About 12’ish’ years ago I made myself a paper mache bird house for the corner of my bedroom. I painted it; crackle glazed the roof; hand painted vines around it; sealed it and then I wrapped a length of Ivy around it and secured it in place. I never got to hang that bird house because when my mother saw it, she loved it so much that she claimed it for her own bedroom!
So … I made another one. That one ‘walked’ too – this time to a friend. I made another, and kept it. But word had got out and by the time I’d finished … I must have ended up making around 20 or so of these darling bird houses. I even made myself a couple more … one for my conservatory and another for my living room – it hid the CCTV camera inside it!.
Then three years ago I moved home (down-sized) and decided that I would only bring one of those little bird houses with me. So I gave two away and chose the Geranium one I’d made, to keep ….. in fact … this one ….
Yes … that’s the one. Hanging on my door, right there. ↑ People who have come to my cottage where I live now, and seen it, have always commented and admired it, – but one person – … my fabulous parcel delivery lady – (who has become a friend) – said she really liked it and was trying to work out how I’d made it. Here’s a close up …
… now – to be brutally honest … it’s a little tired looking now. I mean to say … it’s actually about twelve years old and has gone through many things in its little life, so it’s not as ‘freshly made’ and perky looking as it used to be – but I love it. I love it hanging on my front door during the early summer days, welcoming people as they arrive. (The front door is under cover and very well protected – & doesn’t get any rain on it – so I knew it would be pretty safe hanging there.)
After my parcel lady had said she liked it, I said, to Mr. Cobs, that I thought I still had “a bird house waiting for painting, ‘somewhere’ – but goodness knows where!” (I still have boxes in my loft that I haven’t unpacked from the house move 3 whole years ago!!! Please don’t judge me. – I never said I was brilliant or anything near it!).
After some searching, the wonderful Mr. Cobs found it! (give that man a medal, I hear you cry!). I decided that I’d make my parcel lady a bird house as a surprise. I got to work and, for the first time ever, I made a Roses bird house. But ... I couldn’t find a little bird for the perch. I searched… I checked out florists, craft supplies … everything I could think of, but no luck. So I decided to use the only thing I had – a little resin bird, in a gentle pinky colour, to match the roses. I gave the bird house to her a couple or so weeks ago, and thought that now the surprise was ‘out of the bag’, I could share it with you.
So, dear reader, I present to you …. The Roses Bird House for Tweety Pie (well, no, not quite. It was for my parcel lady to be precise – but you know what I mean! lol).
In the photo directly above, you can see the crackle glazed roof, and the little hanging loop over to the left, at the back (top) of the roof. However – if you make a loop of wire, for something to be hung on the wall etc – try to make sure that you ‘cushion’ the wire against something – (I used a leaf on this bird house) – so that the wire doesn’t damage any painted surface or wallpaper you have on the wall.
It was such a delight to do a ‘blast from the past’ crafty make again. It was as if time had rewound itself and I magically found myself back in time, twelve to fourteen years ago – and crafting in ways I’d forgotten I used to do. It was a really sweet, memorable time in my craft room, and I absolutely loved it. Memories of my mother; old friends who my heart misses; our girls when they were younger; teachers at the school where I used to help out; people I’ve known but have now sadly passed on; others who I’ve lost touched with – like ships that pass in the night. So many memories, and all so precious to my heart. It kind of almost felt like a friend who I hadn’t seen for years and years, had suddenly visited me out of the blue, and we’d sat together going over old times, laughing together, remembering together. Awww, just wonderful! ❤
I hope you like the bird house as much as I do. I was kind of sad to give it away. It had bought back such wonderful memories as I crafted with it and it had left me all warm and snuggly inside. But … it was for my lovely parcel lady – so I knew it was going to a great home.
Have you crafted with paper mache at all? Would you like to? You don’t have to actually make the paper mache item – there are hundreds of ready-made paper mache things which can be bought pretty cheaply at hobby stores. You get to use your imagination to decorate them and go mad with paint effects, papers, adornments, twiddly bits and crafty joy! If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a ‘go’. You never know … you might just find out that you love it. Oh … and if you have little ones on school summer holiday/break – this is something they’ll love to do! Paint, papers, glue … even coloured magazine pages would be great to stick to the ‘object’ using PVA glue.
Thank you so much for coming to spend a few minutes with me. I’m totally thrilled that you do. Please feel free to leave comments. I love hearing from you.
Oh, before I go … Since this post is about a Home for Tweety Pie, I really should bring him in on the post:
How very true! {smiles}
Have a truly blessed rest of your day ~
The Art of Cobwebs 