Junk Store Birdhouse
This Junk Store Birdhouse from the O'Neil Sisters is cheap garden decor you'll be proud to show off! This handmade birdhouse is made with various odds and ends, giving it a unique look and a whimsical feel. Aren't those little button flowers the cutest?
Free birdhouse patterns are within your reach! If you love this birdhouse, be sure to check out our Plastic Bottle Birdhouse.
Materials:
- Unfinished wood birdhouse, 9” tall
- RIT dye, Kelly Green
- Clear topcoat spray paint
- Screws, ½”, 2
- Little nails, ½”, 38
- Big nail, 2”
- Eye screw, 1 5/8”
- S-hook
- License plate
- Big washer, ¾”
- Small washers, ½”, 8
- Small nuts, ¼”, 9
- Sawtooth picture hangers, 6
- Wooden yardstick
- Bottle caps, 6
- Small buttons, various colors, 6
- Medium buttons, various colors, 6
- Keys, 6
- Post office box number plate
- Old jewelry chain, 12”
- Pyrex measuring cup
- Sponge paintbrush
- Light-duty hand saw
- Liquid Nails glue
- Teaspoon
-
Chopstick
Instructions:
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Use a chopstick to stir 1½ teaspoons of the Kelly Green RIT dye into 1 cup of steaming hot water. Over a drop cloth, use the sponge paintbrush to stain the wooden birdhouse with the green dye. Let dry. Seal the birdhouse with a coat of clear spray paint.
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Start adding gingerbread trim by gluing one nut to the peak of the eaves. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the saw tooth picture hangers to the eaves of the birdhouse. Then glue the rest of the nuts and washers in a row beneath the eaves, alternating the nuts and washers.
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To make short flowers, glue a small button onto each key. Glue the short flowers onto the sides of the birdhouse.
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To make taller flowers, glue a medium button inside each bottlecap. Snip pieces of the chain into two-inch lengths. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the ends of the chain lengths to the sides of the house, stretching the chain out to form the flower stems. Glue a bottle cap to the top of each chain-stem.
-
Create a fence by sawing the yardstick into 4 pieces that fit around the bottom of the birdhouse. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the ruler pieces to the base of the birdhouse.
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To make the roof, punch a hole in the center of the license plate using the big nail and a hammer. Bend the license plate in half over the edge of a table to form a peaked roof shape. Place the license plate on the roof of the birdhouse, then screw the eye screw through the hole in the license plate and into the birdhouse. Use small nails to nail through the sides of the license plate securing it to the roof.
- To finish it off, use the screws and a screwdriver to attach the post office box number plate onto the birdhouse over the door.
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Weberme
Oct 27, 2017
I love anything different than ordinary and I really love this junk store birdhouse. What a great wayto recycle. It makes you want to go out in your yard or around the house and find things to make your own which is the real fun part. Super idea and a great birdhouse. I can not wait to make one. Super tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
Member 9822329
Oct 25, 2017
This is a marvelous upcycle project! I just love your birdhouse!!br /I have written a blog post '15 diy birdhouse' and have taken your project to be included in my round up list theselfsufficientliving.com/15-fabulous-birdhouse-plans/
Editor Dana
Oct 25, 2017
Oh my goodness, how lovely! Thanks so much for telling me! What a lovely roundup. Thanks so much for the share! If you have any original tutorials, please feel free to submit them to us here: https://www.favecrafts.com/contest/Share-Your-Project Enjoy your day!
Member 9822329
Oct 26, 2017
I will be more than happy to share any tutorial i have at Fave crafts. I have noted that the link has not pasted correctly. Could you please modify it. Here is the right link theselfsufficientliving.com/15-fabulous-birdhouse-plans/
Editor Dana
Oct 26, 2017
Fixed! Breaking links is something our system automatically does in comments to prevent spam. Your URL should be correct now. Thank you again!
mulberrygalprinces s
Aug 21, 2017
One trip thru my junk closet and I will have all I need to make one of these. Including an old license plate. For once being a pack rat is going to come in handy. I have everything I need. So this is an easy, cute and very inexpensive project. It's a real win situation.
FrasierFan1901
Jan 25, 2017
I love this idea and I have to make it! I love that it includes the random small items everyone already seems to have at home.
Marilyn B
Jan 11, 2017
What a clever project! How creative! This gives a lot of ideas for using found objects to,embellish your birdhouse! I love the use of buttons! I could see adding an old wooden spool that has been varnished, or painted, or given a coat of old nail polish, for a chimney! I have lots of old bolts that no longer have use, and would look cute here too! Thank you for a clear and wonderful tutorial!
The Designing Peng uin
Nov 18, 2016
This birdhouse is really cute - and recycles bits and bobs as well as provides a home for a bird looking to relocate. Really neat idea
quanahs 5032097
Apr 19, 2016
This little bird house is so cute. I think that there are endless variations for using hardware to decorate. I might use rusted hardware too for a more rustic look. Did you know you can rust steel in a few hours with a bit of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and table salt? Just do a search for how to rust metal to find instructions.
CJPRITCHETT 438093 6
Jun 14, 2014
I LOVE THE LAMP BIRD BATH AND I JST HAPPEN TO HAVE A ND LAMP I WAS GOING TO DUMP SO OFF TO THE BACK YARD I WENT AND SAVED THE THE LAMP THANKS A LOT I ENJOY LOOKING AT YOUR VRAFTS SOME I CAN DO AND SOME I CANT FOR Y FINGERS ARE CRIPPLED FROM ARTHRITS BUT DO ENJOY ALL OF THEM THANK YOU JUANITA IN BEAUFORT SOUTH CAROLINIS AND IT IS HOT HERE TODAY
wrodgers1954 17873 89
Jun 11, 2013
If you plan on using this for the birds to live in the metal roof will make the birdhouse to hot for them. Use something that will not attract the heat.
lukesgranna 245831 9
Feb 19, 2012
this is just the thing to bring a little spring to the garden. love it!
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