Ply wood wall birds
Habitat bright ideas with Fleur Thorpe – DIY projects
Make a feature of a boring wall with this fun flock of birds.
Wall painted in Resene Eighth Canterbury Clay and Resene Carrara and bedhead in Resene Biscay
You will need
- 2400mm x 1200mm x 4mm untreated plywood panel
- Printouts of birds
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Jig saw or band saw
- Sandpaper
- Resene Colorwood wash in your choice of colours, Fleur used: Resene Shade, Rising Tide, Resene Becalm, Resene Bask, Resene Shore Thing
- Small speed brush
Instructions
How to make and paint your own ply wood wall birds:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 1
Start by printing out some silhouettes of native birds. Fleur used Tui, Kereru (Wood Pigeon), Kea, Kiwi and Pukeko. Cut these out and use a pencil to draw their outline on to a 4mm sheet of untreated plywood.
Step 2
Use a jig saw or band saw to cut the birds out. Sand any rough edges smooth with sandpaper.
Step 3
Apply a coat of Resene Colorwood colourwash to each of the birds. Fleur used Resene Shade, Rising Tide, Resene Becalm, Resene Bask and Resene Shore Thing. Fleur used a small speed brush which was quick and easy to use. Fleur only did one coat as she liked the way that the wood grain showed through, but if you want a darker, more intense colour then you could try doing more coats.
Step 4
Once dry, attach your birds to the wall. Fleur used Blu-tack, but if you want a sturdier fixture you could try a commercial wall hanging solution, small finishing nails or screws.
Top tip: If birds don’t suit your space, try butterflies or falling leaves painted with Resene testpots as an alternative.
Resene Becalm
Resene Bask
Resene Shore Thing
Resene Shade
Styling and images by Fleur Thorpe. Jun 2022.