Sunday, June 27, 2010

Something new to try......

A little while ago, I promised you a tutorial.....

I'm sure by now, you've seen the jugs that everyone has been making.....the ones that originally came form Marlies's blog. You can find it here: http://marliesminies.blogspot.com/2009/03/pattern_13.html

We'll, the other day I got the idea that I wanted to see what else I could do with paper, so I went on a hunt for an idea. In the Summer 2010 edition of Flea Market Style, I found a little bird house that I knew would be perfect to do in paper! ~This is what I came up with:


And it's soooooo easy! You ready, all you need is some paper, a quarter(or similar sized coin), glue, scissors and paint. Oh and a piece of thin wire for the handle.

Trace the quarter onto a piece of card stock(thick paper, scrapbooking paper, ect)...cut it out, fold it into 4, and then cut out 1/4 of it. This will be your pattern. Trace around it onto another piece of paper, and cut out. Curl the paper around the end of a paint brush, and then glue the paper into a cone shape.

Then I fooled around with the cylinder (The rectangle piece of paper with the star cut out) until I found a size the I like and glued it together. Then I glued the smaller strip into a circle, and then glued the circle to a piece a paper...... At this point, you'll have 2 pieces to paint. I painted the paper with the circles glued to them before I cut them out. Paint both the inside and the outside of the birdhouse several times, to build up the strength of the paper.


Cut the circles out and paint the bottom and the sides


Then glue the birdhouse inside of it's base....

The hook is just a piece of wire that I twisted up and glued to the top.... Once the glue dried, I painted it silver, then dry-brushed it white to match the rest of the birdhouse!

I gotta tell ya! I love these!! And there's so many things you could do with them. You could paint flowers on them, you could use grommets as the hole.......think of the sizes you could make. I'd love to see what you come up with!!!

((In reference to the last pic, I have a question! That dresser that everything is sitting on needs knobs, any suggestions as to how I could make some...I need a lot! LOL And should they be aged or brand new??

Like the wood bird house? LOL. I tried to put my pinkie finger inside it to paint the house and it spilt it up the front. The bf said it adds characters!! I think I agree!))
Until Next Time........

27 comments:

Caseymini said...

Katie! I love these! I may have to try making some myself. What a great idea! Thanks for the tut!

My Wee Life said...

Katie, I love these - I imagine them with tea lights in too which is what I have been trying to do without lids (copying my own very unsuccessfully!). I think I might have a go at these.

dalesdreams said...

These are so cute! Amazing what can be made with paper. Wild! :)

Eva said...

I love it...I want to try!!!!

Cheryl said...

These are adorable Katie. Its nice to know about little projects that don't take much time and money. Thank you for sharing.

Merry Jingle said...

The look FABULOUS! Wonderful work and I agree that the damage on the wooden one makes is really chabby chic :)

Caseymini said...

Katie, I forgot to say before. About the knobs. How about poly clay?

rosanna said...

Katie, they are lovely and you must be proud of yourselves, mini hugs Rosanna

Tabitha Corsica said...

Katie! How fabulously creative! I cannot wait to try one! I think Merlin's Study could use something like that...

Tabs

Jill said...

These are so great! Thanks for posting the tutorial!
Hugs,
Jill

Debbie said...

Katie what a brilliant idea, they are all really lovely. Thank you for sharing the How To with us.
For the knobs for your dresser, what about using tiny beads with a small pin pushed through the middle. You could paint the pin head to match the bead.

Wanda said...

That's a great tutorial. Thanks for sharing! I'll have to make one for my garden shed project!

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

Looks amazing and thank you for the tutorial. I like the split on the bird house too!
Nikki xxx

De said...

Very cute, Katie! Like some of the others said I think they would make great little lanterns as well.

Carolyn said...

What a great idea - thank you so much for sharing. Now we will see cute little birdhouses popping up on all our blogs!!

Kim said...

Fabulous tutorial Katie- they look wonderful! I think Bernard the Bear needs one of these for his porch...maybe two or three!

Kikka N said...

Hi Katie! Just found your Blog and the tutorial for the cute little birdhouses...I love to try this ...

Susan@minicrochetmad said...

Too cute birdie houses! Thanks for sharing your tutorial.

Re knobs, I carved some out of orange sticks for a wardrobe, just a shank bit with a round knob. I used a nail file ;)

The Old Maid said...

Absolutely fab! Thank you for sharing!

Crafts From The Stash said...

These are amazing Katie.Thank you for sharing.

Debie xxx

Unknown said...

Hi Katie,
these beautiful houses for birds and easy to perform thanks for idea!
Mini hugs
Terry

Jo Raines said...

I love, love, love these, Kaite! I am going to try my hand at making some for my log cabin as soon as I can-tomorrow I go back to work for three days so it will be Saturday until I can try it! They are wonderful! And I'm so glad you were pleased with the package of giveaway items!

Jody

Sans! said...

Ooooooooooooh I LIKE!!!

Minnie Kitchen said...

super cute and great idea!

Mercedes Spencer @ Liberty Biberty said...

WOW!! Katie, the birdhouses turned out GORGEOUS!!
Mercedes

terelo said...

Me encanta, es preciosa.
Gracias por el tutorial.
Un abrazo.
Terelo
http://lasminisdeterelo-terelo.blogspot.com/

mafalda200.minis said...

Hi Katie,

My name is M.Àngels known as Mafalda200 in the net. I am a quite recent miniaturist, quite bad to tell the truth, never mind, some time ago I started a blog http://mafalda200minis.blogspot.com.es/. I have to say is a quite strange blog, I use to play on words, I include poems, historical anecdotes, and I show the works of several miniaturist, ...


Well, the reason to contact you is because four months ago I started an amateur/free "magazine" on line. I smile when I say magazine because I had no idea how to do it. You can see the former numbers on the left hand of my blog. I take the opportunity to promote the blogs where I find the tutorials and I ALWAYS include the blog addresses.

I have no profit of any kind with this "magazine", just the aim to share things I found on the net.

In the next number I'd like to include your tutorial of your little bird houses if you do not have any inconvenience. That's the reason why I'm asking for your approval.

Please let me know if you agree in order to make the arrangements.

Thanks for sharing your knowledgment with all of us, and I remain for your news,

Hugs
Maria Àngels

P.S. I'tried to contact you via e-mail but it was absolutely impossible. All mails have failed. sorry