I made one of these for my mother who collects birdhouses. This turned out really cute, they can be used as ornaments for the holidays or for anyone who likes birdhouses.

A hot glue gun is required for this project. First, it is best to have a pattern. I used a piece of cardboard for my pattern. I drew out the walls and ceiling the size I wanted( approx 6 small craft sticks for each wall) on to the cardboard. I then cut the pieces out. I drew a line on the sticks, the height I needed and simply cut the sticks with a pair of heavy duty scissors.

After you have cut all your pieces, glue the sticks to the cardboard pattern. To assemble, stand the walls of the house up to each other, run a bead of glue inside, between the walls, attaching them. The roof of the house was done in a similar way, by gluing the sticks to the roof pattern. In order to get a slanted roof, I cut out two small triangular pieces the size I needed. If you can’t get the craft sticks as small as you like, due to splintering, just paint the card board the same color you are going to paint the bird house.

Attach the triangle cardboard pieces to the front and back wall of the bird house. Then attach the roof pieces by gluing them to the triangles. Once the birdhouse was assembled, I painted it and added the opening of the house by painting a black circle on the front. I finished up by gluing a piece of raffia to the back for hanging. This technique is not just for bird houses, you could make these in various sizes and make your own little village.

Supplies Needed:

• Wooden craft sticks (Popsicle sticks)
• Craft paint
• Heavy scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Cardboard
• Raffia or ribbon ( for hanging)
• Small mushroom birds

This is an easy fun project. You can make one of these wreath’s with just about anything.

This project requires a hot glue gun or craft wire, to attach the items to the wreath. I suggest a hot glue gun, not only to save time but wire can be obtrusive. These wreaths can be decorated with just about anything. They make a great personal gift as well.

I made one of these using a grape vine wreath but any wreath can be used. If you don’t have a wreath to use and you are like me and want to start on your project right away, you can cut a circular shape out of cardboard. I suggest you paint the cardboard to match your project, so any pieces that may show through will be less conspicuous.Another way to achieve the wreath shape, is by bending a coat hanger. Coat hangers will work but may be a bit more difficult to work with because you won’t have much surface.

Before adding any items to your wreath, I suggest you adhere a piece of wire on the back for hanging. It will be a lot easier to add the wire before hand. For grapevine or any other pre made wreath or coat hanger, you can simply twist the wire on to the back. For cardboard cut out wreaths, you can hot glue the wire to the back or punch holes into the cardboard and thread the wire through. You may want to place your items on the wreath before you glue it, to make sure they are where you want them.

Start by gluing the items to your wreath. If using a pre made wreath, you can glue on as much or as little as you want. Any cloth or flat items can be layered. You can make patterns by grouping like items or colors together. Using a grapevine wreath, I glued several wine corks to it, in various places. I have also made one of these wreaths by applying dried flowers to it. To apply dried flowers to a wreath, start by cutting your flowers to length. I began gluing the flowers randomly to the wreath, adding enough to fill in all the empty spots.

Here are some ideas of items to add to or make with your wreath… wine corks (a great gift for a wine lover), Small children’s toys (small bags of insects,butterflies or other animals can be found at any Walmart for a very small price), baby bottles or pacifiers (makes a great shower gift), golf balls and tees(great gift for the golfer), empty spice jars, uncooked colored pasta (either would be a great addition to any kitchen), cranberries, dried flowers, silk flowers, sea shells, to name a few. As long as the items you chose aren’t too heavy or too big, the possibilities for this project are endless.

I suggest, if you are using dried flowers for the project, cover your work area with newspaper.

Supplies Needed:

• Wreath
• Hot glue gun or craft wire
• Plenty of Glue sticks
• Small items to adorn the wreath
• Piece of wire (for hanging)
• Newspaper (if using dried flowers)
• Dried Flowers