Birdhouse Christmas Tree Ornament

The Christmas season is a busy, happy time of the year in which Christians attend church services, send greeting cards, buy and wrap gifts, and trees with lights and ornaments to celebrate the holiday. You can help save natural resources by recycling to make this Bird house ornament.

How to:

Trace the pattern onto the wrong side of a cereal carton or other lightweight, scrap cardboard. Cut it out, and fold the "I-shape" as indicated by the dotted lines. This will be easier if you first lay a ruler on the area and score the cardboard by drawing one blade of the scissors across it. Pop up the house by creasing the shape at the center and folding down the sides. Fold over the ends, and use white glue to fasten. Glue paper or cardboard to each end of the house to hide the open triangular areas at the top.

Paint a light coat of acrylics on the cardboard after the house is assembled. Cut two 2.75" x 4.75" scraps of wallpaper. Glue wrong sides together, fold in half, and glue on for the roof. Decorate the rest of the house with the wallpaper samples or construction paper. Make a hole with the compass point or awl, and slide the small stick through for the perch. Put a few drops of white glue around the stick to help fasten it to the inside of the house. Paint a circle above the perch for the opening.

If you use a polystyrene meat tray, first wash it in hot, soapy water and dry it. Break the tray into an irregular shape to simulate snow. Paint a dowel rod or use a twig for the pole. Make a hole in the center of the polystyrene, and slide it over the stick. Turn the house upside down, and place the rod or twig inside so that it touches the center of the roof. Fill the house with polystyrene peanuts or other filler. Slide the "snow" down to the base of the house, and fasten it with white glue. Make bushes and trees with pieces of tissue or construction paper. To finish, glue white felt on the bottom.

A crafting tip: Wallpaper sample books are full of beautiful papers and fabrics. Employees at interior design studios and paint stores are usually happy to share discontinued samples in order to make room for new ones. If you're unable to find wallpaper books, substitute a scrap of gift wrap or other decorative paper or fabric. Florists may donate scraps of ribbon, dried flowers, picks, beads, and other decorative items for your tree. Also, gift shops often discard damaged merchandise, and you may be able to salvage parts for ornaments.

To make the gingerbread house shown here, decorate the ornament with craft paints in squeeze-type tubes to simulate icing and candy. Use paper clay or acrylic paste for the gum drops.

Marilyn's Imagination Factory
©1997 Marilyn J. Brackney

Visit our holiday craft site, Holiday Arts & Crafts on the Net, for more Christmas and all your holiday crafts. Do you have a great Christmas or other holiday craft project? Easily share your holiday crafts with us @ Holiday Arts & Crafts on the Net.

Add Comment

 

Name:
E-Mail:
Message: