Painted Bird House

I picked up this bird house at the Cuprinol stand when I was at Bloom Garden Festival, in June, and I've only now had the chance to paint it! It came in quite a simple little flat pack and you assembled it like a 3D jigsaw. When you bought the set you got 3 sample size paints with it,  I chose green, blue and orange. Then I had some Ronseal paint in yellow and purple which I also used. I went for a colour block theme, as it was simple and effective with little messing about. 

What you will need: 

• Birdhouse
• Masking tape
• Small paint brush 
• Paint in a selection of colours - I used Cuprinol garden shades in Sunny Lime, Beach Blue and Terracotta and Ronseal garden paint in Purple Berry and Sundial!

Step 1 - Assemble

This took about 2 minutes and was just a matter of clicking the different sections into place. 

Step 2 - Outline

I used masking tape to mark out the pattern I wanted to paint. 

Step 3 - Get painting!

I painted each side a different colour, in line with the colour blocking effect. The paint is quite pigmented and the wood was light so it only took about one good coat to get a strong effect. 

I started with the roof and then worked my way around the front, back and sides. When I was finished painting the last section, the sides, the roof was just about dry. I then removed the tape from the top section and retaped over the painted section so I could get a clean line to paint the edges. Follow this method all around, working in sections. 

I used the purple paint all around the top half and then went for yellow to contrast against the blue on the front and back!

Step 4: Let it dry

The paint was touch dry in about 5 mins, although I would recommend leaving it to one side for about an hour to make sure it is completely dry!

The finished product!

Even though this does look great hanging amongst the roses, unfortunately, I don't plan on leaving it outdoors. This house is made from very light wood and would most likely not withstand the elements. I'll find a more suitable home for it indoors instead.

Since I don't plan on leaving mine outside I didn't need to use a sealer or varnish. Although if you do plan on hanging yours outside for the birds to enjoy, I would recommend finding a waterproof wood sealant to help protect. Try this one from Amazon. 

There you have it, this took about 30 mins to paint and the most time-consuming part was cleaning the brushes!

Until next time,

Sarah 

Old to New: DIY Tufted Headboard

How often do we have something lying around the house that we want to use but simply doesn’t fit in with our current décor?Well this was my problem exactly, I really wanted a headboard for my room although could not bring myself to splash the cash for a new one when I already had a perfectly good, albeit old, one in the house. As it was quite old it definitely needed a face lift to be brought up with the times and match my freshly painted room. 

At this stage I had two options, the first one being to dismantle it completely by removing the buttons, fabric and batting/sponge, keep the existing frame and work from there OR keep it as is and simply create a new cover for it. Considering it was in relatively good condition I decided to go with the second, and more simple, version of creating a new cover. 

And so we begin...

* Just before we do, as this had been lying around the house for a while it had inevitably gathered dust so I took it outside to beat excess dust of it as well as giving it a going over with the hoover.  

Supplies you will need;

• Old headboard
• Fabric of choice
• Buttons
• Scissors
• Staple gun & staples

Before

Step 1 - Measuring out the material

As I wanted to do this without incurring too much expense I chose to use two spare pillowcases that I had from Penneys (which cost about 3 quid for the pair). In order to use them for this, I cut them to open and joint them to make one large piece to cover the board. For this you can use any spare pieces of fabric you already have, such as curtains, cushion covers, t shirts or you can opt to buy some material to match your room!

The amount required will depend on the size of your headboard and the number of tufts. When measuring ensure you have enough material to cover the entire headboard, make allowances for the tufts as this will require extra fabric. Also ensure you have enough to reach behind the board so you can staple it and it is secure.

In order to estimate whether you have enough before you begin lay the fabric on the board and place your finger where the existing tufts are to make dents. This will guide you in each of the tufts to give a estimate also add a slight bit extra  for a just in case. 

Lay the fabric over the headboard

Roughly mark out the tufts

Step 2 - Secure the tufts

Place your finger on each of the buttons that are already there to create the tuft, I found working from the center and moving outwards was the easiest method. Take your gun and staple the fabric into the

sponge. You will not be able to staple directly into the button as the surface will be too hard so aim the staple to as close as you can beside it into the softer area. These staples will be covered up later on when we add new buttons.

Step 3 - Tidying the edges

Once you have all the tufts located and stapled, its time to clean up the edges. For this you simply flip the headboard over and begin stapling down the excess fabric. Aim to hold it taught so that it is not loose so that you can achieve the quilted look and it is not loose at the front. Be aware when pulling the material over to the back some staples may become loose so keep a check on these.  Trim any excess and loose ends so it is neat. 

Step 4- The finishing touch

Select  buttons of choice and simply glue them on top of the existing ones. Make sure they are small enough to fit in and big enough to cover the staple from step 2. For this you can use cover buttons to match the main fabric, different colours for a rainbow effect it's up to you! I decided to go with small gold detailed buttons as I had them in the house and I think the contrast quite nicely with the white background. 

After

There you have it, 4 simple steps to creating a headboard that matches your room for little or no cost!

Until next time,

Sarah