Upcycled Bird Houses

January 19, 2013 by iamsammm 13 Comments

For something fun, I made birdhouses for my father- in-law for Christmas.  He loves watching the birds in his backyard.  I always give him gifts that he expects and I thought this would surprise him.

 

 

 

 

 

This project is really easy.  Here is the supply list:

• 3 empty and clean 2 liter plastic beverage bottles
• Dremel- needed to drill hole in cap, and to cut top off second and third bottle.
• drill bit
• Needle nose pliers
• Sharp craft knife
• scissors
• sand paper
• hot glue gun
• spray paint, favorite colors, black, brown, and clear coat.
• small dowel rods
• acrylic paint for decorating
• Heavy wire

Using Dremel or other power tool, drill a small hole in the bottle cap.

Using heavy wire, make a knot at one end and thread through hole in bottle cap.  Make a loop with wire and twist to make a secure hook.

Lightly sand the bottles top to bottom.  (Sand only top of bottle to label of second & third bottle)  Wipe with a clean cloth.

Spray paint and hang to dry.  I sprayed about 3 coats.

Spray paint second and third bottles in black or brown paint for the roof.

 

Cut the tops off second and third bottles with Dremel right below the lip.  Careful here, if using a knife or other tool.  Make a second cut right above the label of the bottle.  Cutting 1 1/2″ long slits all the way around to make shingles, cut a round edge of each shingle to make a decorative edge.  Cut through one of the slits from top to bottom of roof to secure around the body of the birdhouse.

When happy with the paint, use your glue gun to wrap the roof around the top of the body and secure with a small amount of glue.  Hot glue guns will melt the bottle, so keep it light.

You will find that the roof will not fit around the bottle.  There will be a gap, and this is where you need the third bottle.  Wrap the second roof top around body of birdhouse overlapping so gaps are closed.

Using a sharp craft knife, cut the birdhouse door/opening.  I made each one different, and used a heat source to bend the doors open.  You can cut a round or square opening and discard.  I also cut a small X below the door to secure a 2 1/2 ” dowel rod as a perch with hot glue.

 

So far so good!  They are shaping up right?

Using acrylic craft paints, a sponge and a few brushes, I sponged the grass colors on, made decorative door trims, used stamps to add dragonflies, butterflies and the like.  Add some flowers, bushes and whatnot to make them beautiful!

Clear coat, and you are done!

 

 

Have fun with this one.  I did!