Feelin' Patriotic 3 - Birdhouse

My patriotic checkered birdhouse project is next in this series. I spotted this birdhouse in our barn shortly after we were married. I liked the shape and occasionally used it as part of the decor in our old farmhouse in the Saginaw area.

The birdhouse was still in raw form and has been packed away since we moved to the U.P. - up until last week.

I had several ideas about what to do to it through the years but hadn't thought about it recently until it came to mind when I saw the basket tray liners at Dollar Daze in Saginaw. Hmmm. How about a patriotic theme with Mod Podge? Sounded good.

I had seen the box that contained the birdhouse in our basement several times in the last year, so I was able to find it quickly last week. Mr. Cut Off was in the basement when I pulled out the birdhouse. He was probably amused that I didn't want to sand it, pound the joints together more tightly or straighten the little hanger. I liked that it looked a little rough and primitive.

Now that I was a Mod Podge pro with a total of one previous project under my belt, I attacked this project with confidence. I cut my sheets of checkered basket tray liners to fit - beginning with the front and moving on to the sides - all in red. I repeated the process I used with my checkered flag. I used a sponge brush to paint on a thin layer of Mod Podge - positioned the paper on the birdhouse - allowed it to dry a bit - and then brushed on 2 thin layers of Mod Podge over the paper - allowing it to dry between each coat.

After the front and sides of the birdhouse were thoroughly dry, I repeated the process with the blue paper on the roof.

I opted to leave the front edges bare.

It was a simple project, but it adds a little touch of red, white & blue to our summer decor.

Oh. . . the peanut bag on the back of the Amish buggy bench? That's a future project. I think it wants to be a pillow. (Update: It DID want to be a pillow! You can see that project here.)

I still have a few more patriotic things to show you, so expect Feelin' Patriotic 4 later this week.

All is well in the Keweenaw.