How to Make a Birdhouse Out of a Shoebox

Birdhouses attract birds to your yard, giving you the opportunity to watch them flutter and play from your porch. If you're lucky, they'll even build a nest in your birdhouse, meaning spring will bring baby birds and plenty of happy chirping.

Even if you have no woodworking experience, you can create a birdhouse. Treated properly, shoeboxes make suitable birdhouses that even children can make.

Give birds a pleasant place to nest with a simple shoebox birdhouse.

Step 1

Dust and clean out your shoebox. Use the tall, narrow kind rather than the square kind that contains boots.

Step 2

Cut a 1 to 1 1/2 inch circle in the lid of your shoebox. The larger the hole, the larger the bird that can make a nest in your birdhouse. Poke a second, tiny hole in the lid about 1/2 inch below the entrance hole. This hole will hold the stand for your birds.

Step 3

Snip a 2-inch piece of 1/4 inch diameter dowel with pruning snips. Slip the dowel into the tiny hole below the entrance. It may wobble for now; when you're finished building, it won't move.

Step 4

Slit the upper and lower right corners of your shoebox lid. This side of the lid acts as a hinge for the front of your birdhouse.

Step 5

Paint the entire shoebox and lid, inside and out, with glazing glue. Press pieces of scrap paper or fabric into the glue to give it color and style. The glue and fabric or paper will also give the box more stability.

Step 6

Press pieces of paper or fabric firmly into place around the hole for your dowel rod. When dry, the material will stiffen and hold the dowel in place. Allow the glue to dry overnight.

Step 7

Add two more layers of glazing over the paper or fabric design. This not only seals your project against the weather, it makes the cardboard stiffer and sturdier. Let the glue dry for 2 hours between coats and overnight after the last coat.

Step 8

Glue the right edge of your box lid to the right edge of the box. Close the birdhouse "door." It should fit snugly in place and remain closed on its own. Let the glued hinge dry for at least four hours.

Check out this related video from Homesteady on Youtube.