Lavender Flower House
How to Make Lavender Flower Covered Birdhouse
If I were a bird I would love to make my nest in a birdhouse with a roof of Lavender. Heck, I might even use Lavender stems to build my nest with!
For this Lavender craft you will need to have a wooden birdhouse which you can pick up at any craft store or home improvement store such as Lowes or Home Depot.
Occasionally you might find something suitable at Walmart. The birdhouse pictured was purchased at Michael's.
The next picture is how it looked when I brought it home. I made a few changes right off the bat.
Start With A Simple Wooden Birdhouse
As you can see it is a simple round unfinished house with a broomcorn roof. Broomcorn is a type of sorghum grass the same that is used for making brooms.
My first impression was to give it a haircut as the overhang was a little much. I quick snip with some scissors did the trick and no thought was given to perfection because I was going to cover it in Lavender flowers anyway.
Having the broomcorn gave the flowers a sturdy base of support as I chose to use fresh cut Lavender to cover the roof and the blossoms can be a little bit heavy.
Dried Lavender stems would work just as well for this craft as fresh will dry out over time.
How to Apply Lavender Flower
If using fresh blossoms be generous with your coverage as they shrink when they dry and you want good coverage with no bare spots on the finished piece.
I began by stripping all Lavender leaves off the stems because I was threading the stems under the wicker that was holding the broomcorn on. The leaves would catch and make this difficult if not impossible to do.
I went around the entire birdhouse threading the stems under then genty tugging them into position until the first layer was complete.
Next is what it looks like once the first layer is finished.
Assembling the Lavender Roof
I left the stems long as they will be cut once the next layer is finished and it is way easier to cut once they are secured.
I gently removed the raffia twine that was at the very top of the birdhouse and set it aside to reuse at the end.
I decided to do only two courses of Lavender but if you make the rows closer together you could do three.
How many you do is dependent on how much area you are covering and also how much Lavender you have to work with.
Applying the Second Row of Lavender Flower
For the next row I needed something to hold the stems in place. A small rubber band was all that was necessary.
Again I carefully placed each stem under the rubber band and until the second row was completed.
I adjusted the blooms so their flowers started where the others ended to cover the bare stems of row one. This is totally optional. Overlap to your liking.
Securing the Lavender Flower
Now it was time to secure all those stems.
I took the raffia that I had removed and set aside and re-wrapped the top tightly because there would be shrinkage.
I finished off the top with the raffia which was secured with both a knot and a well hidden dot of hot glue.
Next scissors were used to cut all the Lavender stems to equal length to finish the top off nice and neat.
The Final Finished Roof
Here is the almost finished result. I liked it but decided that the birdhouse should be white.
A quick coat of white paint was applied and it was allowed to dry. Just about any white paint, a brush and a careful application will transform it.
I used white chalk paint and look at it now. The color really stands out after the paint job.
I'm in love with the contrast between the purple and white. I found a purple ribbon to tie on top to finish it off.
The Finished Lavender Birdhouse
You can display this birdhouse inside or place outside in a covered location like a porch in the hopes that a bird will move in.
I hung mine on my front porch which is covered by a large roof.
You need to protect this from the elements as rain and snow will destroy your Lavender roof.
Exposure to bright sun will fade the bright blooms.
Any bird would be proud to call this home!
