Birdhouse Ornaments (made from Pint-Sized Dairy Cartons)
I’ve always had a thing for bird ornaments hung on Christmas trees. Maybe because birds belong in trees and seem the happiest flitting around their branches. I have quite the assortment of bird ornaments but this year I got the idea to create birdhouse ornaments for my collection of birds. They look so cute I thought I’d share my DIY process.
Supplies needed to make Pint-Sized Carton Birdhouse Ornaments:
- pint-size cartons (creamer, whipping cream, I’ve got quite a collection from holiday baking)
- spray paint in white, soft pink, and light seafoam green
- x-acto knife
- straws
- snow glitter
- battery-operated tea light (optional)
- tiny faux birds
- twine
- acrylic white paint
As we learned from painting the tiny milk carton haunted houses, painting the waxed surface of a milk or creamer carton can be challenging. I’ve tried it both ways now: acrylic by hand and spray-paint. I have to say spray paint was better for overall coverage but I still had to break out some white acrylic paint to touch up some bits that flaked off. If you are going to paint your milk cartons by hand I would recommend sanding them a bit first to rough up the surface.
Cartons can be stubborn and might require several coats of paint. If you are spray-painting make sure you paint outside in a well-ventilated area.
After I painted them white, I dusted them lightly with a whisper of pink on some and seafoam green on the others. Of course, you could paint your birdhouse ornament any color you like but I have a pink tree at home that was calling out for a 50s rustic feel so I stayed in the pastel palette. Before the paint completely dried I sprinkled some pink and white glitter on the roofs to simulate snow. I think they look so pretty!
Now it’s time to cut the tiny birdhouse doors. I did this step after I painted but I think cutting before might be just as good if not better. I used a lid as a template to draw a circle lightly on one side. Then I carefully cut the circle out with an x-acto knife. I enlarged some of the circle doors and changed others to arched doorways just to create some variety.
Then I cut a small “x” below the circle door and inserted a straw for the birdhouse perch (see picture above). Some of the cartons were the kind you open from the corner so I glued them closed and used a binder clip to hold them while the glue dried (see pictures).
Then I stuck my tiny faux birds on some of the perches (see picture above), in the doorway and even on the roof where birds would be, naturally.
You can insert a battery-operated tea light through a little flap in the back (see above).
They looked so cute hanging on my pink tree! I’m almost tempted to hang some of them outside for the real birds.
Merry Tweetmas!
