Have you ever thought to decorate your Christmas tree with birdhouses and lanterns? You can save money by buying plain, unfinished ones and transforming them with paint into the perfect DIY wood Christmas ornaments!
This year, the theme for our living room Christmas tree is Winter Woodland Wonderland!
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When I started researching the theme on Pinterest, the same elements kept popping up.
Pinecones, birdhouses, lanterns, berries, and various woodland animals.
I had the pinecones covered by DIYing these nature-inspired ornaments.
Then, I went on the search for birdhouses and lanterns!
I found unfinished birdhouses at Hobby Lobby and small lanterns at Doller Tree!
Steps to Transform Birdhouses and Lanterns
Are you ready to transform these plain birdhouses and lanterns into rustic DIY wood Christmas ornaments?
Let’s get started!
Gather
Gather or purchase the following items to complete this DIY project:
- Unfinished birdhouses- Hobby Lobby
- Unfinished lanterns- Dollar Tree
- White paint- Waverly Chalk in Snow White
- Brown paint- FolkArt in Coffee Bean
- Paintbrush
- Wax- Annie Sloan in Clear
- Antiquing wax- Valspar in Dark Satin Acrylic
- Wax brush- large and small
- Lint-free paper towels
- Pinecone pieces
- Hot glue gun & sticks
- Silicone finger protectors
Paint
Paint the birdhouses and lanterns white.
Let them dry, and apply a second coat if necessary.
Embellish The birdhouses
When I was searching on Pinterest, I was inspired to embellish two of the birdhouses.
I saw the cutest woodland birdhouse ornament on the blog Simply Beautiful by Angela.
Its roof was covered with pinecone pieces, and I knew I wanted to do the same to two of my houses.
Grab the birdhouses with flat roofs.
Paint the roofs and the bases of the houses brown.
Let dry.
The roof only needs one coat since we are going to embellish it.
Add pinecone pieces to the flat roof by gluing them with a glue gun.
Start at the bottom of the roof and work your way up to the top.
Use silicone finger protectors, as the hot glue could cause blisters.
Cut the tip of the last pinecone piece straight across to line up with the top of the roof.
Continue those steps until the entire roof is covered!
I love how much texture and interest this gives to the birdhouse!
Antique
The birdhouses and lanterns look pretty painted white but don’t look like they belong in a woodland.
So let’s give them a rustic look!
Cover the birdhouses and the lanterns with clear wax and wipe the excess with a lint-free paper towel.
Do not be tempted to skip this step!
If you apply dark wax to the houses without the layer of clear, they will be too dark.
The clear wax allows for easy removal of the dark wax from the white paint!
Take the brown antiquing wax and paint it over the surface of the birdhouses and lanterns.
Remove the excess wax with a lint-free paper towel.
Continue wiping the dark wax until you get the look you desire.
Here’s a picture so you can see the difference the wax makes!
If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would want to “dirty” up white paint, I would have said you were crazy!
But now, I adore this antiqued look!
The DIY wood Christmas ornaments are ready to hang on our tree!
Please take a moment to see how wonderful they look on our Woodland Winter Wonderland Tree!
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Blessings, Donna and Rich
Pin It For Later
Don’t forget to pin this DIY project so you can come back to it later!
More DIY Christmas Inspiration
- How to Make a Snowflake Tree Topper
- Easy Yarn Cone Christmas Trees
- How to Make Christmas Village Houses
- Create an Ornament Advent Calendar
- Antique Bell Hack
Get The Look
Check out these items to can help you create your own woodland ornaments by clicking the picture of the item below.
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
I love the way these came together, Donna. The pine cone accents you put on the roof is such a creative touch too. I can’t wait to see more from your winter woodland wonderland theme. I know it’s going to be fabulous. Hugs, CoCo
Hi CoCo! I have had so much fun making ornaments and pulling this theme together! Can’t wait to share my tree and our living room in a couple of days! Thanks for following along!
Wow, Donna!! These turned out SO CUTE!! I love the pinecone pieces on the birdhouse roofs. What a neat idea!! Super great theme you chose for your decor this year. Thanks so much for sharing at Home Imagined this week! Pinned!
Thank you Rachel! I think they they are super cute too! I’m loving the Winter woodland theme! It’s so cozy!
This is such a great idea, they turned out amazing! I’d love to invite you to share on Tell It Me Tuesday, you can find this weeks here: https://perfectlyimperfect-lwl.com/tell-it-to-me-tuesday-24-11-28-23-link-party/
Thank you Lyndsey, I’ll see you at the party!