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Mossy DIY Vintage Birdhouse Makeover: Thrifted To Fabulous

Do you like old vintage birdhouses? I love to collect them, but every once in a while, I run across one in questionable shape. If you have an old birdhouse that has seen better days, you can easily create a moss birdhouse with this DIY birdhouse easy tutorial. I recently brought home a cheap birdhouse from the thrift store, and within an hour, it was completely upcycled. I can’t wait for you to see the transformation.

You may remember that I decorated our screen porch with my collection of birdhouses a few weeks ago. Now I have a new addition, and it looks fabulous.

Old Birdhouse from a thrift store and other supplies to makeover the cheap birdhouse.

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Thrift Store Vintage Birdhouse

When I first saw this vintage birdhouse, I passed it by. It appeared to have some water damage and wasn’t very decorative. However, as I browsed the shop, I remembered a moss-covered birdhouse that I had taken a photo of for inspiration. The birdhouse was in a floral shop, and although not overly expensive, I didn’t purchase it.

So I went back to examine the water-damaged birdhouse, and since it was so inexpensive, I took it home with me.

Insider Tip – Inspiration

When you find a decor item that you love but don’t want to pay the price, take a picture or screenshot of the item and create a folder on your photo app for inspiration. Look through your inspirational photos before going to thrift stores. This will put those items at the forefront of your mind. When you are shopping, you may find the perfect cheap birdhouse or other item to upcycle into the decor of your dreams.

Supplies For DIY Birdhouse Easy Makeover

The supplies used for this DIY birdhouse easy makeover were items I had on hand. However, I’ll share some links if you need to purchase them.

Forage For Cheap Birdhouse Materials

First, you will want to forage for the cheap birdhouse materials. I had collected several pieces of mossy bark from a white oak tree in our yard. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them but I had saved them in the greenhouse.

You can use tree bark or twigs for the roof of your vintage birdhouse.

Old Birdhouse from a thrift store and other supplies to makeover the cheap birdhouse.

How To Forage For Tree Bark

You will find pieces of the white oak tree bark around the base of the tree. The pieces on the ground are safe to use without damaging the tree. However, do not remove the bark still attached to the truck. “Without bark protecting the phloem tissue, the tree would starve, and the wood of the tree would dry out.” quote from the Garden Help Article.

Place the bark in a bag and freeze it overnight to kill any bugs. Allow the tree bark to dry out before using it for crafts.

How To Make A Moss Birdhouse

Now that you have all your supplies, you are ready to turn your thrift store find into a moss birdhouse.

If you plan to paint any areas of the old birdhouse, do so first. I painted the wooden area around the birdhouse hole with sage craft paint.

Paint any areas of the thrift store find first..

You are ready to add the moss! For this step, you will want to wear disposable plastic gloves.

Begin by painting Elmer’s glue over a section of the house. Pour extra glue into a plate or container and dip small sections of moss into the glue.

Press the moss into the area painted with glue. Shake the birdhouse to allow any loose moss to fall away. If you need to add more moss, press into the glue again and fill any holes you see.

press moss onto the side of the cheap thrift store find to create a high end decoration.

Work on one side of the vintage birdhouse at a time until your have completely covered the sides with moss.

Cover the sides of the Vintage Birdhouse with moss

Add Roof To Moss Birdhouse

Now that the cheap birdhouse is covered with moss, you are ready to add the roof. Whether you use twigs or tree bark, you will need a hot glue gun for this step.

Begin to apply hot glue to the bark and press onto the roof of the old birdhouse. Allow the bark to appear like roofing shingles. Begin at the lower edge and apply a row across that completely covers the old roof. The add a second row that overlaps the first.

Add hot glue to tree bark to add the the top of the house

Continue until the entire roof is covered. If you see any gaps, add another piece of the bark. Hold the pieces in place until the glue sets.

Press foraged tree bark onto the roof of the thrift store find.

Notice how I allowed the bark to cover the sides and top of the roof. You can cut the bark to fit or look for smaller pieces to fill these narrow areas.

Cheap birdhouse makeover with moss and foraged tree bark.

Moss Birdhouse

Now, your vintage birdhouse is ready for display. The moss birdhouse will make a great decoration for your porch or sunroom.

Thrift Store Makeover on a candleholder from the thrift store.

The added texture of the tree bark really enhances the Vintage birdhouse makeover.

DIY Birdhouse Easy Makeover from Thrift Store Cheap Birdhouse to fabulous Moss Vintage Birdhouse decor.

I placed the moss birdhouse on a thrifted candle holder to give it height. It’s the perfect addition to my screen porch birdhouse decorations for Spring.

DIY Easy Makeover from Thrift Store Cheap Birdhouse to fabulous Moss Vintage Birdhouse decor.

Resources

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How To update a Vintage Thrift Store Birdhouse with moss and tree bark for high end garden decor.

Tiffany

Friday 10th of May 2024

I just love this birdhouse!! I also found the same exact birdhouse on eBay! The seller is asking $20 for it. I hope to get it soon!

Rachel

Saturday 11th of May 2024

Tiffany, Oh that's great. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Cindy@CountyRoad407

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

Such a cute idea. Thank you for sharing it with us on Farmhouse Friday 345. I'll be featuring it tomorrow. And I hope to find one soon at the thrift store so I can do this. I love it! :) pinned

Rachel

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

Cindy, I really appreciate you for sharing.

Kim | Shiplap and Shells

Saturday 27th of April 2024

I have so many old birdhouses laying around Rachel! This is such a great idea to revive them for the summer.

Rachel

Sunday 28th of April 2024

Kim, Yes! let me know how they turn out.

Karolyn

Friday 26th of April 2024

I love this birdhouse! Now, I'm off to find one so I can do the same thing...thank you so much for sharing!

Rachel

Saturday 27th of April 2024

Karolyn Good luck. I hope you find the perfect deal.

Cheryl Atkinson

Friday 26th of April 2024

What a great DIY!! Thank you for sharing.

Rachel

Saturday 27th of April 2024

Cheryl, I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for commenting.