Altering them requires your favorite papers, Mod Podge, a paintbrush, acrylic paint, a small ruler, a precise trimmer, an X-Acto knife, a plastic manicure tool (like the rub-on tool you get with American Crafts rub-ons), a pencil, a good liquid adhesive, and your favorite embellishments and/or decorating mediums. Birdhouses are great for using up your extra embellishments, especially tiny bulky items. It's also an opportunity to step outside the archival-safe boundaries of scrapbooking and use some fun items you might find around your house. Use your punches or die-cutting system for even more creative options such as a roof made of punched Easter eggs or flowers punched from a coordinating paper.
The color schemes and themes available are endless. Most paper manufacturers produce entire lines within a particular range, giving you the ability to pick and choose easily, many times with matching embellishments as well. Keep in mind the size is small so papers with smaller designs will have much more impact than a large, all-over design. Manufacturers who shrink their designs to a 6x6 size give you a chance to use their gorgeous designs from their regular lines that might be too large for a birdhouse.
To begin, you will need to remove the perch(es). Most of the time you can just wiggle them loose but if it's really tough, using the X-Acto knife to loosen the glue around it helps. Paint under the eaves, the edges (including all corners), inside the “entrances”, and anything else you think might not get covered with your papers. You will touch up again at the end so perfection isn't necessary, but it's much easier to do this now than after your papers are adhered.
Next, you need to measure all of the surfaces you plan to cover with paper. Please note that these are usually not perfect, so you will need to measure each surface, even if you think they will be the same, and you will have to repeat this process with every birdhouse you make as they are usually slightly different. This is where the small ruler (I use the tiny one that comes with the Making Memories tool kit – if you don't have this, you may want to opt for a small tape measure) really comes in handy. You will want to cut each piece as close as possible to the correct size (trimming off tiny bits at a time with your trimmer) and the points at the top slightly larger. You can then lay the piece in place and use the manicure tool to press into the top corner points to crease the correct angle. Then trim the excess and mark each piece as you go. It is much easier to measure and cut all at once. Be aware of designs that have a definite direction to them (such as stripes) so that all your pieces are cut the same direction. You will not need to worry about the entrance hole(s), you will be covering them completely in this step.
When all of your pieces are ready, start by painting a thin layer of Mod Podge onto one surface (side) at a time. Paint a thin layer onto the back of the corresponding piece of paper and smooth it in place. The manicure tool is perfect for smoothing into creases and hard to reach spots but for the rest, keep running your fingers over everything to be sure it is adhered smoothly and thoroughly with no bubbles. Repeat with each surface and allow to dry. On the front, rub your finger around until you can locate the entrance hole – press around the edges so that you can see exactly where it is and then run your X-Acto knife around the edge to remove the paper from that section. Your X-Acto knife can be used to trim any slivers of paper that aren't quite right as well. Use the pointed end of your manicure stick to gently feel around for the perch hole and poke it through. You may need the help of a small hammer to replace the perch and a drop of glue before you push it back in is advisable. You can add a sealing layer of Mod Podge on top of all of your papers at this point, or leave it without.
Now all that is left is decorating your little masterpiece! Add items like tiny flowers, buttons, brads (remove the shank), twigs, whatever you'd like! I prefer a quick-drying liquid glue like Beacon's 3-in-1 Advanced craft glue. Rub-ons should be adhered directly to the paper before any sealing layer. 3-D stickers such as Jolee's should be strengthened by using the wet glue as well. Stickles and Scribbles both add tons of fun details. Stamp, doodle, just play around – it's your creation, do whatever makes you happy!
Birdhouses can be such a happy addition to your décor – especially when they are custom made just the way YOU want them!
Love Nest Birdhouse
Brads: Making Memories
Flowers: Prima
Patterned papers: Prima
Color Me Silly Birdhouse
Flowers: Prima
Patterned papers: BasicGrey
Stickles: Ranger
Coffee Birdhouse
Flowers: Prima
Coffee beans
Diecut paper: KI Memories
Patterned papers: Doodlebug
Mellow Birdhouse
Flowers: Prima
Patterned papers: Basic Grey
Scribbles: Duncan
Jenna is a former scrapbook buyer for a distributor living in East Central Illinois with her son, Michael. She currently designs for Zsiage and enjoys sharing her creations on her blog http://alteredobsession.blogspot.com. Altering and beading are her favorite creative outlets and her work has been published in several E-zines and also in Bead Trends magazine. Jenna is addicted to Mod Podge and will cover anything she can with her favorite scrapbooking papers including birdhouses, storage items, and more!
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