Bird Watcher

This month's kit from Alpha Stamps kit inspired me to make a little hanging ornament. It looks like a little birdhouse, so it's perfect for housing an avid bird watcher. This guy's really into it; he's got his shiny new binoculars and has evidently been talking lots of notes on his findings. He's even found a nest of bright blue robin's eggs. Luckily, he knows enough to leave it alone; soon he'll be able to view baby birds.

The house is covered with beautiful papers from Bird Watcher 8 x 8 collection. I covered the inside and outside of the house with a sweet floral print, and then used parts of a couple of the other papers to embellish the outsides. Both the sides of the house feature bird stamps found on paper from the collection.

The back of the house has a giant floral pattern, which was also cut out from the Bird Watcher collection. You may wonder what's up with the wooden blue bird in this photo. Well, funny story. He was part of the first version of this project.

Here's how the Bird Watcher started out: as The Birdy House. I used a bird from an old wooden ornament, plus a resin nest and some speckled eggs. I liked it, but I didn't love it. If you're a fan of this Birdy House, though, you can click here for a supply list.  The resin nest and speckled eggs are super cute; I'm sure I'll use them in the future. But this time around, I just wasn't crazy about the interior of my little house, so I removed all the innards and went with the Bird Watcher.

A little about constructing the house itself: you could glue all the parts together and then cover it your house with papers, but I chose to cover each side and the roof before construction. Here are the pieces ready to put together. If you do choose to do it this way, it's important to note that in some places (any wall or floor that will be on the inside of the house), the paper should not cover the chipboard tabs. But in the outside walls, the paper does cover the tabs. I didn't bother covering the back of the front facade, because it doesn't show. The roof has slots in it that need to remain open, so I cut the paper to fit as shown below.  Leave the whole channel where the slot is free so that the roof will better attach to the top of the house. The hole for hanging it optional. If you prefer a free standing shrine, just cover the hole when decorating the roof.

I hope you have fun with your bird house! For a list of supplies for making the Bird Watcher, click here. 

Birds of a Feather Row Houses

Welcome to Bird Row, where birds of a feather flock together. Through this door lies a neighborhood of row houses, each with a unique occupant. This month at Alpha Stamps, we were given a box with a door lid, plus several houses to decorate. I added a little topper with a round window to my door. A little pink bird is nesting in the round window. A golden bird skull serves as a dramatic door knocker.

There are six residents of Bird Row, each sharing a duplex with another bird. Although they are quite different in temperament, they seem to get along quite well, each respecting each others uniqueness.

The houses are attached with tiny hinges, so they fold up and can be stored in the doorway. The backs all feature fancy cages.

On the fronts of the houses, I layered different papers from the Provincial 6 1/2" paper pad collection, and then drew on them with a chalkboard marker and a Stabilo "Aquarellable" pencil. I love using this pencil; if you use a wet paint brush up against it, it makes a great shadow. Most of the darker birds are outlined with this technique.

In the first set of houses, a bright and happy early bird shares the duplex with a bird brain. Occasionally, they go shopping together or meet for tea.

An eagle eyed bird shares the next duplex with a little wren, who loves to read while quietly humming to herself. These two are not the best of friends, but they are, at least, civil. Some of the darker accents, like the row of stars and the numbers above, and the music notes below, are rubdowns. The windows in the roofs of some of the houses are chipboard, so they are 3D.

 

The last two occupants on the street are the bird of sorrow (he's so dramatic!), and a night owl. Perhaps the night owl is too noisy in the midnight hours and the bird of sorrow is simply facing a sleep deficit. 

All the houses store neatly in the box. The sides are decorated with 4 panel windows and greenery, and couple of curious birds that peek through the windows.

I had lots of fun making the door and all the little houses.
For a list of supplies, click here.