I found some nifty plain white birdhouses at HobLob on clearance, and bought the remaining three. I figured I'd paint them or decorate them somehow, but I ended up just stuffing the bag under my crafting table. While pondering crafty gifts to make, I remembered the forgotten houses and decided to give them to my mom as a xmas gift. I gathered supplies: paint, brushes, sandpaper, decoupage medium, paper scraps, ribbon, inspirational transfers, and more. Spread out on the cold concrete floor of my craft room, I started painting the first one and just waited for the colors and personality of the house to reveal.

Feeling quite proud of the first one, with its denim-look paint job and bronze-y accents (including a filigree under the eaves), pleasant glittery yellow roof and chipper bird, I forged on to the next:This second house turned out to be quite merry, with its patchwork-look 'wallpaper', a cheery green roof with flourishes, real cedar siding (from a tree in my yard), a touch of gold paint, and another filigree accent. Second merry birdhouse complete, I turned to the third. I was a bit stumped, I confess, not sure of how I could outdo myself on this one! But I think I did:I painted it yellow, then smeared a tiny rag dabbed on a black ink pad all over it, then went over that with green paint. It came out quite natural looking, lots of depth in the various layered colors. I tried crackle paint on the roof, but it didn't work (too cold?), so I sanded it down and ended up with a gorgeous weather-beaten, aged effect. I didn't want to decorate this one too much so I just used some more cedar bark and lichen-covered branches from my yard. The bird is sitting on a small chunk of ball moss, which covers the lower branches of my oak trees.

I poured a lot of creative effort into this project. But I have to say that I was thrilled with the outcome, and I just wish I could find more of those little houses!