DIY Bird Nest Wreath: Spring Inspiration

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DIY Bird Nest Wreath

 

Turn an old shutter into a simple bird nest wreath to show off in your nest. Perfect spring inspiration inspired by our feathered friends!

If you sit still outside long enough and listen you will hear tiny chirps filling the air. Spring brings baby everything. Intricately wrapped straw, branches and found things meticulously crafted into a tight little bundle of a home are awe inspiring to me.

Fill it with babies and I’m done. How sweet is spring!? This bird nest wreath I made today is pretty sweet too. And easy. Hold on for a little spring inspiration friends.

We have these cubbies in our porte cochere that hold all the outdoor gear you accumulate with three young kiddos. Twice now birds have taken up residence in a cubby, building their nest and having babies.

Peeking in daily on the growing babies is beyond wonderful to me. I mean they are right there at eye level!

The mom and dad fly in and out constantly on the go (sounds familiar!). The most amazing part of the process I’ve witnessed up close is how quickly they build their nest. It’s done in a day.

That’s a lot of work for a little bird. They are so crafty and talented at what they do! One time they built a nest in a baseball glove…

This bird nest wreath is just as quick, and you don’t have to be super crafty. I hope you like it!

To build the nest I started with slats from a broken shutter pulled out of a trash pile. You can’t believe how handy those little strips of wood have been (like for this project)!

I used up my stash on this wreath, so I’ll need to restock pronto. If you don’t have an old shutter lying around you could easily use paint stir sticks…like the ones they give you free when you buy a gallon of paint at the hardware store. 

Make a rough break on a few of the slats before you stain, just a few ragged and non-uniform pieces help add character and texture.

Stain your sticks with wood stain. For this nest wreath I used two different stain colors for variation. When staining I wear medical gloves, they fit tightly and keep me from being a muddy stained mess.

I’m a horribly messy painter/stainer! To stain use an old soft cloth that you can throw away when done. Dip in the stain and rub down the wood slats until fully covered.

With a non-saturated towel rub/buff the slats to remove excess stain.

Start by laying out the “frame” of your wreath like this…

Glue the slats together with wood glue (the one in the supply list is awesome)

Layer the large slats around the circle, overlapping in various ways and angles. Start working with the smaller broken slats once you get to the top layer.

I glued the frame and then got the next layers just right before gluing everything together.

Once all pieces are glued gently stack some heavy books on top to hold all the pieces tight until the glue sets. I left mine a few hours even though the glue used sets faster.

While the nest wreath is drying work on your eggs. I bought three (because I have three little ones in my nest) flat wooden eggs at the craft store, they were actually ornaments but the hanger loop easily cut off and sanded smooth.

To get these eggs a pretty sheer color select an acrylic craft paint or two in the shade you like. I used an aqua blue and a soft green. Dip a water saturated brush into the blue and “glaze” the egg.

You want a nice sheer coat of paint that is closer to a stain than full paint coverage. Next do the same with the green, only applying it in spots for dimension.

To speckle the egg use a very stiff brush and dip it into your wood stain(one you used on the slats). Do not wet the brush or add water to the stain.

Try to do this step while your egg is still wet from the paint color stain so the stain bleeds a little. Using your finger flick the paint brush bristles to splatter the stain on the egg.

I highly suggest you practice on a piece of paper before trying this on your egg. It will take you a few tries to get the splatter pattern correct.

Glue your eggs together (however many you have!). Once dry glue them to your wreath. Using the same glue adhere a large paperclip to the back of your wreath for a hanger.

Maybe you don’t have real birds you can watch up close, but you can have this sweet little bird nest wreath to gaze at in no time. 

Nests are such a beautiful symbol of our homes don’t you think? I’m always so grateful and have a full heart when my babies are safe at home in our nest. I

don’t want them to ever leave, but I know they will. Our nest will be different then, but it will always have room for them to come back.

Here is the nest on our most used door, I showed it to your earlier on a different door that I thought it showed up better on! This black door area will be getting a facelift in a few weeks, can’t wait to share it with you.

I love having you guys over to visit, it truly makes my day to share fun stuff with you! Blessings friend. Don’t miss the supply list…

Bird Nest Wreath Supply List

*affiliate links, this just means if you make a purchase I may receive a small commission, your price stays the same. Thank you!

• Wooden slats (from an old shutter or stir sticks)
• Wood glue
• Wooden Eggs (however many you want)
• Wood stain – I used Ebony and Golden Oak
• Blue and green acrylic craft paint
• Paint Brush – soft or sponge
• Stiff paint brush
• Old rags
• Large paperclip
• medical gloves (optional)

I would appreciate you sharing, pinning or tweeting about this project if you liked it. Thank you so much. I have more spring projects here, here and here – enjoy!

[mv_create key=”13″ thumbnail=”https://salvagedliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DIY-bird-nest-wreath-spring-inspiration-pinterest-decoration-7.jpg” title=”DIY Bird Nest Wreath: Spring Inspiration” type=”diy”]See below for even more DIY wreath ideas:

DIY Tulip Wreath For Spring

DIY Ironstone Plate Wreath

DIY Teacher Wreath