Today I finished two more small birdhouses. I think I actually found the ugliest 'Olive Oil' paint color ever at Walmart. The roof on the larger of the two (on the right) is painted that color and it was so dank I decided to distress it to give it more character. I think the tiny details on the front make them so cute!
I devoted most of the morning and part of the afternoon to completing the bird house. I really like the way it turned out, but I'm a little disappointed in the trim color. It's darker than I wanted. The painting was a challenge because my hands aren't as steady as they once were, so I took longer but I got it done.
Today's tragedy invoved the white paint! I spilled it on the rug! I immediately took a spatula and scooped up as much as I could then got a pan of soapy water and wiped it down then put soapy water on the spot. I quickly got the carpet cleaner and started to extract the soapy water and paint and my carpet cleaner died! It smelled like it was going to catch fire, then stopped working. I took paper towels and got as much as I could up so hopefully it will dry and won't look bad. Right now I have a nice little faded white spot on the rug!
Below are pictures of the completed project. I hope you like it, I do.
The finials have been glued in place and putty has been added to fill the gaps where the holes are. These areas where putty was applied have also been sanded smooth.
The red and brown paint I bought for the roof didn't mix to the right color so I had to remix with additional colors to get the right color shade.
Once the roof was painted, I took the pic for this post and that is when I realized I wasn't truly done, the eaves are also the reddish-brown. So I will mix more paint and finish those, but I love the way it turned out. I'm sharing the template and the progress in the following pics.
Drills are not my thing!
The holes to insert the finials are now drilled and the birdhouse is now ready to have the finials glued in place and then putty will be added to fill in any open space. Once they are glued and putty has been applied, it will be sanded smooth and then I will start painting the roof. I'm very happy to have this part done, but now I know I can do it and it looks great!The holes to insert the finials are now drilled and the birdhouse is now ready to have the finials glued in place and then putty will be added to fill in any open space. Once they are glued and putty has been applied, it will be sanded smooth and then I will start painting the roof. I'm very happy to have this part done, but now I know I can do it and it looks great!Drills are not my thing!The holes to insert the finials are now drilled and the birdhouse is now ready to have the finials glued in place and then putty will be added to fill in any open space. Once they are glued and putty has been applied, it will be sanded smooth and then I will start painting the roof. I'm very happy to have this part done, but now I know I can do it and it looks great!
First Finial
A few days after purchasing the birdhouse and finials I located my drill and realized I didn't have a drill bit large enough to make the hole to insert the finial. To the hardware store I went and with the information off my drill to help identify, I was able to locate what I thought was the correct drill bit to fit my drill. Since I only ‘thought’ it would work, I thought I should seek confirmation and the numerous employees of the hardware store I asked for assistance knew nothing about determining correct fit and size for the drill bit to fit my drill. I took the finials with me to compare the size and several employees told me, “That looks like the right size" with doubt in their voice. After exhausting any hope to find a knowledgeable person I decided to purchase what I thought would work and return it if it did not. The drill bit worked perfectly, but the operator had no clue how to work the power tool and tried for quite some time to drill a hole with the drill in reverse. I was making no leeway so I was sure the wood was too strong for the drill bit. LOL A bit later, I decided to try the switch and see if it made a difference and amazingly a short time later, I had the hole drilled!
With this new progress I soon had the hole for the first finial.
I was happy with my progress of one hole drilled and a finial inserted into it and decided to post a pic on Facebook and a dear cousin made a humorous remark: The Carpenter Gene is very "weak or absent " in some members of our family....that is why we need to ask for assistance with our precut or partial assembled projects..lol. It is also why your health and fire insurance premiums are paid and up to date. JUST TEASING, LOL !
It gave me a good chuckle because little did she know, the carpenter gene she spoke of was not evident in my work! But fortunately, I did it and it looks great!
June 5, 2022
Birdhouse Project
My last day to work was June 2, 2022 and my last official day was June 3. On June 5th I bought a three tier birdhouse from Hobby Lobby and three wood finials to add to each tier. I found a pamphlet with this same birdhouse finished in white with teal trim and reddish-brown roof and the picture of the finished birdhouse in the phamplet was so beautiful I knew I had to try an make the prefab birdhouse look exactly the same as the pamphlet.
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