Petit Oiseau Chambre de Marie

It's been a fun month of Odd Birds and such over at Alpha Stamps and the design team as been busy creating some very fun projects.  February is coming to a close which means I finally get to share my fun wee project with you.  Petit Oiseau Chambre de Marie or in English Marie's Small Birdhouse (but it sounds so much better in French doesn't it?)  I knew the minute Leslie announced the 3D Birdhouse Die that I just had to get my hands on it.  It really is a very small petite birdhouse and was very fun to play with.

To start this project I cut a 12"x6" piece of the double dot vintage island mist scrapbook paper and ran it through a xyron machine using a permanent adhesive cartridge.  I then cut a 12"x6" piece of medium weight chipboard, attached the scrapbook paper to the chipboard and ran it through the  vagabond machine using the extended cutting pads.  Remember to place your piece on the die with the scrapbook paper face down.  This die cuts and scores at the same time so you want the scores going the right way when you begin to assemble the birdhouse.  I then carefully colored the edges using black soot distress ink and a blending tool.  I wasn't able to completely get ink into the corners where the chipboard was scored so I very carefully went into the corners using the brush end of a black soot distress marker.

For the roof I cut a 4.5"x3" piece of light weight 12x12 chipboard and a matching piece from the metal foil tape sheets (you cannot cut this with a paper cutter you need to use scissors, I learned this the hard way).  I carefully covered the chipboard with the foil sheet and placed it face down on  the 3D Birdhouse die and cut the roof out.  I then embossed the roof using the french script embossing folder from the Tim Holtz - Embossing Folders - Eiffel Tower & French Script set.  

I had originally painted the roof with black soot distress paint but wasn't happy with how it looked.  I felt a weathered/antiqued copper roof would go better with the scrapbook paper so I began playing with copper, verdigris, patina, and black gilders paste and created a great weathered copper roof.

To make the weathered/antiqued copper roof I applied a thick layer of the copper gilder's paste to the foiled side of the roof and allowed it to dry.  I then lightly buffed the roof with a soft cloth to remove any built up paste.

 Next I applied a mixture of the verdigris and patina gilders paste.  To give a very old weathered look I applied thick layers of the patina paste.  (Mine was a bit dried out so I used a bit of turpenoid to reactivate it but found that I liked the gritty texture of the dried patina so I used just enough turpenoid to make the paste plyable).  I then applied a little bit of black gilders paste here and there to highlight the script a bit better (if you apply to much black buff off with a soft cloth before it dries).  Next you want to punch a hole in the middle of the roof for the dowel that holds the weather vane to go through (I forgot to do this and had a dickens of a time trying to get the pole in the roof after I had already put the birdhouse together and glued the roof on).

To create the stand I painted the 3" tall candlestick holder with brushed pewter distress paint and hot glued a small fishing weight that fit into the candle stick.  

I then marked and cut a hole in center of the bottom of the birdhouse so that it would fit over the weight since the weight stuck up a little bit from the candlestick.

I then created a small flower bouquet with white paper roses and white pearl stamens and attached it with hot glue.

I then assembled the house and while the glue was setting worked on the shadow  box bird shrine.   I first carefully cut the loop off with an xacto knife and painted it but didn't like the color so I ended up covering it with sea sprite vintage glitter glass, I love the subtle sparkle it gives.  I then used an image from the Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet in the hole of the shadow box bird shrine and made crown for the bird with a crown from the Spanish Crowns Collage Sheet that I gussied up with some liquid pearls platinum pearl and rouge pearl.  I then glued the shadow box shrine to the front of the birdhouse being careful to make sure it was centered.  To make the perch I cut a 1" section cut from a small dowel and with colored it with copper gilders paste.  I then attached the small dove to the perch from the Oiseaux De Mode Collage Sheet.  I also attached a resin corner piece from my stash to the underside of the peak of the roof.  I then glued the birdhouse to the candlestick stand.

The house still needed a little more decorating so I antiqued the copper dresden border sampler set with some patina gilders paste and glued some around the sides and bottom of the birdhouse and the candlestick.  

To the back of the house I glued a fleur-de-lis that I colored with copper, verdigris, and patina gilders paste.

To create the Marie weather vane I made a mirror image of the Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet and made a two sided bust.  I then used some clock hands from my stash to create the directional hands.  The color was only on one side so I used some black soot and picket fence distress paint and painted the back side of the clock hands.  

I then glued the clock hands together, cut a notch in the Marie bust and glued that to the clock hands.  To make the pole I used a thin dowel that I colored with copper gilder's paste, cut a slit in the top with an xacto knife and glued the Marie bust to the top of the dowel.  I then used some left over copper dresden scraps and wrapped them around the dowel under the clock hands.  I then inserted the pole into the top of the house and used some hot glue to hold it in place.  I then covered the ridge pole of the roof with another piece of the copper dresden border sampler set.

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used:
Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet
Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet
Spanish Crowns Collage Sheet
Copper Dresden Border Sampler Set
Double Dot Vintage Island Mist Scrapbook Paper
Shadow Box Shrine Kit - Bird
12x12 Chipboard
3 Inch Tall Candlestick Holder
Tim Holtz - Embossing Folders - Eiffel Tower & French Script
3D Birdhouse Die
Metal Foil Tape Sheets
Black Soot Distress Paint, Ink & Stain Set
Gilders Paste Copper, Black, and Patina
Liquid Pearls - Platinum Pearl
Metallic Distress Paints - Set of 3 -Brushed Pewter
Tiny Paper Roses-White
White Pearl Stamen
Extended Cutting Pads - 1 Pair
Tim Holtz Vagabond Die-Cutting Machine