WYLTC: Crafty Sisters

Who doesn't love birds & bird houses?
Hi, it's Nicole and Candace again from Crafty Sisters!

We were so excited to do this month's project with WYLTC!

We thought it would be fun for both of us to do some projects inspired by birds

and show some different takes!

I just had to do something with letters

especially since it's what I love to do!

I found a fun font which I then cut out of 3/4" MDF using a scroll saw.

I had to have something with some curl

to mimic the fun scroll work on Melinda's cute birdhouse!

Each letter and shape was then painted a nice burnt umber,

(I always use a 1 part H2O, 2 part paint solution so you don't get any paint globs)

papered and mod podged

with cute scrap booking paper, rhinestones, ribbon and some wire to stand the birds up.

Using the Cricut I cut out the little letters from white card stock

and used a piece of dowel for the birdhouse perch.

The birdhouse was glued together using Gorilla Glue wood glue.

Can I just say "it is AWESOME"!

You'll never want to use anything else after you've used it!

Anytime you are mod podging paper onto letters

a great tip is to use sanding tools to sand the edges off for that painted on finished feel.

You can pick up some great tools for pretty cheap at Harbor Freight.
I got this set of mini files plus a larger one for about $7.  Not bad....

I was pretty happy with how they turned out and they are
a fun summer decoration for my home!

Next up Candace found some extra cedar boards laying around her garage

 and built a bright & colorful birdhouse planter.

Isn't it great?

She filled the planter full of some of her favorite annuals and hung it by chain on her fence.

  The little pop of color is so fun in the yard! 

Candace also added a picket fence in front and painted it bright blue

 to give it the birdhouse a little character. 

It took about 1 1/2 cedar boards, and a wood slat to build this simple planter.

She made sure to add lots of wood screws and glue to safely hold all the flowers and dirt.

(make sure to pre-drill those holes! Cedar splits easily!)

The nail gun was perfect to adhere the picket fence slats, along with a little Gorilla Glue.

The water handle was a whimsical touch for a birdhouse.

She scuffed it up a bit with some sandpaper.
(why she has an extra faucet head laying around is a whole other story
that includes our Dad coming to the rescue again!)

Two very fun and very different projects!

We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Thanks for hosting Melinda and giving us such great inspiration!!

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Serious cuteness!  Thanks so much Crafty Sisters for sharing the craftiness with us.  Two houses in one post!  Keep in mind we will be having the linky party tomorrow.   Link up anything crafty having to do with birds.  Can't wait to see what your all up to.

WYLTC: Sassy Sanctuary

Hello!  It's Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary here.  I'm so exciting to be visiting Melinda today!  I have so much fun with WYLTC each month and these ladies always inspire!  I totally love Melinda's cute bird house and think its a perfect shelf or table top accessory.  I'm currently in the process of re-doing my kids bathroom, so my brain is there.  I was in need of some wall art, so I wanted to see if I could take Melinda's cute idea and make something that could be hung on the wall.  This is what I came up with.

Fun right?!  I'm super excited about it because it was the perfect solution for an awkward space.  Plus, the bath had yet to develop a theme but this is the perfect jumping off point.  The wheels are turning now!

Anyway, as you can see I took the basic birdhouse design and made it flat so it could be hung on the wall.  The branch was created so that the piece would hang correctly against my new board and batten walls.

And the hanging the pictures from it adds that fun personal touch.

So, here is how I did it.

A.  Gather your supplies.  Everything here was made from scraps except the picture frames and peg.  The frames were on clearance at Micheal's and were the kind that are two frames hinged together.  They ended up only costing $2.50 each.  My frames are 5x5.  Anyway, you want 3 frames, a board cut into the share of a house, some slats to cut the roof and base from, and some ribbon.  I cut the roof the easy way making one side 1/4" larger then the other one so I didn't have to cut any angles.  Drill the hole for the bird door and the peg.  If you want to make a branch too, that was cut from leftover 2x1 trim boards and the leaves from 1/4" plywood. 

B & C.  After you cut all your pieces then paint, sand, and stain. 

D.  I also decided to modge podge some scrapbook paper to the front to add some pattern.  I originally planned on putting a quote on the bottom of the house, but in the end I didn't like the way the text looked with the paper.  But if you want to use a simpler pattern or skip the paper, a vinyl quote would be perfect there.

E.  Then I took the easy road and just hot glued all the pieces together.

F.  Hang the picture frames to the birdhouse by stapling them to ribbon along the back of the frames.  I hung it to the wall by screwing the branch into a stud and then hanging the birdhouse to the branch with a picture hanger.

That's it.  It was really a fun project and all the cuts were super simple.  Love those kind of projects!

I think it's such a fun way to display some photos and I'm super excited with how the bathroom is coming along!  Thanks so much for the inspiration Melinda and for hosting!  I can't wait to see all the bird/ birdhouse decor everyone else comes up with!. 

And just like the original, birds can't actually live in this house either.  hehe

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Nice work Krystal!!  I love everything from the branch in the back to the pictures of your cute fam below.   Thanks for sharing your creativity with us all!

WYLTC: Bird House Tutorial

It's time!  Time for my bird house tutorial.  I hope you all have been busy making some sort of bird house decor to share at the linky party on Friday.  Until then let's learn how to make this baby!  I'm a fan of patterns and thought I would share one.  Hopefully it makes this project a little easier.

 I used 1/4 inch MDF.  Why you ask?  Well because I had it on hand and it's cheap.  After you cut your pieces you should have something like this:

Grab your gorilla glue and glue the pieces together.  I started by gluing the sides to the back.  Let's talk about why I am using gorilla glue on the project.  The wood is thin... if I air gun a nail into it it will crack.   Gorilla glue works great for me.  If your working with thicker wood (my measurements won't work for you) go ahead and use nails.

A tip about gorilla glue....at first it's slippy slidy.  If you wait a few moments the glue starts to thicken and you can finalize where you want your piece.   After you get those side pieces on add the front.  Let glue dry.

Meanwhile you can get your roof gluing....Let dry for a few minutes.

Glue roof to house.   Let house fully dry.  

When the house is dry you can sand and paint it however you would like.

I grabbed a chair leg and a couple of castines from Lowes to put my house on.  You could also possibly use a wooden candlestick or go down to goodwill and paint up some metal candlesticks.

Check back Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to see what the other WYLTC gals have made.  I've seen their stuff and it's cute!  Friday we will start a linky party on the WYLTC blog for anything "bird" crafty-like stuff you have made!

Bird House Decor!

It's my turn to host WYLTC!   Just in case you missed the details about the WYLTC group here are the goods.  Wood You Like to Craft is an online craft group hosted by four super crafty ladies and me one semi-crafty gal.  Each month one blogger designs a project and the other four knock it off adding their own personal take to the project. We each share our knock off projects and invite you to do the same! Knock off the original project and then share it with us through the WYLTC linky party held at the end of the reveal week.  The "top cut" of the month gets a little something special!
I love creating a project and then seeing how people change and alter the project.  I'm in awe of the beautiful things you lovely women create!  Below is the what I posted on the WYLTC blog....

Hey fellow crafters!  It's Melinda from over at Under My Umbrella.   It's my turn to host the WYLTC and I'm like a little jumpin' bean.  Yes, that means I'm just a little excited!   Have you all seen the crazy adorable bird house decor online lately?!  Um...I'm in love with them!    I have decided I need to make a few and then is no better place to do it then here!  Check out my project....

On July 4th I will walk you on a step by step tutorial project over at my blog,

 UNDER MY UMBRELLA

There will be lot's of pictures and even a pattern to make life easy.  Be sure to check back there all week for the other projects created by the WYLTC wonder women.  They really are some fabulous gals!  Finally check back here Friday for the link-up party.  The link will remain open for one week and then the "Top Cut" will be announced.

A few changes have been made this past month.  You can either post a knock-off of mine or your own creation using this month's theme: Birds.  I'm counting on all you crafty ladies....I want to put a nest and some eggs in a glass bowl I have.  Link up a tutorial :)

Kits to create my bird house are available for purchase.  They will be $13.00 each and include all materials minus the paint and ink.  There is a limited number available so email (beachellfamily02@hotmail.com) me if you would like one!

WARNING:  Birds can't actually live in this house.  Yes, I'm a dork and think this warning is funny :)

Wood you Like to Craft Linky Party Time

It's time for the What Wood You Craft linky party over at CRAFTY SISTERS.   Come link up if you have made a project inspired by the Crafty Sisters tool box.


So many things you can do with this beauty.  Crafty Sisters have listed their linky party rules on their site.  Please read them before you link up :)  Below is a how-to of my version of the project.

Yay!  Perfect for Mother's Day because it makes me happy.  I love simple projects that everyone can do.  All I did is take some old molding someone gave me and cut it to fit my window.

I used Gorilla Glue to hold it all together.  The water bottles added the extra pressure as it dried.

Sand your rough edges and then spray paint the box.  I used Krylon's Heirloom White.  I let it dry... which for some reason is really hard for me!  I always want to get to the next step!  After it is dry, if you would like, you can sand it up again for more of an antique look.  I also took my brown ink pad and inked it up.

I added some flavor to my jars by hot gluing some ribbon around the tops and weaving burlap in the spaces. 

There you have it...my version of the the project! Pick a spot in you house that needs a little beauty and put this project there.  It will make you happy!

Guest Posting over at Crafty Sisters!

I'm guest posting over at Crafty Sisters!  Come check out what I've made and say hi.  While you are there check out all the other great Wood You Like to Craft projects.  I'm going to give you a little sneak peek because I can't resist.








Be sure to link up over at Crafty Sisters your version of the project for a chance to win top cut!

St Patrick's 2x4 Hat

A few of my friends have mentioned lately they don't decorate for St. Patrick's Day.   I want those of you who are St. Patrick Day decorationless (yep I made that word up) to know YOU ARE MISSING OUT!  St. Patricks Day is all about green, rainbows, gold, leprechauns and kissing.  Yep, I said kissing.  Even if you're not Irish you can pretend to be for a day :)  Now I'm not a St. Patrick's Day fanatic but I do think it's a fun holiday.  Since Easter is late this year we all have a little time to explore some green....

Today I'm going to tell you how to make a quick, easy decoration for St. Patrick's day.  This cute little leprechaun hat...

Grab yourself a 4x4 wood block and a 6 inch piece of 2x4.  Sand and paint your block.  I painted mine with Creamcoat's leaf green.  I then picked out some of my fav green polka dotted scrapbook paper, patterned scrapbook paper for the buckle and ribbon.  Mod podge the paper on.  Weave the ribbon in your paper and glue it to your hat.  Glue your wood pieces together with Gorilla Glue.  Your set and ready to wow everyone with your holiday decor!

Good luck creating!

Wood You Like to Craft?

I'm one of those people who never wins anything.  It's true.  Whether it's a drawing, giveaway or contest it's just a given I won't win  It's all good. I think this is why I love having giveaways.  When you don't win anything...flip the coin...and give stuff away!  A while back Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary and I started talking about doing something fun on our blogs.  My only condition was that it was something everyone could participate in.  In fact the more people who participate the better.  I'm excited to announce we came up with an idea that includes all of you!


Here is a little blurb from the site... "Wood you like to Craft? is a bloggers craft group. We have gathered four fun blogs that have a love for wood crafts. Each month we will be creating one project selected by the "host." Then each of the other bloggers will take a turn showing their variation of the same craft. But we want you to join in too! We will have a week long link party so you can make and share your take on the month's craft. We can't wait to see all the twists and turns one project can take!"

The three talented bloggers joining me are Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary, Wendy from Craft Goodies and Candace and Nicole from Crafty Sisters.  Sweet list, right?

Check out our new "Wood you like to Craft?" site for more details.  Occassionaly kits for the project will be offered.  I'm sure my love of giveaways will come in play at some point!  I'm kicking this thing off March 7th.  Eek!  The pressure of going first.  Stick around to see how the other creative gals change it up.  Also feel free to grab a button from the site.  The more people who participate the better!  We will need everyone's help advertising to get this going!

So I think my blog readers are pretty much the kindest, most creative, best lookin' people around! Only because I know those things to be true I'm giving you a sneak peek of the first project done by me.
 

Visit the Wood You Like to Craft site for a detailed supply list and picture.  Come check out my blog March 7th to see the full tutorial.  I'm excited to craft with you even if it's long distance!!

Kiss Me...I'm Irish!

Ok, ok , ok...I'm not Irish.  I love this saying and had to create something around it.

I will have a tutorial and pattern up soon!