DIY Birdhouse Ideas That Will Blow Your Mind
Looking for diy birdhouse ideas that go beyond ordinary? Me too! I’m someone who really appreciates our avian friends very greatly, but for the obvious reason of having cats I know I could never have a pet bird of my own.
So I really get into making birdhouses and birdfeeders – I’m not too much into the milk carton method; I was aiming for the timeless classic round hole in the middle, out of wood. It’s a classic for a reason, which is why I also created a birdhouse pattern you can download and use right away! See the form at the end of this post to access it 😊 .
They do what they were made to do…house our feathered friends, but sometimes we want something a little more outside the (bird) box!
Think a birdhouse has to be boring? Think again! That’s about to change when I show you some of the most unique approaches to birdhouse crafting!
But First: Here’s MY Birdhouse!
I came across what I guessed was an old tissue box with a heart-shaped opening which would be great for the “entrance”
I used the following tools: Empty wooden box of which I didn’t know if it was made for tissues or whatnot, two scraps of wood, acrylic paint, adhesive, popsicle sticks, and one clothespin (I’ll explain why in a moment), small hand saw, sanding paper, spray sealant.
It was tricky determining how short/wide to cut the wood pieces so they would fit on top flush with the box; which meant that I needed to use a measuring tape. You may have an easier time with a flat -style roof rather than the classic apex style.
I glued the sticks in the space; at times I had to cut and piece them together (a few did overlap a little) At some point I may have been a stick short…I have lots of clothespins laying around but sometimes they are cheap and pop a spring, but I realized that without that spring, each half can actually get used, so there you go (it’s at the back)
I ended up using a long length of 12 gauge aluminum craft wire ran through the opening and twisted it enough to be taut before hanging.
My first experience with making birdhouses dates back to a job program I was a part of once, a long long time ago – 1997 to be exact. We were working on a watershed project and focusing energy on creating a bird sanctuary. Yep, that’s me in that picture right here, going to town!
We had a blast putting them together and I got the privilege of painting pictures of different birds on the sides. You can see a couple of them here – they have faded a little, but that’s my handiwork!
I kept the “blueprints” for that very birdhouse – and created a downloadable pattern with all the measurements just for you to use and apply; you can access it from my resource library by filling out the form at the end of this post!
🐦 Creative Birdhouse Ideas You May Not Have Thought Of!
Need a quick goodie for a roof? Old license plates seem to do the trick – If you save yours, this is the upcycle you’ve been hoping for. Most plates are flexible enough that if you have a workbench handy a few taps of a hammer could bend it into the right shape.
The liscense plate idea seems to be pretty popular! If you’d like to try it yourself, I have found a good tutorial right here for it.
Creative Commons Image Attribution: Image by Dave Dugdale
🐦 Upcycle a Teapot or Pitcher Into a Mini Bird Sanctuary!
A teapot turned sideways with the top removed to provide an opening is the perfect upcycle. Look how I did it with this old yellow pitcher…It got a little chipped, but too cute to throw away so I turned it into another birdhouse too!
I used a metal plant hanger dealie to hang mine, but if you have some strong rope you can just wrap it around the handle and secure it from a sturdy tree limb.
Popsicle sticks….If you have plenty of these you may be able to pull off a birdhouse like this one! I like how much it resembles a “people house” yet still has enough room to make a few birds comfy!
I like that it’s also lightweight enough that a simple metal mug hook can be used as the hanger, as you can see in the picture above. Because they are completely linear, popsicle sticks are ideal for craft projects that need a good foundation – starting a birdhouse is not too different from the approach to making a trinket box.
I like what this guy did with his craft stick arrangement – in this tutorial, he shows you how to arrange the sticks for the roof as well as the bottom and sides; which I understand can be tricky unless you can see how it’s done up close.
You can paint your finished birdhouse in your desired colors, (or get colored craft sticks
🐦 Upcycle a Single Shoe or Boot Into a Killer DIY Birdhouse!
Wow…check out what these people did! A certain bird family is gonna want to move into these for sure! This is a dynamite idea for one of those weird instances in which you only have “one odd” boot for whatever reason. If you look closely, you can see that these boot birdhouses are hanging via simple eyehooks
🐦 Wow…This Birdhouse Uses a Roof Made From a BOOK!
Wow…here’s an idea if there ever was one…an old hardcover book used! Used to make the roof….And what do you think of the pipe used as a perch? Genius!
Creative Commons Image Attribution: Image by H. Michael Karshis
Just when you thought there were no more uses for old books. When it comes to birdhouses…dare to be different!
Why is it when people say “that’s for the birds” it is usually something bad or lousy? Birds rule!!
And as a special gift for you bird lovers out there…you can access my FREE bonus birdhouse pattern from my password-protected resource library and start building your own! Fill out the form below to get access:
So I hope you enjoyed this collection of great ideas and they help inspire you further. Which of these do YOU like the best?
hi, for your lollipop/popsicle stick birdhouse, have you considered putting blueprints or plans on your site so other people can try to make them?
Be well
That’s a good idea! Sometimes I might link to a relevant article, my stumbling block seems to be finding pictures to supplement the steps involved 🙂 I will check with Instructables dot com as that seems to be one of the better sites I have come across that shows step by step projects (and their respective images) in action.