The Layer I Used for the Bird House

The final layer for my bird's tree house was glued Popsicle sticks soaked in a powdered drink mix. It is extremely necessary to use safe dyes on the outer parts of the house because we know the birds will be chewing this layer.

I soaked everything in drink mix including the rolled perches, the rope string for their swing, the wooden ladder and the sticks. I chose a grape and cherry flavor for the pastel variety of shades seen above.

Mixing the grape and cherry together gave the sticks a more realistic wood stain which I used  on the roof. Varying the colors give it a more homemade look.

Popsicle sticks are cheap, readily available in all kinds of sizes and they stain well. You can even cut them into desired shapes for tight fits around windows, gables and roof ornamentation. 

One final note on this project is the stain itself. Even though this stain is non-toxic, it stained my hands very quickly (within a matter of minutes) and they remained stained for days. It really makes me wonder what we are consuming and giving to our kids to drink. All that dye cannot be good for our stomachs but it makes a great non-toxic stain for bird houses and it smells good!