This birdhouse was made with a recycled porch post. You could purchase a new one at your local home improvement store or search garage sales, etc. for one.
By Denise from NE
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I took an empty coffee can, painted it orange then sponged another layer of a different shade of orange to look like stripes on the body. The face was cut out of wood scrap with a hole cut out for the mouth and then I stapled the plastic lid to the wood.
I made this bird feeder from a juicy juice container. All I did was cut out the holes in the side (hot glue around the sharp edges) and some holes for the string (nylon) and the dowel rods. Paint it with acrylic paints that are waterproof.
This is an idea for a gift or a Christmas, or all year decoration. It is a good way to recycle those latte containers. Rinse out the cup and lid, and turn upside down to dry or gently dry with a paper towel, use a safe knife to cut out a round hole in the middle of the cup, like a birdhouse.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My husband is on social security and unable to work. He has taken up bird watching, and would like to know an inexpensive way to build bird houses, not necessarily of wood.
By Nancy
I don't know of any other way to build a bird house that would withstand the weather if it's not constructed out of wood.
www.ehow.com/
To save money on building materials look for scrap wood along side of the road that people throw out along with their garbage. You might be able to get FREE scraps from lumber yards. Maybe others will post more ideas.
When you see construction being done, a building, house, or anything where wood is used just stop by and load up scraps. Always ask first but this saves the builder from paying someone to haul it away.
You can pretty much turn anything into a birdhouse, as long as it has drainage holes, a hole for them to enter and can be hung or fastened to a wall. I have seen cowboy boots, an old purse, a teapot hung from its bottom so it was on its side with the cover tilted over the top opening and glued, plastic containers (milk jugs, juice bottles, takeout containers) embellished and then painted (I've seen a trailer made from a takeout container), dried gourds, coffee cans (shade), PVC pipe ...
* Does it contain toxic material that could harm the birds (like pressure treated wood with arsenic or something you can't clean out well enough)?
* Will the material deteriorate quickly (like a cardboard)?
* Does it have sharp edges?
* Will it get too hot inside (like cans which should only be used in the shade)?
* Once together, will you be able to clean it out?
Does anyone know how to make a bleach bottle birdhouse with mortar and rocks on the outside?
Mavis from hometown Michigan
Try the Pack-0-Fun website at www.packofun.com or Google it. I would think that the best way to add stones and mortar would be airdry gray clay and regular stones. Prepare the outside of the house by sanding in all directions so there will be a tooth for the clay.
Plastic is porous and would retain some of the bleach, so I don't know if a bleach bottle is a good thing to be used for a birdhouse, or anything else. I personally would not reuse a bleach bottle due to the toxicity of bleach. Just my 2 1/2 cents!
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Best germ killer on the planet..... Dilution down to <3 parts per trillion with just 3 volumn changes
Does anyone know how to make a birdhouse wind spinner where you cut the sides of a soda bottle in several places, string fishing line up through the bottom. It has an artificial bird through the fishing line and when the wind makes it spin the bird almost sounds like it's chirping? i saw one a long time ago and would love to make one, please help.
I did a google search and found this -- www.npwrc.usgs.gov/
Here is the direct link for the google search: www.google.com/
Hope this helps! :)
Have fun feeding those birdies!
i've been looking for the how-to of this project too, with no luck, so if you find some instructions, please share :)
kkitty1@yahoo.com
Old boots and shoes can be repurposed into fun and useful bird houses. Not only do they provide a housing option for your backyard birds, but they are also a cute bit of garden decor. This is a page about making a bird house from a shoe or boot.
