The Tale of Three Birdhouses

In my last blog I noted that it was very easy to change the look of a plain old Michaels $4.99 birdhouse by merely adding feet. Here is what the progression was. The original, the modified and finally the finished birdhouse using the CRAZY QUILT series design.

Beginning, modified and finished!

If you were to compare one of the earlier CRAZY QUILT versions, you would see what a difference just adding feet makes. It was so simple and the look of the finished product so unexpected that I am surprised that I didn't think of it earlier. It makes what was a plain and simple birdhouse into a far more stately birdhouse decoration!

The original CRAZY QUILT design sans feet!

I want to show you that small changes to a very basic product, even while inexpensive, doesn't mean that it has to look cheap. By merely adding feet to the same birdhouse design, you create a much nicer product to work with.

You will note that I included the feet into the quilt design as well making sure that colors and patterns follow how the fabric would fall. It doesn't really take much more time and the finished effect is far more interesting. It takes what really is a cheap item and somehow makes it look more grand.

I am not alone in doing this. A look at the variety of birdhouses on Etsy shows a nearly limitless range of ideas. While I am not into adding fluffy or things that require additional care (dust collectors other than the basic shape) the inventiveness of the sellers is really fascinating. 

By showing you the stages of what I had done, I wanted to show you just how easy it is. It doesn't have to be elaborate, though many make it so, but in our quest to be different, I wanted to show you how easy it is to make minor modifications that can dramatically alter an item that you want to create.

As for me, I also have some round balls that are about the same size as the squares. I thought that might be a fun way to change the look yet again. If a simple block can give me this look, I wonder what round feet would look life? To see more photos of the new birdhouse, please visit my Etsy store at KrugsStudio.etsy.com.