Make a Birdhouse From An Empty Container

 I like trying to find ways to make crafting with kids inexpensive and fun. This project was made out of everything I had on hand. What started out as an empty juice carton (or a milk carton) became an adorable birdhouse. Have your kids make their own birdhouse! It’s always great to recycle and make something cute. It’s also great to make friends with the neighborhood birds.

Supplies:

– One Empty Juice or Milk Carton

– Foam Sheet

– Craft Sticks

– Paint of your choice

– Ribbon

– Hot Glue Gun

– Bird Seed

After rinsing out the juice carton the first step is to cut out the door. An empty fruit container was a good template to trace a circle door for the birds. You can even cut a door with a different shape, rectangle, square, heart. Get creative! After tracing the circle with a sharpie I used a razor blade to cut through the juice box.

Next step is to prime the birdhouse which gets the surface ready for paint. I used a spray paint primer.

While waiting for the primer to dry I started on the roof. I chose a bright red acrylic paint for the craft sticks. The foam sheet was cut into a rectangle shape for the roof. After the craft sticks dried I used the hot glue gun to glue the sticks to the foam sheet.

I painted the birdhouse a fun Bahama blue with acrylic paint. I had debated between cutting off the spout but I thought the spout was a good support for the roof. In order to make both sides of the roof even I decided to hot glue the juice lid to the other side of the roof. When dry hot glue the roof to the top of the container.

Now for some of the finishing touches. First was the bird perch. I used the razor blade to cut a small slit under the circle. Then I took one of the extra red craft sticks and cut it so it wouldn’t be too long and fit it through the slit. Hot glue on the inside to support the stick.

The next detail I worked on was the red scallops around the door. I was going for a vintage 50s feel with the blue and red so the scallops added the perfect touch.

For the ribbon I used the biggest drill bit I could find and drilled through either side of the juice box container. Then I fed the ribbon through the holes.

The last step was adding the cute “Welcome to the neighborhood!” sign (made of foam). I used a red sharpie for the sign and used hot glue to secure that to the birdhouse.

After we were all done- we added some bird seed! I hung it up outside and watched to see if any bird friends would come visit a fun new home. And sure enough the next day I went out and found all the bird seed was gone! This project was fast and turned out really cute. It would be a great activity with the kids to make their own birdhouse village.

Tips:

-Be sure an adult uses the razor blade or hot glue gun.

-Make sure to use the primer,  the paint will not adhere well unless it’s primed.

This post was originally featured at I Heart Naptime on June 5, 2013

 

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A BIG thank you to all of our Summer Camp Counselors who contributed to the amazing ideas at Summer Camp. This is our last day of our Summer Camp 2013. Please click on the  banner to be taken to our awesome Summer Camp series for the past couple of years.