Painting birdhouses is a fun project! I love using bright, fun colors because it makes them so much easier to see when looking out the window. I decided to create a theme of garden gnome birdhouses this year.
The idea came from some wooden drawer knobs I have been wanting to paint into little mushrooms.
I also found a couple of gnomes from the dollar store that finished the look, and these garden gnome birdhouses ended up SO DANG CUTE!
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BIRDHOUSE CLEANING AND REPAIR
Before I could start painting any of the birdhouses, I needed to collect them from the trees they are attached to on our property and bring them all back to the house for a good cleaning.
I removed all the old nesting material and sprayed them with a vinegar and water mixture to clean off the dirt and dust.
When I had the birdhouses all nice and clean, I needed to make some repairs. This year’s repair mostly consisted of new roofs.
Yep, this girl can use power tools. I have even learned to wear my safety goggles, but I often forget to pull my hair back. I also almost lost my fingertip once, but we’re not going to talk about that little life lesson today. OUCH!
PRIME – PAINT – ASSEMBLE
Once the birdhouses were cleaned and repaired, I brought them into my paint space for a makeover.
The first thing I did, was prime the birdhouses and the wooden drawer knobs with a white primer.
The easiest and fastest way to prime the knobs was to add a little paint with a small paintbrush and then just spread the paint all over the knob with my finger.
It was a messy yet fun process and a big-time saver to do it that way.
Once all of the pieces were primed I let them dry for 24 hours.
Next was the fun part, COLOR!
The birdhouses and knobs were all painted using outdoor craft paints.
I painted the lower parts of the wooden knobs white, and this area is the stem/stalk part of the mushroom.
The top of the wooden knobs were painted either orange or yellow to represent the top half of a mushroom.
I made polka dots on the wooden knob tops using Q-tips and bobby pins
I’m so pleased with how they turned out, and they really do, look like little fairytale mushrooms.
I chose a bright green, blue, and pink for the birdhouses. I also handpainted some clouds, rainbows, and flowers.
The gnomes and mushrooms were attached to the tops of the birdhouses with E6000 glue.
HOME SWEET HOME
I have read that when you have bright-colored birdhouses, you do need to be careful with the location because they are not very camouflage and can sometimes attract predators. I have never had any issues with this, but I have all of our birdhouses attached to trees in our fenced-in pony pasture.
CREATE A GARDEN GNOMBE BIRDHOUSE FOR YOURSELF
If you want to create a garden gnome birdhouse for yourself, here is a list of supplies you will need:
SUPPLIES
- Your imagination and creativity! 🙌
- Outdoor Birdhouse – Plus a tree or post to hang the birdhouse on.
- Wooden Drawer Knobs- I found the ones I used at a thrift store. I think I paid $2.00 for all of them, but you can find them at local hardware stores, craft stores, or online.
- Craft Paint Brushes
- Little Gnomes – I found the ones I used for $1.00 each at the Dollar General.
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES
- Paint Primer – The only reason I primed my birdhouses and knobs is that they already had a finish on them, and I wanted to cover that up.
- Q-tips and Bobbypins for the mushroom polka dots. You could just use small craft paint brushes.
It took about three days to complete these birdhouse transformations, mostly because I was waiting for coats of paint to dry.
I am SO happy with the way my garden gnome birdhouses turned out. The wooden drawer knobs worked perfectly for mushrooms, don’t you agree?! They are so fun and cute!
I hope you are planning to create some birdhouses for your backyard. It’s a fun project, and the birds will appreciate it too.
XOXO
Emily
You can find more crafty projects under the LETS DIY – ARTS & CRAFTS category on the blog, or if this is your first time on to SHE PAINTS FOR PONIES, start HERE.