Create With Paint

Just in time for Memorial Day, here’s an idea for rustic bird house. I’m not much of a birdhouse fan, but when I find something irresistibly cheap, I grab it and stash it away. I never know when I might come up with a use for it.

When I created this piece, I didn’t set out to create a patriot piece, it just turned out that way. I was more interested in trying out some new painting techniques, so let’s talk about what I learned doing this piece.

I wanted to experiment with staining over paint. With masking tape, I striped off a wide columns on the sides and back so I could compare the painted stain against the stain over the unfinished wood. I painted the untapped sides a bright red. Just for contrast, I painted the front a bright blue. I put down three coats and let the paint dry between each layer. When the paint was completely dry – about 24 hours, I rubbed in the stain, a cherry wood, with a terry cloth rag. Again, I applied three coats, waiting a day between each coat. (Note: make sure to wear rubber gloves when working with stain. It’s sticky and doesn’t come off easily.)

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome: a convincingly weathered look. Still it didn’t look finished. I glued down some unfinished pre cut wood stars to the front. Once glued down, I applied the stain. Unfortunately, the stars are light balsam wood, a different wood from the birdhouse, and would take the stain. I applied a couple of coats before giving up and painting the stars white. It was more difficult painting the stars after they were already fixed to the birdhouse, but I couldn’t pry them off either. After the paint dried, I layer stain on top of that.

I’m pretty happy with the end result, considering I didn’t have an end result in mind. Sometimes, you just have to experiment. Who knows what you’ll come up with. I’m likely to repeat this technique for something for fall or Halloween.