Mossy DIY Vintage Birdhouse Makeover: Thrifted To Fabulous

Do you like old vintage birdhouses? I love to collect them, but every once in a while, I run across one in questionable shape. If you have an old birdhouse that has seen better days, you can easily create a moss birdhouse with this DIY birdhouse easy tutorial. I recently brought home a cheap birdhouse from the thrift store, and within an hour, it was completely upcycled. I can’t wait for you to see the transformation.

You may remember that I decorated our screen porch with my collection of birdhouses a few weeks ago. Now I have a new addition, and it looks fabulous.

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Thrift Store Vintage Birdhouse

When I first saw this vintage birdhouse, I passed it by. It appeared to have some water damage and wasn’t very decorative. However, as I browsed the shop, I remembered a moss-covered birdhouse that I had taken a photo of for inspiration. The birdhouse was in a floral shop, and although not overly expensive, I didn’t purchase it.

So I went back to examine the water-damaged birdhouse, and since it was so inexpensive, I took it home with me.

Supplies For DIY Birdhouse Easy Makeover

The supplies used for this DIY birdhouse easy makeover were items I had on hand. However, I’ll share some links if you need to purchase them.

• Green Moss
• Sage Green craft paint
• Elmer’s Glue
• Hot Glue Gun
• Foraged White Oak Tree Bark or Twigs if you prefer.
• Plastic Gloves
• Hot Glue Finger Protectors

Forage For Cheap Birdhouse Materials

First, you will want to forage for the cheap birdhouse materials. I had collected several pieces of mossy bark from a white oak tree in our yard. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them but I had saved them in the greenhouse.

You can use tree bark or twigs for the roof of your vintage birdhouse.

How To Forage For Tree Bark

You will find pieces of the white oak tree bark around the base of the tree. The pieces on the ground are safe to use without damaging the tree. However, do not remove the bark still attached to the truck. “Without bark protecting the phloem tissue, the tree would starve, and the wood of the tree would dry out.” quote from the Garden Help Article.

Place the bark in a bag and freeze it overnight to kill any bugs. Allow the tree bark to dry out before using it for crafts.

How To Make A Moss Birdhouse

Now that you have all your supplies, you are ready to turn your thrift store find into a moss birdhouse.

If you plan to paint any areas of the old birdhouse, do so first. I painted the wooden area around the birdhouse hole with sage craft paint.

You are ready to add the moss! For this step, you will want to wear disposable plastic gloves.

Begin by painting Elmer’s glue over a section of the house. Pour extra glue into a plate or container and dip small sections of moss into the glue.

Press the moss into the area painted with glue. Shake the birdhouse to allow any loose moss to fall away. If you need to add more moss, press into the glue again and fill any holes you see.

Work on one side of the vintage birdhouse at a time until your have completely covered the sides with moss.

Add Roof To Moss Birdhouse

Now that the cheap birdhouse is covered with moss, you are ready to add the roof. Whether you use twigs or tree bark, you will need a hot glue gun for this step.

Begin to apply hot glue to the bark and press onto the roof of the old birdhouse. Allow the bark to appear like roofing shingles. Begin at the lower edge and apply a row across that completely covers the old roof. The add a second row that overlaps the first.

Continue until the entire roof is covered. If you see any gaps, add another piece of the bark. Hold the pieces in place until the glue sets.

Notice how I allowed the bark to cover the sides and top of the roof. You can cut the bark to fit or look for smaller pieces to fill these narrow areas.

Moss Birdhouse

Now, your vintage birdhouse is ready for display. The moss birdhouse will make a great decoration for your porch or sunroom.

The added texture of the tree bark really enhances the Vintage birdhouse makeover.

I placed the moss birdhouse on a thrifted candle holder to give it height. It’s the perfect addition to my screen porch birdhouse decorations for Spring.

Resources

Video

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