bird house metamorphasis

this birdhouse belonged to my grandparents for a long time before it came to live with us. it finally gave up the ghost after many years of faithful service, but i kept the top because i thought i could use it for something. (click on any photo for a larger version)





the wood was so beautifully weathered, and i was dying to use it somehow but the remnants of red paint were just not working for me color-wise, and i didn't want paint chipping every time i moved it, or risk a splinter every time i touched it.







so, i went to the junk masters at junkmarketstyle.com and asked for their advice on how to handle the wood, whether or not there was anything i could do to change the color but not lose the weathered appearance and how could i keep those chips from flaking off.

they gave some great advice and got me thinking. even though i went in a completely different direction, their comments helped get my mind working about how to handle the project. i'm so grateful for their suggestions. they helped spark my thinking for sure!

i finally did something with it! i decided that i wanted to use the wood to mount 3 sand dollars on for hanging in my bedroom, which has a palette of various shades of turquoise, and brown, with pops of pink and orange.

i took the house apart, and using some lacquer thinner and a wire brush, scrubbed off as much of the red paint as i could. then i sanded more of the red paint off, and made sure i wouldn't get a gnarly splinter from the pieces.

i mixed some turquoise and orange paint and then watered it down enough to try to keep it somewhat translucent. using a sponge brush, i painted the wood with the turquoise wash until i liked the color. i mixed some iridescent medium into the orange wash to give it sparkle and then painted the sand dollars with the orange wash using a sponge brush again.







i then hot glued the sand dollars to the wood. i'm going to attach some jute to hang it with, maybe from some metal eyes too, if i can figure out how to do it well without splitting the wood.





i love how it turned out. not sure where it will go yet, but i'm excited to hang it. the only way it really fits into my modern style is the colors, but it pays homage to my birthplace of long beach, california, and it adds a twist since it's different.

UPDATE: i finally got my twine to hang it with, and here it is on the wall. i think it looks great!