Dollar Store Birdie Makeover

Yippee!! I finally have a project to share!

Yesterday I was at the dollar store picking up a few random things for my sister's baby shower I'm throwing next month. I spotted these sad little creatures . .

. . and decided to take them home and give them some love.

First I sanded them a tiny bit to rough them up, but it didn't really do much good. They look and feel like wood, but .. I don't know what they are. Then I painted them with acrylic craft paint. It took quite a few coats before it really starting sticking well. After I painted them I did a coat of a clear polyurethane, to make them smooth and slicker. 

  

Prettier already! 

. . but I wanted to try out the antiquing look. So I took my plain ole black acrylic paint . . 

. . and brushed on a little at a time . . 

. . then I wiped it away with a wet rag (old under shirt that was on its way to the trash), leaving the black in the cracks and crevices. I've read on some other major DIY blogs that regular paint won't work as an antiquing glaze, because it doesn't wipe away as nicely like glaze does. But I actually have to say this worked perfect! . . see for yourself

I found that after brushing on some black in a spot, then first rubbing it in with a DRY part of the rag before wiping away with the wet part helped to keep some of the black stuck on and not just completely wipe away. Gave it a smudgy and dirtied look. I'm super pleased with how well the acrylic paint worked as an antiquing glaze.

I love these little birdies! They're so cute and sweet now!
 ( I originally got the idea from here )

Love Birds . . that's us!

Aren't makeovers fun?!