Most of our Spring flowers have faded, which makes me sad, but I’ve found another way to add a little color to our side yard:
Bird Condos!
Bird Condos!
A few months ago, while out shopping, I saw a large bin of (cheap) unfinished birdhouses! They made me think some adorable painted birdhouses I’d seen in one of my free design magazines (okay, they aren’t really magazines, they’re catalogs, but I use them all the time to steal design ideas).
Now, while I love to paint furniture, walls, drop cloths, and my dog’s toenails, I’m not really good at painting details. Portraits, landscapes, animals . . . my attempts would give you a good laugh!
So let’s just call my birdhouses “primitive” art. That way I can still pretend to be an “real” artist.
I decided to hang my birdhouses on each of the fence support posts going down my side yard. I began with some scrap wood, cut it to the length I wanted, made decorative cuts on the top of each board (this is as decorative as I get with a power saw), painted the boards with a grey wash . . .
and drilled holes in the top of each board for attaching to the fence (I also drilled holes through the back of each birdhouse to attach them to the boards).
Now for some close-ups of my “fantastic” artwork!
A wee bit whimsical, right? Do you think the birds will actually try to use these as houses or do you think they’ll be scared away?
Since these birdhouses were clearly labeled “Not for outdoor use”, I gave them several coats of a protective finish after painting them with outdoor acrylic paint.
Below is the bird condo I hung last year. This one was made of reclaimed fence wood. Thus the nice aged (but colorless) appearance.
These two condos are for birds visiting from Texas . . .
. . .and, as you can see, they’ve taken up temporary residence, where they’re enjoying the mild temps of our Pacific NW summer.
Thank you so much for stopping by my yard today.
Blessings to you,
I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
UnderTheTableAndDreaming, TheDIYShowoff, TheTablescaper, IHeartNapTime, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SuburbsMama
Monday:
IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, ModVintageLife, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, TheGraphicsFairy, TheDedicatedHouse, UncommonDesigns, WestFurnitureRevival, BoogieboardCottage, DIYHomeSweetHome, HuckleberryLove, RainOnATinRoof, AlderberryHill, TwelveOEight,
CarrieThisHome
CarrieThisHome
Tuesday:
HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, Elizabeth&Co, MyUncommonSliceOfSuburbia, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, PJHDesigns, NaptimeCreations, CedarHillRanch, BloomingHomestead, FlusterBuster, KatheWithAnE, NotJustAHousewife,
VMG206, Hickory Trail, BeBetsy, TuesdaysAtOurHome
VMG206, Hickory Trail, BeBetsy, TuesdaysAtOurHome
Wednesday:
SavvySouthernStyle, The36thAvenue, SouthernLovely, VintageOnADime, IvyAndElephants, DIYByDesign, ViewFromRiverMountain, TheStyleSisters, AdornedFromAbove, Timewashed, SomedayCrafts, GreenWillowPond, FishtailCottage
Thursday:
NoMinimalistHere, ImpartingGrace, TheSabbyCreekCottage, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, BeyondThePicketFence, StoneGable, AllThingsWithPurpose, MyRepurposedLife, FromMyFrontPorchToYours, ADelightsomeLife
Friday:
MyRomanticHome, FrenchCountryCottage, TatertotsAndJello, MissMustardSeed, ThirtyHandmadeDays, CraftJunkieToo, CommonGround, TheShabbyNest, LizMarie, Redoux, JenniferRizzo, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, 504Main
CraftsALaMode
CraftsALaMode
Saturday:
FunkyJunkInteriors, ClassyClutter, SixSistersStuff, It’sOverflowing, BeDifferentActNormal, TooMuchTimeOnMyHands,
OneSharendipityPlace
OneSharendipityPlace
© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved
