This unseasonally beautiful (and not scorching hot) weather has brought us outside enjoying actual activities and events that do not involve water! Shocking, I know, but what is even more so is that we are not melting! I love it and Hallelujiah!!! Our most recent outing was to the local Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. I must say, if your city has one, pick a day; pack up the kiddos and a picnic; and go enjoy it! I felt as if I walked into a Monet painting.
Our local arboretum has a bird-watching area which was phenom! To boot, it had a very nice collection of decorative birdhouses on display from what I assume to be local artists. One particular birdhouse definitely got my creative juices flowing and I thought "Hey, we can do that." (or something of the like)
Isn't it just stunning!?!
What we did and what you will need:
A piece of china that you don't mind smashing to smithereens. We stopped at a local thrift shop and bought a beautiful bowl for only $1.99. You might also smash a mirror to bits if you so desire. I, myself, stuck to the china.
A wooden birdhouse. Joann's has a nice selection for a great low price. Make sure you select one with a rope at the top if you plan on hanging your final creation!
Mosaic Cement. Again, you should be able to find some at a craft store such as Joann's or Michael's. I bought the 8oz. jar and for the size birdhouse my daughter selected, we had just enough. There is a fairly good selection of different color grouts. I chose the 'Pumice' color to compliment the china pattern.
A Hammer
A Towel. The towel is for your protection against flying china shards when the china demolition occurs as described below. It's not a bad idea to use some kind of eye protection in addition to the towel but if you are gentle with your demolition, flying china should not occur. The pro side of the towel method is when you are finished, you can fold up the towel and empty the shards into the trashcan.
Newspaper or covering for your workspace
Craft Paint. Choose one or two colors taken from the china pattern that you would like to really emphasize.
Sealant. If you are displaying it ourdoors, it's a good idea to use Mod Podge Outdoors. We also used Mod Podge sparkle as a base sealant. These are both available at your local craft shop.
Some kind of bling! The birdhouse at the Arboretum had a gorgeous piece of costume jewelry adorning it. My daughter found some precious jeweled butterflies at the craft store and snatched them up to adorn ours. Get creative and see what you can find!
The first step is to paint the birdhouse....don't worry about coloring outside the lines as the mosaic will cover up painting boo-boo's.
Smashing to smithereens! This is where your towel is integral! Put your lovely china on top of half the towel and then cover it up with the other half of the towel. Make sure it is covered well. This is to avoid flying china shards - safety, safety, safety! Hammer the china; one gentle hit at a time - you should hear a very distinctive break when successful.
Keep on keeping on until your pieces are small enough for your project!
Sealing your final creation comes next. We sealed our birdhouse first with Mod Podge Sparkle because my baby girl loves her sparkle! After that dried, came the Mod Podge Outdoor. With the Mod Podge Outdoor, come rain or shine, we knew our birdhouse was good to go!
My daughter and I decided where the bling fit best on our birdhouse and secured the bling with a little hot glue and Presto! Chango! our wooden birdhouse became a beautiful, mosaic, decorative birdhouse for our enjoyment!
Have fun!
