Lace Assemblage Bird House

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My kids bought me an unfinished birdhouse this Christmas as their present

 to me. Since we don't have any extended family living close by, and didn't have

 any company over, I took it easy and just enjoyed Christmas day, and 

didn't make a huge Christmas dinner.

With my extra leisure time, I got to do some crafting, which is fine with me!

 Truly that was the real gift.

I sat down with some fabric scraps, some glue and paint, and went to town 

decorating this little house in my style.

I dipped the lace into the glue and then glued it to the house. 

I also added a ring, and  large bead, held on by a pin on top,  and a button

 on the front also held on with glue and ball headed pins cut to the length I needed.

 Once that was dry, I painted it all over with gesso. That made the lace stiff 

and prepped the house for painting. 

Then I painted a base coat of  cream.  This is the color that will show through

 the cracks.

After that I covered the entire house in glue, and waited for it to get tacky.  

A coat of white paint came next, before the glue dried.  

When the glue dried, it shrank, giving the house a crackled finish.

A light sanding on all of the edges prepared it for the next step. 

Then I used a gel antiquing medium in all of the crevasses and on the edges, wiping

off the extra with a damp cloth.

I hope this all made sense. I didn't take pictures along the way...

I knew there was a reason to hold on to all those lace scraps all of these years!

For no wit has a place in my bedroom, but this cutie is for sale in my etsy shop. 

So if you don't want to make one of your own, you can buy this one here.

-Paulette