In honor of
Earth Day, coming up on April 22nd, I’m repeating a craft project
from the very early days of Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Our kids are
often the driving force in making us think green. Crafting is a great way for the
entire family to enjoy a reuse/repurpose/recycle activity beyond separating the
glass, plastic, and newspapers for curbside pick-up. So coax the kids away from
the video games and spend an afternoon crafting.
Milk Carton Birdhouse
Materials:
clean, empty
half-gallon milk or juice carton
compass and
pencil
hammer and
nail
1/8” dowel
or twig, 3” - 4” in length
wooden bead
to fit dowel or twig
sandpaper
craft knife
weatherproof
white acrylic primer
weatherproof
acrylic paint in colors of choice
weatherproof
acrylic varnish
paintbrushes
tacky glue
scissors
scraps of
colored paper
3 spring
type clothespins
narrow
plastic cording (the kind for making lanyards)
dry pasta,
popsicle sticks, buttons, cereal, etc.
Directions:
1.
Lightly sand carton.
2.
Glue the carton closed, holding together with clothespins until glue sets.
3.
With hammer and nail, make two small holes in top flap for hanging loops.
(Adult should do this.)
4.
Using compass and pencil, draw a 2-1/4” circle centered approximately 2” above
base of carton on one side. Using craft knife, poke a small hole 3/4”
below circle.
5.
Using craft knife, cut out large circle.
6.
Poke dowel or twig through small hole. Secure by gluing wooden bead onto
dowel inside the bird house.
7.
Apply a coat of primer to carton and dowel. (Twig can be painted or
remain unpainted.) Paint in desired colors. Allow to dry between each
coat. (Note: if using roofing materials that require painting, glue them
to top of carton before painting.)
8. Glue
dry pasta, popsicle sticks, buttons, cereal, or other materials to top of
carton for roof.
9. Cut
shapes from colored paper and glue to sides of birdhouse. Other materials
may also be used (pictures from magazines, stickers, buttons, pasta, ribbon,
scraps of wrapping paper, colored yarn dipped in glue, etc. Use your
imagination!)
10.
Apply several coats of varnish to entire bird house for protection, allowing to
dry between coats.
11.
Thread plastic lacing through holes on top for hanging.
1 comment:
Awesome! My sister hangs birdhouses in her Cape May backyard. Thanks for the post.
Post a Comment