Compendium of Curiosities Challenge 17 - Woodlands & Tinsel Twine

Hello and happy Saturday everyone! As Christmas races toward us, it's that time when things get SO darn busy I can hardly think straight. But taking the time to craft is the one thing I always insist upon, because it's my happy time, my reprieve, my quiet little break from the hustle and bustle.

I had the best day creating this holiday birdhouse for the next Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, "Woodlands and Tinsel Twine" which can be found on page 60 in the fabulous Compendium of Curiosities Vol. III by non-other than Tim Holtz. You can find the current challenge on our lovely host, Linda Ledbetter's, blog and join in the fun. There are prizes to be won and inspiration to be had. You can read all the details at the end of my post today.


On to my creation for this challenge...

I am quite fond of birdhouses lately and have been creating them for each season as home decor pieces. If you're like me, you change out your home decor as holidays and seasons change. Not ALL of it, just a few pieces here and there. (I'm not CRAZY, after all.)


The original idea in my head began as a gingerbread birdhouse, which I still might do (okay, maybe next year) but instead it took on more of a peppermint candy birdhouse with all the reds and whites with some touches of pink. Here's how it all came together...

I love the wood crafts aisle at my local craft store! There are so many types and sizes of birdhouses to pick from. This house is about 4 inches tall. I gathered my basic supplies to build my house. 

After painting my wood pieces with Antique Linen Distress Paint, I colorized my trees with Victorian Velvet Distress Stain spray. A very non-traditional color, but Victorian Velvet is one of my all-time favorite colors in the Distress pallet. So why not start there?

After the stain was dry, I gave my tree a haircut to make it flat on the back side.

I blobbed dots of Glossy Accents and sprinkled Distress Glitter in both Spun Sugar and Festive Berries over those glue blobs and set them aside to dry completely.

I used the 12 x 12 Merriment paper stash to cover most of my house, but the stark white background didn't seem vintage enough for my project, so I gave all the papers a blast of Antique Linen Distress Stain. After the papers where dry, I started adhering them to the my wood pieces.

For the opening of the birdhouse and the peg area, I made a printer paper template first, then traced it onto the Merriment papers. I also inked the edges of all my pieces with Vintage Photo.

On to the house the papers go.

Next I cut out a couple strands from the Holly, Beaded and Snowflake Garland die from red and pink Kraft Core cardstock. I cut away the bows from the red and glued them to the pink. I cut each strip to about 4 inches in length. Basically from bow to bow.

I spread a thin layer of Glue & Seal over the surfaces and then sprinkled an even layer of Distress Glitter over them to give a sugared effect. 

After doing Tim's technique to some tinsel twine, I added some to the base along with some Red/Cream Trimmings. 

And did the same to the house portion. As you see, I added the snowflake die strip to the base of my house. Red snowflakes? Why not?

I added some lace trim, then my sugared garland strips around my house's base, then more lace to the top of the roof. The woodland tree and wreathe were next, then a mirrored star. You may have noticed more tinsel twine added to my base. I added a pink-ish colored string of it to bring more pink into the base to tie in with the rest of the house.

I used the pink snowflake strip to adorn the top of the roof. 

An adhesive pearl is attached to the end of the perch peg.

And my little cardinal sits on the ledge.

At first I colored this mirrored star with Cranberry alcohol ink, but it came out rather purplish and icky, so I dabbed some Silver Alcohol Mixative over it and LOVED how it turned out! Don't you love when that happens?

Here's a final look at my little peppermint birdhouse. It was so much fun to make. Can't wait to see what YOU create with this challenge!

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Do you have the fabulous Compendium of Curiosities Vol. III book by Tim Holtz? (the master of all things vintage and distressed.) If not, you can find one at your local craft store, scrapbook store, or you can get a signed copy by Tim himself by going here. 

You can find all the CC3 Challenge details and FAQs here.  The lovely Linda Ledbetter is our hostess of this fun series of challenges, and all you have to do to participate is create your project, and upload to her site. Be sure, though, to read through all the FAQs so you're eligible to win...

We're working our way through this fantastic book of techniques and tips, and challenging you to join in the fun. This round's challenge is sponsored by the great folks at Inspiration Emporium who have a fabulous gift voucher to give away to one lucky random winner. Also, the Curiosity Crew's Choice scores a giant prize pack of goodies straight from Tim and Mario!

And don't forget, you can find these great products I've used today at Inspiration Emporium's online store.