How to Make Pretty Birdhouses
- 1). Measure the birdhouse's sides and roof on a piece of the plywood. The two roof pieces are 7-by-5-inch rectangles. The front and back pieces are 5 7/8-inch squares. The bottom left piece is 3 3/8 by 5 7/8 inches and the bottom right piece is 3 3/8 by 5 3/8 inches. When put together, the birdhouse will resemble a diamond with the two top piece ends extending slightly past the two bottom edges.
- 2). Cut all the pieces out of the plywood using a reciprocating saw. Lay the back piece flat on a worktable. Spread a layer of wood glue along all four edges. Place the two roof pieces onto the top two edges, forming a V. Hammer nails through the roof pieces and into the back piece to secure the roof in place.
- 3). Place the two side pieces on the bottom two edges. The left side extends past the right side a bit so that the two pieces butt up, forming a "V". Secure the two sides in place with nails. The birdhouse now looks like an open diamond, with the roof pieces extending slightly past the two side pieces.
- 4). Lay the front section flat on the work table. Measure two inches down from the top corner. Use a gore bit, a drill bit with a wide tip to drill away sections of wood, to make a hole, with the mark you just made indicating the hole's top edge. The size of hole depends on the type of bird you wish to attract. A birdhouse of this size attracts slightly smaller birds, so a 1 1/2-inch hole is sufficient. Make the birdhouse larger to attract larger birds.
- 5). Spread glue around the front piece's edges and put it over the open birdhouse. Secure it in place with nails. Cut a 1/4-inch dowel into 5-inch and 3-inch pieces. Run a bead of wood glue down the 5-inch dowel's length and place it between the two roof pieces, to prevent leaks during rain showers.
- 6). Place a dab of glue on the 3-inch dowel's end. Secure it to the birdhouse's face, approximately 1 inch down from the entrance hole. Allow the glue to dry.
- 7). Lightly sand the birdhouse with 120-grit sandpaper. Paint your birdhouse colors of your choosing, using an exterior paint. Paint the roof a different color than the walls. Select colors opposite each other on the color wheel to give the birdhouse a bold, bright appearance, such as purple and yellow or blue and orange.
- 8). Go to your local hobby store and purchase wooden decals and fake flowers. Decals come in a variety of shapes, including butterflies, flowers, and bees. Once the paint is dry, spread wood glue on the back of the decals and flowers and attach them to the birdhouse.
- 9). Paint images or designs on the birdhouse with a small paintbrush. Ivy growing along the roof and walls, a bright sun on the back of the birdhouse or flowers in a variety of sizes are all simple images you can paint to personalize and beautify your birdhouse.
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