Friday, December 7, 2012

House Rules

Last year, while working on a totally unrelated project, I cut some extras from Tim Holtz's Artful Dwellings die.  I was playing around with them, and put them together to create a little three dimensional birdhouse.  And there it sat, always on or near my work table in it's unfinished state.  Until this week, when Simon Says Stamp and Show announced their latest challenge......house rules. Create a house, alter a house, stamp a house, do anything related to a house.  Also, on the Wendy Vecchi yahoo group we have an ongoing challenge to use Wendy's products on a holiday project, so this qualifies for that as well.

I'm happy I waited a year because now I have Wendy Vecchi's yummy embossing paste and Tim's equally yummy rock candy dry glitter, and I used  both to make the snow.



 
I love the texture of the embossing paste and the sparkle that the dry glitter adds.  The shingled roof was made from strips of different shades of brown cardstock.
 
 
 
The house was covered with some of Tim's tissue wrap, which was distressed with a few brown distress inks.  Before assembling, I cut the circle on the front piece and attached a stick (it goes through the opening and is glued to the back wall) to form the perch. 
 
The bird, the nest, the wreath and the pinecones were all found in various places that specialize in scaled down objects for doll houses.  That bird, by the way, was a horrid purple color, but a tiny bit of paint fixed that problem.
 
 
 
This is a bit blurry, but it's the only photo I have that shows what's in the bird's nest (besides the bird, of course).
 
 
Yep, my faux cardinal is sitting on some faux eggs.  Never toss your broken jewelry is all I'm saying.





15 comments:

Kathy Eddy said...

This is a fantastic piece Eileen!

Hetty said...

This is so lovely. An awesome ornament.

Monica said...

that is wonderful to usse something started and then creatte such a nice house for your crdinal to nest in.

Dorothy said...

Awesome!

Helen said...

Wonderful project, I love it!!

Cheri Reed said...

Adorable!

Candy C said...

Eileen...your little festive birdhouse is adorable! I love the brown cardstock roof! It's so rustic and perfect for your piece! Love the sheet music exterior, the wreath and the pretty little red cardinal. Such a nice depiction of the winter holiday season! Just adorable! Thanks for sharing your art with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

Scrappin' Stacy said...

Beautiful, snowy bird house!

Elaine A said...

Eileen -

What a great looking bird house! It is beautiful! Until I read that you used cardstock for the roof, I thought you actually used pieces of wood. Fabulous job!

Elaine Allen

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Hi Eileen, I love your dimensional birdhouse, the music exterior is perfect for a birdhouse, and I love your snow and wreath. Your faux eggs and cardinal are perfect. Thanks so much for joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Tracy x

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Gorgeous! Love the roof and snow. The cardinal and pearl eggs though are my favorite!

Unknown said...

I have a "naked" house on my craft table too...thanks for the inspiration.

Sandra said...

What a lovely bird house! It's gorgeous! Love the snow and the pearl eggs are a wonderful touch! Thank you so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. Hugs, Sandra

Marjie Kemper said...

Super project, Eileen. Love that snow!

Elise said...

Eileen, I have never commented on your blog before even though I am always inspired by your projects---really like your birdie house and I've never thought of myself as a "bird" person, but am gradually becoming very enamored with birds house and thus, birds. Happy Holidays to you!