Itty Bitty Birdhouse Bead

Get ready to say, "Aww!" An Itty Bitty Birdhouse Bead from Candace Jedrowcz is a cute yet sophisticated project that you can use for a variety of wearables. This is a new way to look and bead crafts. Ideas for polymer clay have never been this unique or fun to make.


 

Materials:

• Scrap polymer clay blended to brown or gray
• Crochet needle for smoothing
• Needle tool or toothpick
• Pin
• White acrylic paint
• Cotton swab

Instructions:

1. Condition clay and form a 1/2″ cube.
    
2. Form a triangle to make the pointed top of the house.
    
3. Form a flat rectangle for the roof and push into place.
    
4. Use the needle to texture the wood exterior and the thatched roof.
    
5. Use the end of the crochet needle to make the main hole and a smaller window above and one on the back of the house.
    
6. Form a small half circle for a balcony below the main hole and attach by blending the edges.
    
7. Flatten tiny balls of clay and cut in half.  These are the shutters for the top and back windows.  Attach them with the rounded side toward the window and use the needle to mark the shutters and attach them firmly.
    
8. Make a tiny v-shaped piece of clay to be a portico over the mail hole.  Attach.
    
9. Form a tiny chimney and dormer (gable) and attach to the roof.  Mark the chimney with horizontal lines and thatch the top of dormer like the roof.
    
10. Use the needle tool to make a hole through the house from top to bottom.  Bake according to the directions on the original package.
     
11. Use the cotton swab to dry brush the white paint to give the look of aged wood.