Floral 3D Birdhouse

February 25, 2022

Each Sunday, my father-in-law goes to Eagle Creek Park on the west side of Indianapolis to do a “bird count” with a group of amateur ornithologists. The “Sunday Morning Bird Hike” was started by Bud Starling and has been happening since the late 1960s. The group gathers data on birds, such as to record the number of species they observe, like robins, sparrowhawks, and bald eagles. They usually see over 90+ species every weekend! He does this even though it is SO cold here in Indianapolis. It is still winter here - and I am longing for Spring! I decided to put together a birdhouse, covered in flowers as I sit here longing for warm weather.

Blog Supplies:

Cardstock Warehouse Cardstock Papers

12” x 12” Blu Raspberry Pop-Tone 100lb
8.5” x 11” Bubblegum Pop-Tone 100lb
8.5” x 11” Pink Lemonade Pop-Tone 100lb
8.5” x 11” Jellybean Green Pop-Tone 100lb
8.5” x 11” Hot Fudge Brown Pop-Tone 100lb
8.5” x 11” Gialloro Sirio Color 80lb
8.5” x 11” Lavender Colorplan 100lb
8.5” x 11” Cherry Wood Veneer 12pt

3D Birdhouse SVG file by Lori Whitlock
Flower & Leaf Dies or Similar SVG file
Die Cutting Machine (Cricut or similar)
Ink & Blending Tool - Distress Oxide Ground Espresso & Bundled Sage, Distress Ink Forest Moss, Dye Ink in Blue Raspberry, Pink, Lavender
Paper Sculpting Tools & Tweezers
Scor-Tape
Liquid Adhesive
Double-Sided Foam Tape Squares

To get started, I purchased the 3D Birdhouse SVG file by Lori Whitlock. I uploaded the file into Cricut Design Space and resized the file to a width of 12.75 inches. Keeping the aspect ratio on, the height becomes 13.313 inches. I remade the dashed score lines to turn them into solid score lines. I ungrouped, grouped, and attached the layers to make it easier to work with the file. I hid the layer for the leaf, as I am going to decorate my birdhouse with flowers and leaves from my die collection. Next, I changed the colors on the file to design my project. I decided to make the main panel of the birdhouse out of Blu Raspberry cardstock and the shingles/roof out of Cherry Wood Veneer. I used my electronic die-cutting machine to cut the components of the birdhouse. I cut the bird and tree branch from Gialloro, Lavender, and Hot Fudge cardstock.

importing birdhouse into Cricut Design Space

I inked the edges of the shingles/roof panels with Distress Oxide in Ground Espresso and the front and sides of the birdhouse with Blue Raspberry dye ink. I folded all the panels on their score lines. I then used Scor-Tape to assemble the base of the birdhouse, placing the tape on the inside of each tab.

folding and gluing birdhouse pieces

I used liquid adhesive to adhere the roof panels together before attaching the roof to the house with score tape.

assembling roof of paper birdhouse

I used daisy, chrysanthemum, and leaf dies from my stash to cut out petals and leaves in Bubblegum, Pink Lemonade, and Jellybean Green cardstock, respectively. Each petal of the flower was distressed in a corresponding ink, with concentration towards the center of the flower. I used my weeding tool and my tweezers to help fold the petals. Additional paper sculpting tools (such as a ball stylus) were used to add texture to each petal and in the center of the flower to make the petals stand up.

making paper flowers for birdhouse

For the leaves, I inked the sides of the leaf with Forest Moss Distress Ink. I folded the leaf in half to create a center vein, scoring with my weeding tool and inked the center “vein” with bundled sage distress oxide. With tweezers and paper sculpting tools, I added texture to the leaf.

inking leaves for paper birdhouse

I assembled each flower by combining 2-4 layers of petals. The center of each flower was made with Gialloro colored cardstock, in tiny star shapes from my die. I distressed the bird with lavender dye ink, and attached it to the tree branch. I used double-sided foam tape to pop-up the bird’s wing.

inking bird and attaching to branch

Finally, I attached the bird and tree branch to my birdhouse with double-sided foam tape. I assembled the flowers and leaves to the outside of the birdhouse and the tree branch using a combination of liquid adhesive and double-sided foam tape.