Making a Bird house

A birdhouse can be a great asset to your yard. Birdhouses are easy to build, once your birdhouse is built you just have to settle back and enjoy the bird watching.

There are things that should be done before one builds a birdhouse. First you have to decide what type of birds you want to attract to your birdhouse. Certain types of birds like certain types of birdhouses. Make sure the hole is large enough for the bird to fit in the birdhouse. When making the hole it shouldn’t be made larger than the bird because this invites predators like squirrels to invade the birdhouse. Having this happen could end up with the chicks being killed or the predator taking over the birdhouse by themselves. Double check the birdhouse’s plans to make sure the measurements are correct.

When building a birdhouse, there are some things to keep in mind. The birdhouse should be made so the birdhouse has drainage slots or holes. This will help prevent the nesting from getting drowned during a storm. There should be slots put near the roof for heat to escape in the summer, to keep the birds cool. Make sure untreated wood is used when making the birdhouse, chemicals can be toxic for birds if they gnaw on it, and fumes can accumulate in the birdhouse during the summer. Make sure wood is fairly thick because wood will act as an insulator to extreme temperatures in the winter and summer. The inside of the birdhouse shouldn’t be painted. If the birdhouse is going to be painted outside, it should be a color used that blends in with the surroundings because using brightly colored paint will attract predators to the birdhouse. The birdhouse should be the proper size because if the birdhouse is made too large, only large birds will have a place which would then leave the small birds with no place to stay. There shouldn’t be a perch built near the entrance of the birdhouse, a perch only encourages predators to harass and possibly harm the nesting parents. Build the birdhouse so it’s easily assessable to clean. Choose a birdhouse plan that has a roof extending out over the entrance hole, this will help during rainstorms.

Place the birdhouse in a location where the birds will be safe. Place the birdhouse where your family is able to observe the birds, don’t put the birdhouse near a dog house or where children play because this may keep the birds away.

There are various materials to make a birdhouse out of, some of the different ways you can build a birdhouse are with wood(using tree branches, boards or stretcher bars), a milk carton and out of twigs.

A milk carton birdhouse is a great birdhouse for children to make. The steps to make a milk carton birdhouse are to first get an empty paper half gallon milk carton. The top of the milk carton needs to be open and washed thoroughly. Reclose the milk carton and staple it shut. Tear off one to two inches of masking tape to cover the milk carton, overlap the pieces so none of the carton shows. Rub over the tape with brown shoe polish. Let it dry. Decide what bird you want to live in the birdhouse. Once you decide on the birdhouse, use a pencil and make several holes on the bottom of the milk carton for the rain to drain out. Place a hole through the top of the birdhouse near the staples. Put a short piece of wire through the hole to make a loop. A twig birdhouse is an easy birdhouse that costs under five dollars to make.

There are steps to take when making a twig birdhouse. The supplies needed are twigs from the yard, a hot glue gun and a cardboard tube. Pick up two foot long lengths of cardboard construction tube that is six inches in diameter. Collect branches of all lengths, collect fallen branches and not branches still attached to the tree. With a quarter inch drill, make twelve holes about six inches from the bottom of the cardboard tube. Take five to six short straight pieces of twig no longer than seven inches to fit into the drilled holes, this will make the base of the birdhouse. Glue all of the twigs pieces in place, in the holes using hot glue. After the glue dries cut the excess off the twigs. Make a woven bed from twigs to lay in the bottom of the birdhouse, doing this builds a base so the bird can build a nest. Cut a forty-five degree angle out of the side of the cardboard, this will be the top of the birdhouse. Cut a small hole about two inches in diameter about halfway up the tube, this is where the birds will go in and out of the birdhouse. Find some bark from a fallen log to be the roof of the birdhouse. Glue the bark all around the tube using a hot glue gun. Glue the sticks to the cardboard so that no cardboard is showing. Trim the top of the branches off so that they are flush. Glue one last piece of bark over the two side pieces of the bark, this will act as a natural barrier to rain. When the glue has dried, drill a hole on either side of the birdhouse, about four inches down from the top. Bend an old coat hanger and push the two ends through the holes just drilled.

There are various ways to make cheap birdhouses. Saucers from old clay pots can be filled with water or birdseed. Mesh bags can be filled with peanuts that are in the shell. Fill an old garden glove, boot or sneaker with branches so birds have a place to perch. Attach an old garden hat to the side of a feeder, put inside the hat a bouquet of sunflowers or coneflowers. Put peanut butter on a cone, roll it around in birdseed and hang one on a branch for a treat for the birds to eat.

Building a birdhouse is a great project to do. In the end the birds and you get to enjoy the birdhouse.

Angled photo frame

Kids can display their favorite photos or pictures in an unusual way by crafting this quirky angled photo frame. A piece of craft wood and some simple tools will yield a delightful result.

We will need:

• Piece of craftwood (about 150 cm square)
• Power drill
• Hat elastic – black or white
• 2 lengths of thin baton (dowel rods) – about 0.5 to 1 cm in diameter and 11cm in length
• Small sheet of clear overhead transparency film
• Handsaw
• 1 craftwood triangle – approximately 7 cm long x 3 cm, with a 1-2 cm slit cut about 1 cm from the bottom wide edge.

How to make it:

1. Cut an upside down V shape in the top of the craftwood, and a right side up V in the opposite end.
2. Sand smooth.
3. Measure two centimeters in from every edge and mark with a pencil.
4. Drill four holes where these dots meet.
5. Drill a three millimeter hole over each dot.
6. Paint the front side of craftwood to suit.
7. Turn frame over and glue the triangle of craftwood on back to make the stand.
8. Cut a length of elastic and tie into a loop.
9. Thread elastic through top left-hand hole. Position one baton so that elastic holds it in place. Do same with the bottom left-hand side. Repeat for right-hand side. Slip the bottom run of elastic into the slit in the craftwood triangle stand.
10. Turn back to front and slip in transparency between batons to be your frame “glass”.

If you need to make a canvas frame you will find the instruction here.

Making Wooden Bowl

This is the video where you can see how to make a wooden bowl.

How to make a wooden chair

Wooden chairs can be as simple or as elaborate as you want them to be. Of course, the simpler the design, the easier it is to build your own wooden chairs, but you can still make them special.The instructions will contain exact measurements for an “average” size square wooden chair. You may, of course, adjust the measurements to accommodate you or the person who will be using the chair.

• Cut rounded 2X4 lumber into four pieces, each 16 inches long. These will be your chair legs.

• Cut a piece of flatter wood that is 15 inches thick into a twelve-inch square. This is your chair seat. Using your planing tool cut a “slope” into the back of the seat, so that the chair seat will have a three-fourths to one-inch “drop.”

• Cut a piece of wood into a twelve-inch square for your chair back. How thick you want this piece of wood to be will be up to you, as you will know how thick or thin you want the back to be. (See TIPS for more information.)

• Sand each piece, starting with a coarse grit of sandpaper and finishing with a very fine grit as you reach your desired level of smoothness. Pay special attention to the seat and the seat back, as splinters left in these pieces can possibly become lodged in some very uncomfortable places on one’s body.

• Paint, stain, or varnish your chair pieces at this time, and allow them to dry thoroughly. (See TIPS for more information.)

• Using your power or hand saw, or a chisel or hammer if you wish, cut a notch into the tops of each chair leg and the back of the chair seat so that the chair back piece will fit securely.

• Attach your chair seat to the chair legs, using your hammer, electric screwdriver, or nail gun and screws or nails.

• Attach your chair back to the chair legs and seat, using your hammer, electric screwdriver, or nail gun and screws or nails. Make sure the chair back cannot “wiggle” back and forth.

• Place pieces of felt, cut to fit, on the chair legs.

• Enjoy your new chair!

Attaching a Frame to a Canvas

To frame a canvas, secure the canvas stretcher bar to the frame using a bent pipe clamp. You can buy pipe clamps for very little at a hardware store. There are several types, some made from aluminum, some from copper or steel.

Beat the clamp flat with a hammer and then re-shape it with fingers in a way that makes it work for a clamp that secures the frame to the canvas. When the clamp is flattened out, it is about 1,5 inches long x 1/2 inches wide.

The holes are in a perfect location to put one screw in the stretcher and one on the frame. The flattened piece are easily molded to form, around the wood.

Put one or two per side using very short 3/8″ screws. It’s a very strong method to hold your painting in place within the frame.

Floating Shelves

You can make floating shelves from lightweight, inexpensive hollow-core doors. They’re perfect for displaying collectibles, photos, and travel mementos or just about anything. These shelves are strong, too.

Recognize that each shelf is made from half of an 18-in. hollow-core door. Cut the door blank lengthwise after clamping a straightedge guide to the door. Be sure to use a 40-tooth carbide blade for a smooth cut. Don’t exceed 9 in. Wide or you’ll start to weaken the cantilever strength of the shelf.

Cut a cleat to fit inside the door. Measure the space between the outer veneers of the door and cut cleats from a 2×4 to this thickness. Make the cleats as long as the inside of the door. Use straight, dry lumber for cleats.

Trace the horizontal location for each shelf using a 4-ft. level as your guide. Use a stud finder to mark the locations of the studs and lightly press masking tape over each one.

Bolt the cleats to the studsPredrill 1/4″ diameter holes at the stud locations after you cut the cleats to length (the measurement between the end blocks of the door half). Hold the cleat to your line on the wall and drill into the stud with a 1/8-in. bit. Using a wrench, install one lag screw into each stud until it’s tight. Use 1/4-in. x 3-1/2 in. lag screws. Each cleat must be straight.

Make space for the cleat. Cut away the corrugated cardboard cores at least 1-1/2 in. from the cut edge. Scrape away the glue carefully without gouging the wood surface. A bread knife works well for this.

Dry-fit the shelf to make sure the blank fits over the cleat. Check the backside of the shelf and scribe it to the wall if necessary. Use a block plane or sander to remove material from the back edge for a tight fit.

Glue the shelf to the cleat. Apply a generous amount of glue to the top of the cleat and the inside bottom edge of the door blank. Slide the shelf over the wood cleat. Or, if you don’t want these mounted permanently – just slide the blank over the cleat.

Fasten the shelf. Nail the shelf to the cleat using a square as your guide. Start at the middle and work your way to each end. Use 1-in. brad nails spaced 8 in. apart. Nail the bottom also. If you wish for the shelf to be removable (and didn’t apply glue), use counter-sunk screws instead of brads. Install them from the top, and use a small sticker to cover the head. The paint used on the shelf can be used to touch up the stickers, to match.

Useful kitchen accessory – Wooden Tray

Wooden trays are not only used for carrying and serving various food items but also to keep many smaller articles organized at one place. Traditional wooden trays usually have a flat surface with raised edges to stop things from sliding off. In spite of the availability of trays in varied materials like metal, steel, plastic etc., wooden (oak, birch, pine) trays are most sought after perhaps due to their beautiful appearance.

• Purchase a large unfinished shadow box picture frame. Any frame will work if it’s 8 inches by 10 inches or larger. Buy one set of drawer handles.

• Remove the glass and cardboard from the frame. Finish the wooden part of the frame by applying stain or paint to match your decor. Allow the paint or stain to dry for 24 hours.

• Determine the middle of the short sides of the frame with a measuring tape. Mark the middle with a piece of tape so you know where to place the handles. You can put the handles on either the top or the sides of the frame. Center one handle of each of the short sides and screw them into the frame from the back.

• Glue pictures or trinkets to the inside of the shadow box, if you want to decorate it.

• Replace the glass and the back of the shadowbox frame. Your tray is ready to use.

Here is the link where you can find how to decorate your wooden tray:

http://handicraftideas.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/decorating-the-tray/

Making a Wooden box

Here is a link showing how to make a wooden box, which can later on be used to store different kind of things or be an original present.

How to Make Canvas Stretcher Bars

Canvas stretcher bars, as their name suggests, are used to stretch a piece of canvas. Stretching canvas makes it easier to paint on. While you can buy these bars in a store, it is difficult to find them in measurements of under 8 inches or over 24 inches. Half sizes are also difficult to find. If you learn to make your own stretcher bars, you can work with any size canvas.

1. Determine the height and width of your finished canvas picture. These are the measurements you will use to cut your stretcher bars. For example, if your finished canvas will be 8 inches by 10 inches, then you need to cut two stretcher bars to 8 inches and two stretcher bars to 10 inches.
2. Select wood for your stretcher bars. Look for wood that is 1/2-inch thick. Pine works well for this project because it is easy to cut, readily available in most areas and inexpensive. You can save money by finding one piece of pine that is long enough to use for all four stretcher bar. For example, if you are trying to cut stretcher bars for an 8-by-10 inch canvas, you would buy a piece of pine that is 36 inches long (8+8+10+10).
3. Measure and mark the cuts to be made on your pine. Use a T-share to draw perpendicular lines across the pine for a straight cut.
4. Cut your rough stretcher bar blanks using a handsaw or an electric saw. Then use a protractor or polysquare to draw 45-degree angles across the ends of both sides of your stretcher bar. The angles need to angle inward, so when you assemble the stretcher bars, you create a kind of picture frame.
5. Saw the angle cuts on your wood.
6. Assemble your four stretcher bars. Apply a bead of wood glue to each angle cut edge and press the pieces together to form a picture frame shape. To provide a little extra stability use a staple gun to add two or three staples along the joints, inserting the staples from the broad face of the frame rather than the narrow face.