Sunday, October 19, 2014

ABAC Challenge 40-Springing into Fall

Hello there! Fall is in it's full glory in southern Indiana and I couldn't be happier!  This is my favorite season for so many reasons.  I love the beautiful colors that seem to appear overnight; the air is somehow 'cleaner' and cooler, and it is the perfect time for campfires. So needless to say, I chose to do a fall project for Anything But a Card's Autumn Magic Spring Wonder challenge.  Of course, if you are on the other side of the globe, Spring may be inspiring you to make something equally colorful but in a different way!  I hope you will join us in celebrating both Spring and Autumn with a project of your own!

I knew immediately what my project would be.  We have two wonderful friends who have done so much to help us over the past year, and while I know I can't repay their kindness, I can reciprocate with a special thank you gift!  I bought an unfinished wood birdhouse to alter for a fall decoration.

I started with a base of light blue acrylic paint to match the mixer in their kitchen.  DD#1 took one look and said "Isn't her mixer more of a greenish color?" AHHHH! So on went a coat of Bahama Blue acrylic paint which is a cross between mint and turquoise.  This was deemed closer to the shade of the mixer. The roof was painted with Antique Copper metallic acrylic paint and the base was painted espresso brown.

I glued a large piece of aluminum foil to some printer paper, then cut the pieces to fit the dimensions of the roofs.  These were painted with the antique copper paint, set off to dry, then ran through the Fancy Fan embossing folder. It made a pretty cool shingle-like pattern.  I added some bahama blue accents to the foil roof to give the oxidation effect.  The blue/green house was given a generous coat of clear rock candy crackle paint to age the paint job to match the roof.  When the crackling was finished, I brushed on some crumb cake ink to fill in the cracks and age it a bit more.


My final touches were adding a few punched leaves in pumpkin pie, real red, and chocolate chip dsp. and some buttons.  I rubbed a little of the copper paint onto two vintage buttons and threaded some coastal cabana bakers twine through the holes.


The ultimate compliment came when DH declared the house to be really cool! He couldn't believe that I made the roof. :)  

Whether you prefer Spring or Fall, I hope you will join us in this month's challenge.  We would love to see your creations!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a fantastic week!

11 comments:

  1. Fabulous Margaret and what a great technique for the roof! Enjoy the rest of the weekend x

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  2. I can't think of a sweeter gift to give your friends! This is so cute and love the color of it. The little leaves around the opening are adorable on here.
    Lynn

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  3. Your DH is right! This is a really cool project. What a great gift to give your friend, so many little details. It will be fun to learn more together on this journey!

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  4. this is a great altered project Margaret-your friends will love it!!

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  5. Margaret your friends are going to love this bird house. What a wonderful idea using the aluminum foil. I will definitely need to try this. Love the colors you chose !!!

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  6. Pretty little birdhouse, Margaret ! The "tin roof" is fabulous and I like the vintage buttons rubbed with paint, really makes their detail pop.

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  7. As you know Margaret I am a sucker for little houses and yours is simply gorgeous. I love the colour scheme you have chosen.

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  8. I'm SO HAPPY right now. I love your foil/metal roof and that pattern and the wonderful colors for their kitchen and that button looks like an acorn piece. You did a magnificent job Margaret!
    hugs to you,
    Lisa x

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  9. Ditto what L2 said Margaret. This is freaking awesome and that roof.....well let's just say this little birdhouse can be found on my Altered Items board....Um hum, I like it...no...I LOVE IT! xx

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  10. This looks terrific! I often think it's even better when the husband compliments on a craft, too. For some reason, they sometimes seem hard to impress- you did a great job! I want to make one now!

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  11. This is just stunning! I love the color of the house and the pretty colors and texture you added.....looks perfect for fall!!

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I would love to know what you think! Thanks for commenting!