DIY Faux Concrete Bird Bath Finial
We love our concrete bird bath and so do the numerous flocks of feathered friends that visit it daily. I find great joy sitting on the deck with my morning coffee watching the birds splashing about in the fresh water.
But unfortunately, the bird statue that sat atop our concrete bird bath for twenty years cracked and looked worse for wear.
I promise this isn't the normal state of the water in our bird bath. Daily or every other day I hose any debris off with the jet setting on my garden hose and then fill it with fresh water.
This resin finial that has been on a shelf in the workshop for several years came to the rescue. Why spend big bucks replacing garden statuary when a budget-friendly option is sitting right under our noses.
I figured if I could replicate the colors of our concrete bird bath by painting layers of paint, it was worth a try using our resin finial as a replacement.
This is what our bird bath looked like before...
...and here it is now with the fake concrete finial bird bath topper. We've had so much rain my poor delphiniums are so late to bloom. Once they do, the bird bath will be surrounded by pretty purple blooms.
Don't worry, I didn't get rid of the damaged birdie with all its vintage charm. He now sits in my rose garden among the fragrant blooms and looks perfect in his new spot.
Here's how I made the resin finial look like real concrete...
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Remove the feet from the resin finial
In order for the finial to sit flat on the birdbath raised platform, I needed to remove the feet on the resin finial. To do that I walloped them off with a hack saw. I quickly learned the fine dust is stinky and so it was imperative that I wore a mask and protective glasses and took it outdoors to finish cutting.Painting layers of chalk paint to make resin look like concrete
I used chalk paint to turn the resin finial into faux concrete but any paint that adheres to plastic, like multi-surface craft paint, will work.I brought the basin of our concrete bird bath indoors to use as a guide when replicating and layering the colors.
The first layer of paint is two coats of a warm gray Annie Sloan French Linen chalk paint. I applied two coats to completely cover the original green finish.
To add depth to the recessed areas of the finial, I painted them a dark Hurricane Gray color using an art brush.
Next, I added a lighter Pewter gray chalk paint color that echoed the lighter grey in our concrete bird bath. I used a large round tip stencil brush and much like you do when stenciling, offloaded most of the paint onto a paper towel first before pouncing around the details and outer edges of the finial.
With warm Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint, I pounced the paint where it would naturally weather outdoors from the elements. I used our concrete bird bath basin as a guide to gauge where to apply the lighter color.
Last but not least, I went back in with the French Linen color to blend the colors. This warm grey is the most predominant color on our concrete bird bath. To blend the colors I lightly dampened my brush with my handy mist bottle and lightly pounced the brush.
There are no rules when painting layers of color. Let your intuition be your guide and if you added too much color in one area, go over it with another until you achieve the look you want.
How to protect the paint from the outdoor elements
I let the paint dry overnight before spraying four light coats of exterior-rated matte clear coat, waiting at least an hour between coats.How to attach the faux concrete finial to the concrete bird bath
While the bird bath basin was indoors, I attached the finial with clear waterproof silicone caulking and let it cure 48 hours before taking it outdoors to set on the birdbath base.It's been raining cats and dogs for weeks and so far the paint finish is holding up beautifully. I love how the finial adds a lot more height to the bird bath. Do you see my Barrel Stave Flower Pot Holder hanging on the gate?
I hope by painting my resin bird bath finial to look like concrete it has inspired you to think outside the box for creating faux concrete garden statuary for your outdoor living space. Thrift store shelves are filled with budget-friendly resin garden statuary potential.
More DIY Garden Decor Ideas
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DIY Wooden Birdhouse Sign
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If you have any questions about my faux concrete garden statue bird bath finial, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!
I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.
I think I like the replacement finial better than the little bird.
ReplyDeleteMe too Vanessa, even if it is faux concrete!
DeleteWow, you really did a great job.....And I think it looks amazing, very classic simple lines with lots of interest...super project, Marie!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Sandi 😊 I was so glad to finally do something with that resin finial after all these years! It's been raining steady here for weeks and so far it's holding up beautifully in the elements outdoors.
DeleteLove the height the finial adds. I think it might prefer it to the bird. And you are still the reigning queen of great faux finishes. Seriously...this looks just like concrete. I'd love to have this set....hint. hint. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Susie, I like the taller height of the finial too! At first I thought it looked way too tall but that's because I was used to that short little birdie for so long. Now I'm loving the height and that little birdie now sits on the ground in one of my flower gardens, cracks and all.
DeleteMarie - with all the painting involved that truly had to be a labor of love. Great project - terrific results.
ReplyDeleteSheila
Thanks Sheila! It was actually super quick, I think I was done painting start to finish in a couple of hours and most of that time was waiting for paint to dry. So glad was able to FINALLY put that finial to good use.
DeleteYour birdbath transformation is very impressive, Marie! You are the "Queen of Blending Colors" to match whatever you're working on! I love how it turned out! It looks fabulous in your garden!
ReplyDeleteYou know how to start a gal's day, Gail 🤗 Thank you so much! To be totally honest, I don't have a technique, I just play until I like what I see. I'm liking the topiary on top the bird bath much better than the concrete bird.
DeleteI love the work you've done with the finial, but I would have fixed the gorgeous birdies with some epoxy.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the cracks are deep and beyond repair. I did, however, move the birdie into our flower bed and it looks cute among the blooms.
DeleteIt looks great, Marie! But I am sad about the broken birdie! No repair possible? He was so cute. I am glad to be reminded about the barrel stave plant hanger as I have barrel staves in my garage and had not remembered that I wanted to try making a plant hanger like you did. I hope I can remember until tomorrow when I can get out there and put them in an obvious place!
ReplyDeleteDon't be sad about the broken birdie, Naomi. The cracks are deep and beyond repair BUT he looks cute in my flower bed among the roses.
DeleteI would have never thought it is a faux one! You did a phenomenal job with it! I have to say I love the cracked birdie too - it has a character and looks vintage - something I am almost obsessed with!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Maya! Yes, the cracked birdie does have lovely vintage charm and now happily sits in my rose garden where it looks perfect among the fragrant blooms.
DeleteThe birdbath looks fantastic. So much nicer than the original one.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Debra! I think it looks much better too.
DeleteLove the faux concrete finial! It looks great!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sylvia! So glas to finally put the resin finial to good use.
DeleteThank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared.
ReplyDeleteMarie,
ReplyDeleteYou always come up with such creative ideas. Congrats, you are being featured at Over The Monn Linky party.
https://eclecticredbarn.blogspot.com/2019/07/over-moon-linky-party_21.html
Hugs,
Bev
Thank you so much Bev for your kind words and the feature! xo
DeleteHi Marie!
ReplyDeleteJust letting you know that you're one of this my features this week at Homestyle Gathering. I love this project and how it turned out! thanks so much for sharing at HG. It' a blessing to have you at the parties! I hope your week is off to a good start!
>>> Kim
Aw, thank you very much, Kim, for your sweet comment and feature! Hope you're having a good week as well. xo
Delete