Miniature Gypsy Caravan Birdhouse

 Hello Mini Friends!!  I guess this is part three of my bird Christmas tree project...  the Gypsy Caravan.  This one was fun!  I added much more detail on the inside.  I love that adding one string light from the tree will light up the inside.  Do miniatures ever make you want to shrink yourself down to size and look around?  Surely I'm not the only one with this imagination.

This one was really fun to make.  I looked around on the internet to find what shape I wanted and just went to cutting out pieces of chipboard.  

The inside was also a lot of fun.  I used fabric scraps for the bedding and curtains, jewelry pieces and sequins for wall decor and a fortune teller sign that I made last year.

The roof was one to figure out!  I wound up cutting a piece of cardstock and using it as the base of my roof.  Mainly because I knew I wanted slats and didn't want light coming through when it's on the tree.

Sometimes I feel like I go a little wild with the painting details.  And sometimes more is better.  

Each birdhouse has special eggs inside.  I make them by wadding up foil and covering with thin clay.  When dry, the eggs get painted to sort of match the birdhouse.  These are magical gypsy eggs with stars and rhinestones.  I never skip the chance to use rhinestones!

I didn't detail the bottom on the first two houses I made.  I really think it needs it because it may be higher up on the tree and you see the bottom.  And also, always sign your work.

I pondered about the wheels for a while.  Matter of fact for years I have pondered on how to make wagon wheels.  It seems to always come up eventually.  For these I used some white, round rings that I found in a stash of old buttons.  I don't know their original use but I had several.  I cut toothpicks for the spokes and used two sequins for the center caps.  Wagon wheel problem solved!

Here is the whole set so far.  And yes, I am working on number six!  So far it is bigger than these but that's ok.  The good thing about making your own ornaments is that it's totally your choice!

Once again, Thank You for stopping by and allowing me to share my projects with you!!

Stay tuned for the next birdhouse!

Also, any ideas on more ornaments for my bird tree??

Until next time,  XOXO ~Laurie

  

Mini Birdhouses

 Hello Mini Friends!  And welcome back!  I am working on my bird themed Christmas tree.  I do so love a yearlong project!  Lately I have been working on some birdhouses for my tree.  And let me tell you... these have been fun so far!  I currently have five that are almost finished.  Actually, two that are completely finished and three that are waiting for eggs.  I made eggs for them yesterday and will paint them hopefully today.  

The houses aren't real big, I think the tallest one is three inches tall.  I don't have patterns or exact measurements.  I have just been following what I feel and cutting pieces of chipboard accordingly.  But, there is a part where miniatures come in and that is on the inside.  Because each house has a hole on the back for a Christmas light to go in that illuminates the inside drawing your eye to see what's inside.  Also, to spy the bird eggs that are hiding inside each house.  

The little star eggs are just sitting on a bed of moss.  

The glittery and polka dot eggs inside are sitting on a pillow with white feathers all around. 

My third one is a beach birdhouse.  I finally thought of taking pictures or possibly making a tutorial because of the roofing shingles.  I used really thin chipboard, like from a cereal box, and used my clay working tool to press stripes.  I didn't paint the shingles except for some brown shimmer paint for highlights.  I love how it turned out.

I decided to add a bucket of shells.  I actually had made the card stock bucket some years ago.  I felt lucky to have it ready to paint.  I added tiny shells from my stash and glued the bucket to the porch.

The fourth one I made has a Christmas theme.  Afterall, it is going on a Christmas tree!  I used some Christmas fabric scraps to line the inside walls and also wound up using Christmas fabric for the roof.

The tiny bed and decorated tree inside just tickle me!

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures of the construction on these houses.  I really didn't intend on sharing them here.  But, the next one I did take some pics so it will get it's own post.  It's a gypsy caravan birdhouse and I love it!  I can't wait for you to see it!

I will also take pictures of the eggs inside each one when I am finished.  The beach house, Christmas house and gypsy caravan all need eggs.  

What do you think??  Do you like my bird themed Christmas tree so far?  

What else do you think needs to be on the tree?

Thanks for stopping by!  

XOXO ~Laurie

Bird Ornaments Tutorial

 Hello Friends!  Today I thought I would share something other than miniatures.  Every Christmas, my sisters and I (along with nieces and nephews), have Crafty Christmas.  Instead of buying something for each other we make something.  This Christmas I made pans of cinnamon rolls for everybody, and I made clay birds for my sisters and mom.  I love making the birds so much that I decided to keep going after Christmas and hopefully by next Christmas I will have an entire tree filled with birds that I made!  I also snuck in Walmart when their Christmas stuff was 75% off and got a six-foot flocked and snowy tree for ten dollars!  This will be my bird tree!  I also plan on making some whimsical bird feeders and houses to go along with my birds.  With all that said, here are some of my birds and how I made them.

I hope you didn't expect them to not have glitter!  They've got to shine y'all!

First, I use aluminum foil and wad it up into as good of a bird shape as I can.  Heavy duty foil works the best and you don't use as much.  For the hummingbird I hot glued a piece of toothpick before I used the clay for his long beak.

Creative Paperclay is my favorite.  Just using a little water on my hands and molding it into shape is fun.  The not so fun part is waiting for them to dry!  They are usually ready to paint the next day, depending on how thick your clay is.  I really do love checking on the drying process with this clay.  You can tell by color or temperature.  If you pick it up and it is cold it's not dry yet.  

And this is me saying "Don't forget to press a small hole in the top of your bird for a 

hook to hang them up!"

When it's time to paint, I simply use a pencil to mark up my bird marking where 

paint colors will change.  I try not to be too accurate and detailed in the painting.  I could be, but when planning to glitter them up it's mainly just the colors that I want.  Just enough to be able to tell what kind of bird it is.  

This is by beloved Wood Thrush.  My favorite!

When I use glitter, I like to use Mod Podge and mix very fine glitter in the glue then paint it on.  This way the glitter stays on the project and doesn't leave a glittery trail everywhere!

I used one of my bird books for inspiration.

I just love them!  I can already see the tree all decorated up!  I've got a lot to do between now and December!  I also have a Mushroom Tree that I made mushrooms in this same way.  On that tree I also made acorns and pinecones.  

I hope you enjoyed this post!  While I LOVE making miniatures, my creativity does not stop there!  And I can't wait to share my Bird Tree with you next Christmas!

XOXO ~Laurie