When we visited Georgia over the summer, nugget loved a bird house on my mom’s porch. Once we were home, I asked if he wanted his own bird house – he excitedly said “Yes!”. He wanted to paint it red, but I don’t love that color, so my compromise was adding red cardinal handprints to the side so the birds knew who it was for.

Handprint Cardinal Bird House

What you’ll need:

• Blank wooden bird house – We found ours at Hobby Lobby
• Green acrylic paint
• Foam Paint brush
• Red acrylic paint
• Wipes
• White, black, orange and brown acrylic paint
• Small paint brush
• Mod Podge sealer spray

Start by painting the bird house. I did 2 coats of a darker green on the sides and left the roof natural to age over time. Let it dry over night.

Now comes the fun toddler part. Paint their hand and place it on the side of the bird house, with the thumb pointing up. Wipe the paint off the hand (I’ve found this is often faster / easier / less likely to get paint somewhere then washing in a sink). Repeat with the other hand on the other side. Again, let it dry overnight.

Use a smaller paint brush to add the legs, beak, eyes and darker feathers around the cardinal’s face. Once that’s dry, spray with a sealer. I like Mod Podge’s high gloss spray.

Let your tiny one choose the tree or area they want the birdhouse and hang! We picked a tree where we can watch it from the living room.

I love the little handprint cardinals and he loves to check on it and look for birds. We like to think that a bird or two took shelter here during the hurricane last week.

When cardinals appear, loved ones are near.