Instructions
- Step 1: Rinse out carton Rinse out the milk carton thoroughly and let it dry.
- Step 2: Staple shut Close the carton and staple it shut. It will look like it did when your mom or dad bought it.
- Step 3: Cover with tape Tear or cut pieces of masking tape that are two or three inches long and stick them all over the carton until you’ve covered it completely.
- TIP: If you overlap the edges of the tape slightly, you’ll cover the carton better.
- Step 4: Rub shoe polish Dab some shoe polish onto the cloth and rub it all over the tape-covered carton. This will make the house look like it’s made out of bark. Let the polish dry.
- TIP: You can also decorate the birdhouse by gluing moss all over it, or excelsior, green stuff that looks a lot like moss that you can buy at a crafts store.
- Step 5: Make door To make the door, have a grownup cut a circle that’s an inch to an inch and a half in diameter about 4 inches above the bottom of the carton.
- TIP: To make a perch inside the birdhouse, poke holes in opposite sides of the carton and stick a twig through it.
- Step 6: Make holes Make a few holes in the bottom of the carton for drainage and two holes in the top so that the birds can breathe.
- : Ask a grown-up to poke the holes, too. That screwdriver could be sharp.
- Step 7: String & hang Poke a hole through the very top of the house, where the milk carton forms a peak, and string a piece of twine through it. Tie a knot in the twine, hang the house from a tree, and wait for your new neighbors to move in.
- FACT: Wrens, tree swallows, and bluebirds prefer enclosed birdhouses like this one, while robins like open platforms for nesting.
You Will Need
- An empty quart-size milk carton
- A stapler
- Masking tape
- A soft cloth or rag
- Brown shoe polish
- Scissors or a small precision knife
- A grown-up to help with cutting
- A pointy screwdriver or something to poke holes in the carton
- Twine
- A twig or small branch (optional)
