Birdhouse Play Village

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Unfinished Birdhouses
• Acrylic Paint, Assorted Colors
• Painters Tape
• Various Sized Paintbrushes
• Paint Pens
• X-Acto® Knife
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Fine Grit Sandpaper
• Matte Coat Spray Varnish, Clear
• Foam Sheets, Black

DIRECTIONS:

1. Lightly sand each birdhouse removing any rough edges.
2. Using painter's tape, create designs or hard edges for windows and signs on houses.
3. Using the photo as a guide, start by painting larger areas first following with the smaller areas.
4. Allow to dry completely before removing painters tape.
5. Fill in the masked areas.
6. Add details to roofs, windows, doors, benches, chairs and store names with paint markers or a small brush.
7. Once houses are completely dry, spray with a coat of clear varnish.
8. Trace road patterns onto black foam sheets using a ballpoint pen. Cut along lines.
9. Use a flat paint brush to paint white dashed lines down the center of the road.

JOANN HACKS:

• Sketching out your ideas for each birdhouse first, helps aid in color and design decisions.
• Developing a color palette of 8-10 colors creates a more uniform, fun looking village.
• Squirt out a small amount of paint at a time as acrylics will dry quickly.
• Mixing colors can make a custom shade.
• If you don't have any painters tape, washi tape is a great substitute.