These easy-to-make birdhouses will
be a welcome decoration on any
mantel.

Looking for a craft project to complete over the weekend? Here's how to build a simple decorative birdhouse using two pickets from an old fence. Note: Our house looks great on a mantel, but if you'd like to actually entice real birds to move in, you'll want to check at your library for books on building birdhouses. Also note that metal is not an appropriate roofing material for actual birdhouses since it can become extremely hot in the sun.

• 3-1/2-inch-wide picket for the front, back, and base
• 2-1/2-inch-wide picket for the sides
• Jigsaw or handsaw
• Drill with 7/8-inch bit
• Rusty nails or new panel nails
• Hammer
• Tin for decorative accents
• Tin (old or new) or old shingle, for roof
• Tin snips
• Gold lath (if using shingle for roof)
• Pencil
• Ball peen hammer
• Optional finishes: old nails, wood to make "fence," and/or a railroad spike for the chimney

1. Cut pickets for the front, back, base, and sides. Note: This plan yields a square birdhouse with the narrower boards for the sides set between the wider boards for the front and back.

2. To assemble the pieces, use rusty nails for nonwhite birdhouses. If using white wood, use new panel nails because they are color matched to blend in and are ringed for extra holding power. Nail sides, front, back, and base together.

Step 3

3. Drill a wren hole using a 7/8-inch spade bit. Center the hole from side to side, but determine where you want it from the top to bottom by how you plan to embellish the birdhouse. Hold the frame steady, or clamp it, while you drill.

4. Cut tin shapes using tin snips. To fit shapes around the birdhouse entrance, pencil a 3/4-inch circle on the tin shape. Place the tin over a scrap of wood and make nail holes all around the circle, using the nail to cut the hole. To apply the tin, secure it in place on the birdhouse; then smooth the rough edges of the tin circle around the birdhouse hole by using a ball peen hammer to pound the tin into the wood.

5. If using tin for the roof, cut it, allowing extra for overhangs. Round the corners on the tin and bend in half. Attach the roof using rusted nails. If you don't have old tin, purchase new tin and let it sit outside through a few rains or until it rusts. This same process will let edges and nails rust over after assembly. If you choose to use an old shingle for the roof, prepare the base for a shingle roof by nailing gold lath to the birdhouse perks. Attach shingle.

Step 6

6. Add personal touches to the birdhouse. Use an old nail for a bird perch, add a "fence" around the base of the house, or place a railroad spike for a chimney.