I have been wanting to make a new birdbath for a while and just didn’t find any pieces to use to inspire me. Then a few days ago I was looking through my stash of misc things I have horded over the years. I came across the two pieces you see in the picture a bottle cap and a toothpaste cap. Those got me to thinking about this project and when I put them together I liked the shape I got. It really looked a lot like a couple of the birdbaths I had been inspired by.
The next task was to find my glue. For whatever reason I could not locate my either of my tubes of e6000 that I know I have. However, I did find my tube of Shoe Goop and decided to use it. In the end it worked great and since I have it I really want to use it up before it all dries in the tube.
So connect the two pieces together with an appropriate glue and allow the glue to cure according to the package directions. These types of glues tend to need plenty of time to cure, also be sure to open a window or otherwise ventilate the area because the fumes are not good for anyone to breathe.
Once the glue cured I used some Mat Mod Podge to act as a glue and attached small pieces of white tissue paper, the kind you get near the gift wrap at the dollar store. I did just small areas at a time and then allowed the glue to dry a bit. If you try to do too much at a time it just moves around and doesn’t give as good of a coverage. Be patient and just keep coming back and doing little areas.
Once you have covered the original texture of the parts and they are looking like a cohesive unit it is time to paint.
Since the top portion of my birdbath looked a lot darker in color than the bottom I decided to do a base coat of an opaque white craft paint to make an even colored base to work on. Once this is dry we can do the fun painting part.
I chose 3 colors of craft paint tones of gray and a very gray-blue color. That’s a combination I really like right now for items with this type of texture. I put just a bit of each color out on a work surface and used a flat stencil (?) brush to apply the paint colors by stippling them on.
I did have to come back with a cotton swab to get into tight areas. In the end I think I used a lot more of the blue than the grays but it looks very gray. By using three (or more colors) I feel the texture really comes to life. The birdbath almost looks like it was made from stone and not bits from my stash.
Allow the paint to dry completely before going to the next step.
Now it is time to add the water to the birdbath. I am using my UV resin for this. I decided to add a rock to the birdbath to give the mini birds a place to sit to enjoy their birdbath so that was the first step.
For that place your tiny rock about where you want it in the birdbath basin and add just a bit of the UV resin around it. I did use a toothpick to move the rock around to try to make sure no air was trapped under it. Then use the UV light to cure the resin following the time recommendations for the brand of resin you are using.
Once cured add thin layers of resin to build up the “water” level that looks right to you. Be sure the final layer is smooth before using the light to cure it any bumps in surface will become permanent when cured.
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