I Painted A Birdhouse!

I purchased some inexpensive wooden bird houses for the grandchildren to paint for their birthdays, and while they were painting theirs, I decided to paint one myself.  However, my birdhouse wasn't a thin birdhouse you'd find at a craft store.  Mine was made by my son when he was in high school and he painted it a solid black...it was his goth years, what can I say?  😂. If ever I wished I had taken a "before" photo, this was it.  I remember being so upset with him that he painted his beautifully constructed birdhouse black.  I put it in my garden shed, always planning to someday repaint it a pretty color as all birdhouses should be, and fifteen-eighteen years later, the day finally arrived. 

Unfortunately, as always, I do not have a step-by-step tutorial for you.  My creative process just doesn't work that way, especially with painting.  I did start with a picture on Pinterest.  I can never just pull a creative idea out of the air.  I always have to start with someone else's idea and then take off from there. 

To paint my birdhouse, first I sanded the high gloss black paint to rough it up so it would accept new paint, then I applied primer to it, and a coat of teal paint to the house portion.  I used all those little acrylic paint colors you would find at a craft store.  You can see them in the photo below.

I really liked the faux door idea I saw on the birdhouse on Pinterest, so I did that almost exactly, but I changed almost everything else:  the colors, the roof, etc.  I did keep the window idea on the side, after all, if your going to make a birdhouse look like a house it needs a window, right?

I made the roof by just painting on rectangles to look like shingles, but then adding many shades of brown to make it look more realistic.  Acrylic paints are super easy to blend when wet, just don't let the paint dry out.  And don't worry about making a mistake...you can always just add more paint.  I added lines with the darkest shade of brown when I was done painting the rectangles.

To make the window I just painted a rectangle with yellow and waited for it to dry.  Then I added a black frame around it and painted in some violet curtains.

Like the original photo on Pinterest, I added a window box with some vines growing on top of the window.  To do this, I just keep adding several shades of green till I get the look I want.   The flowers are easy, they are just four dots of colors with a bolder dot of color in the middle.  On the bottom of the birdhouse I added grass...just more of different shades of green.  The biggest tip I can give to any amateur painter like myself, is not to paint with just one shade of color;  always use multiple shades of that color for a prettier look.

Now I was left to to decide what to do on the other side of the birdhouse.  I didn't want another window so I just decided to do a flower garden.  I did this the same way I did the window side.  First I just added green grass, vines, and stems, then I filled in with my flower dots.  

It really turned out pretty if I do say so myself.

And in case you missed Sunday's Gardening Post, here is my birdhouse in its new home.  My hubby hung it in my vegetable garden so I could see it from my screened porch.  A wren moved in only two days from hanging it up.  Now when I sit on my porch, I can see and hear the wren going in and out singing its beautiful song.  Wren's have the most beautiful song!

I hope you like my new birdhouse.  What about you?  Do you paint at all?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!