, , , ,

Pinecone Roof for a Hand-Painted Birdhouse

birdhouse with winter tree scene hand-painted, pine cone roof, and branch for perch

I love creating decorative birdhouses to donate for silent auctions. Over the years I’ve created a few, but this pinecone roof hand-painted birdhouse is one of my favorites! (You can see the other hand-painted birdhouses I’ve created and auctioned off for our preschool’s silent auction.)

birdhouse with winter tree scene hand-painted, pine cone roof, and branch for perch

Pinecone Roof for a Hand-Painted Birdhouse

Today I’ll show you how to create a nature-inspired pinecone roof for your birdhouse. This is a simple DIY project that will produce an adorable nature inspired birdhouse.

Materials:

Hopefully you have all the materials and tools on hand that you will need. This is a list of what you’ll need to add a pinecone roof to your birdhouse.

(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.)

Instructions:

Start with an unfinished wood birdhouse. 

After priming and hand-painting the unfinished birdhouse, it was time to add the decorative elements to set this birdhouse apart from a store-bought house.

First you should know that I sawed off the perch that came with the birdhouse. And filled the hole with wood putty. Then after a light sanding and a coat of primer, I painted the whole birdhouse.

Adding the Pinecone Roof:

Use a pair of needle-nosed pliers to carefully de-scale several pinecones, you may want to wear gloves because those scales are sharp! Most people think you’d start from the top of the roof and add scales down, but if you have ever watched a house roof being tiled, they always start from the bottom and overlap shingles as they go up.

This little birdie abode is no different. Start by running a line of E-6000 (super strong glue) on the bottom of the roof. Then lay the first row of pinecone scales. Once the first row is complete, overlap a second row on top of the first. Here is a peek at the roof after three rows had been laid.

Once you reach the top, move to the other side. (Check back frequently to adjust any scales that move slightly during the roofing process.) This is what the house looked like when I was done with one side of the roof.

Repeat for the other side.

As the roof dries, search your yard for a stick to use as a perch. It took a while, but I found one that had a “T” shape so I could insert one end into the house.

Choose a drill bit that is the same size as the stick.

If you want to paint the stick before securing it, now is the time to do that.

Drill a hole into the front of the birdhouse.

Use some more E-6000 to line the hole, then slide the stick into the house. If the stick touches the house in multiple places, put a small dollop of glue behind where the stick and the house meet to hold it secure.

Add a screw eye to the center of the roof if you want to allow someone to hang the birdhouse. Simply measure the center of the roof and then used a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw eye to drill the pilot hole. Screw eyes can pretty much be twisted in by hand, or you can use your pliers if you need a better grip.

Now it is time to give the birdhouse some snow! First tape off the painted sides of the birdhouse with ScotchBlue painter’s tape to protect them from the spray.

I admit it, I’m cheap. I didn’t feel like buying some fake snow, so I chose to use white spray paint and glitter spray instead.

Hold the can several feet away, and spray in small bursts. If your have a can of spray paint that is almost empty this works best because it will spatter a little.

Give the birdhouse a light dusting of glitter spray. To protect the house, coat it with at least three coats of clear spray.

birdhouse with winter tree scene hand-painted, pine cone roof, and branch for perch

And here she is in her snow dappled glory! Doesn’t that pinecone roof look amazing?birdhouse with winter tree scene hand-painted, pine cone roof

I’m curious, how much would you have bid up to on this cute little one-of-a-kind bird house? The winning bidder paid $25 for the birdhouse. Not bad considering the house only cost me $3.

If you liked this post, you’ll love this simple DIY Hummingbird Feeder:

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.)

/7 Comments/by
, , , , ,

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.)

/12 Comments/by