A bird in the hand is worth..... a bunch!!

[Cutting Cathy]

I got the birdhouses and birds cut, perches attached and birdies glued on!! Now just to figure out an easy way to finish them!! Anyone got any suggestions??

Glued.jpg

I'm going to take them to a little Bed and Breakfast near here to put in the gift shop. Has anyone had any experience selling these?? I just wondered how much to ask for them. Thanks for any finishing and/or pricing advice!!

[dgman]

Hi Cathy, If those were mine, I would dip them in a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Blow off the excess oil with compressed air then let dry for a day or two. Then apply a topcoat of semi gloss spray lacquer. If you don't want to go to all that trouble, you will be OK with just the spray lacquer.
BTW, I love the bird houses!

[Scrollriffic]

You can pack them up into a box and send them to me then you won't have to worry about finishing them.lol I use danish oil and spray lacguer on them. I like the gloss look on most of the things I do. Good job on them. What wood did you use? Bobby






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[Spirithorse]

Great work! They are lovely.
Pricing is really dependant upon how much you want for your time and
what the market in your area will bear.
Good Luck! I hope you get a fair price so you and your customers are both
happy.
God Bless! Spirithorse

[Cutting Cathy]

Bobby, it's more like what woods didn't I use!! Let's see there is Willow, Butternut, Redwood, Poplar, Cypress and I think it was Alder for the birdhouses. The birds are made out of Cypress, Madrone, Redhart, Blue Pine, Yellowhart, Padauk, Purplehart, Orange Parot Wood and Peruvian Walnut. You can sure use up scraps making these!!

[wood-n-things]

Cathy,
Is the owner of the B&B going to charge you a fee for selling there? If so I'd sell em for $10.00, if not I'd sell em for $7.50. I'd use the dip and satin finish lacquer for my finish as well.

[Greenfield_Bob]

Cathy, I made some of them awhile back and I dipped the house in the 50/50 mix,
then sprayed them with Min Wax fast drying polyurethane clear sation.
I usally use lacquer.

Bob

[Cutting Cathy]

Mike, the B&B is going to charge to sell, but I guess that's the nature of the beast. Ok, I'm thinking seriously about dipping them. I'll be sure and post the finished pictures!! Thanks so much for the advice and the nice words!!!!

[Wood Dog]

Sweeeeeeet tweets.......weren't they fun to make.....I'd give them a bath in lemon oil and spray with Deft lacquer satin. Good luck with your sales. I never sell anything so I have no clue about the price.
I notice you don't have a hook on the top, are you planning on putting one? I know it will add to the cost, but I found small eye hooks at Michaels for mine so I could hang them. Just a thought for ya.

[Max]

Most excellent!! I agree with the dipping. Those should sell like hotcakes.

[wood-n-things]

With any luck they will sell well and they will buy them outright from you in a few short weeks. Once you prove those will sell , then it will be time to add Christmas ornaments. Good luck we are rooting for you!

[wsmith0896]

I made all of mine from scrap poplar, hand painted them with bright cheery colors, strung them with raffia, and gave them to my wife as an Easter gift.

Supplies and paint cost me $1.50 each and it took me less than an hour to cut and finish each birdhouse. My wife has been offered $5.00 for each of them.

If it were me, I would charge $7.50 each.

[Sally]

Cathy - those are toooo cute. I don't think I'd sell anything for $5. Good luck.

[Lou]

Cathy, those are fabulous! Great job! I've been making some of those myself lately but I don't tthink they look as good as yours! I'll post pics soon and you can judge that for yourself.

I finished mine with the same Old Masters Gel varnish that I use for intarsia, but after reading this thread, I kind of like the dipping idea. You get such great ideas from those who have gone before you! I'm also using the tiny eye bolts for hangers like I use on my bird ornaments.

I'm planning to sell them at my next show (and through my website) and was going to start out at $10 each and see how it goes.

Be sure and post a pic with the finish on. They look great now, but they'll look even better then.

Lou

[wood-n-things]

I would not charge $5.00. My word if the material is $1.50 you say. & a little less than an hour per each item. That is $3.50 for your labor. You work cheap, way too cheap. That does not include wear and tear on your equipment and incidental costs like shop space and electric etc. I understand we rarely get out of a piece what we put into it monetarily unless we can stack cut em...<wink> You are only going to get what the local traffic will pay though. I'd still try $10.00 for them.