Kettle Gourd Birdhouse with Crocus Design

HAPPY APRIL EVERYONE!

I'm in the mood for spring so I've been working on some new gourd birdhouses. This is one of the new designs for a spring gourd birdhouse. I thought I would share some of the process with you. Please feel free to use any of my ideas and paint a birdhouse for yourself. Change up the design and colors too! I'd love to see what you create. Please post a comment with a link to your creation. I love to see all the beautiful creations from the gourd artists out there :-)

First step.....Selection and Preparation

I always choose my individual gourd for a specific project and design. I have chosen this one for a wren/finch birdhouse with a nice spring crocus design. Sand and seal your gourd before drilling and drawing on your design.

I mark my 4 holes on the bottom of the gourd for drainage just in case wind blows and water gets into the birdhouse. You don't want those little babies to drown!

I also drill two holes for the hanger, 1 for the perch and a 1" hole for the entrance to the birdhouse (between 3-5" from the floor of the gourd).

Clean out all the loose seeds and debris that is inside the gourd. I use a dust mask so I don't inhale the gourd particles. They can cause lung irritation in some people.

The perch gets glued in with weather-proof glue.

I'll be back with more pics of the design and painting process later this week. Grab a gourd and paint along with me!

Have a great week,

Darlene

Gift Packaging and a GREAT Company

Happy Friday!
I did a custom order through our Etsy shop a while back for a company named Brownie Affair. Gail, the owner, has some wonderful products on her website http://www.brownieaffair.com/.

Here is a sample of the two options she has using my flower and tag designs for her gift packaging. Thanks again Gail for your business! Give Brownie Affair a try if there is a gift for a special person or family in your future. This company is wonderful!

"Elegance"

"Flower Chic"

Best of luck on your business Gail....

Darlene

Chalked Flowers

This is a peek at the chalked flowers that I have been experimenting with. I went to a local scrapbooking MegaMeet here in Michigan a couple months back and they had a demo with these chalks. I just love all the color options that come in the box. What I like even better is the fact that they have a fixative in the chalk and that once it sets up it no longer smears! That means no residue on any other part of your project(s). Pretty cool concept I think. They are also hand embossed and then I added some Glossy Accents by Ranger Industries for dimension and this is the result. There are a few more views of these posies at http://www.ggam.etsy.com/ if you would like to take a peek.

TFL
Darlene