don’t forget! Tomorrow’s the night that we’ll be drawing one lucky follower who will win a CD/DVD car visor wallet and a $25 gift certificate for Amazon.com. If you are a follower via Google Friend Connect or Feedburner (see my side bar), your name has been entered! Be sure to check back for the lucky winner.

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Metal Gift Luggage Tags

creative-gift-wrapping

I have so much to tell and show you, I can hardly contain myself! If you follow me on Twitter (PrettyHandyGirl), you may have seen this photo of the light fixtures I scored from our Habitat ReStore last week! (Yes, I also have a Facebook Fan page.)

I was ecstatic to find another light that I turned into a Pottery Barn inspired lantern. And it is identical to the one I showed you here!

In addition, I finally found a foyer light fixture that I love (after a little spray paint magic). And I also grabbed a three arm chandelier that looked like it could have been in Ballard Design’s catalog! This treasure was promptly installed in my girlfriend’s mudroom (which I can’t wait to show you!) She and I worked for several days on a storage and shoe solution for her narrow hallway. My goal is to get the final pictures of the project to share with you shortly.

In other news, I’m very excited to have been mentioned in November’s Family Handyman magazine.

Definitely not me on the front cover.

My son’s closet turned reading nook is pictured on page 94. If you don’t subscribe to this magazine, it is a great DIY and repair resource. But, if you don’t want to subscribe, you can still access most of the tutorials on their website.

Running out of breath here…

Finally, By Your Hands has a Q&A feature post on me today.

Check it out here if you are curious to learn how I got my start at being handy.

Anyway, let’s just say I’ve been a busy Pretty Handy Girl the past two weeks.

One of the reasons I’ve been busy is because both my sons had birthday parties to attend this week. I decided to make a few special gift tags that would double as luggage tags for the lucky birthday munchkins. They were very easy to make and really looked fab on the gifts.

Without anymore blah, blah, blah, here is the tutorial:

Supplies:
Metal Tag Maker Rims (bought at Michael’s)
Scrapbook paper (cardstock weight)
Mod Podge
Wax Paper (did you know you can use your recycled cereal bags for this?)
Paint brush
Paper cutter or Scissors
Decorative scissors (optional)
Ribbon
Regular pliers – I used glass nibbling or grozing pliers but any kind should work (DO NOT BUY the special tag crimper tool that the store wants to sell you for $25!)

1. Measure your metal tags (the set I bought came with a template).

2. Print out your gift recipient’s name on cardstock paper. Skip a few lines and print out their address and phone number on the same sheet. (In fact, I ganged up several names including my son’s so I could make many tags at once.) Be sure the names and addresses will fit inside your tag dimensions.

3. Using the tag template, cut two coordinating papers for the background of your tags.

4. Trim the name and addresses smaller than your tag dimensions. (I used deckled edge scissors.)

5. Line up all your cut paper and supplies on top of wax paper (cereal bag). Poor a small amount of Mod Podge into a bowl and dip your brush in it.

6. Coat the back side of one of your coordinating background papers. Place the other sheet of decorative background paper on top of the first one (backs together.)

7. Next coat the back of the name sheet with Modge Podge and adhere it to one side of the background label. Be careful to leave space for your hole punch on one end. Brush Mod Podge over the top of the name and the background paper to seal it.

8. After the front side has dried, flip it over and repeat step 7 for your address label. It is very important that you position your address on the same edge of the tag as the name on the opposite side. Otherwise you will end up punching a hole through one or the other.

9. Once the tag has dried, use your template to trim the corners off your tag and punch a hole through the middle.

10. Gently insert your tag into a metal tag frame (some trimming may be necessary). When you tag fits snuggly inside the frame, pull out your pliers and start squeezing around the edge of the metal frame. Work your way all the way around.

11. Thread your ribbon through the hole and tie it to your gift! Your tag can be re-used on a lunch bag, backpack or luggage!

I also cut an extra piece of scrapbook paper the same size as the metal tag;
put my son’s name on it;
and threaded it on with the gift tag
so the birthday child would know who gave the gift.
Who wouldn’t want one of these cute tags on their lunch bag?
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