Free Nature Crafts

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Coffee Can "Bee" Bird House

by Twila Lenoir

Recycle, recycle recycle. My favorite kind of crafting!

In this free nature craft, recycle a coffee can to make a whimsical "bee" bird house as a focal point for your garden.

Coffee Can Bird House
Craft Supplies:

• Coffee can with lid
• Acrylic craft paint or model car paint
• Black pipe cleaner
• White fun foam
• large goggle eyes
• Drill or a fat nail and hammer

Fishing line or strong string

Outdoor sealer

Piece of a dowel or a strong twig

Bee Bird House
Craft Project Instructions:

1. Cut a hole near the middle of the coffee can lid, large enough for the type of birds that you would like to attract to the bird house. Just below this hole, punch a small round hole with a paper punch.

2. Paint the front of the lid black.

3. Remove the paper wrapper from the can. If a glue line remains, where the wrapper was seamed together, use this area as the belly, or bottom part, of the bee.

4. Painting the can should be easy as it has ready made lines. Start with the bottom of the can and first ripple line from the bottom, and paint it black then paint ever other lane black. The remaining line lanes paint yellow when the black is dry.

Painting tips: a reader wrote in to say that if you mix a little bit of glue with the craft paint it will improve the adhesion to the can. You can also scuff up the can with sandpaper to improve the paint adhesion. If using craft paint, you will likely need two coats of black paint and three coats of yellow. An alternative to craft paint is gloss model car paints which will stick to the metal can very well and provide a nice shiny finish.

5. When the paint is dry, place the black lid back onto the can, making sure that the lid is lined up so the mouth opening lines up with the belly of the can (where the coffee can label glue was left over). Spray or brush on an outdoor sealer.

6. Glue on the large goggle eyes toward the top of the lid over the bird house opening. Glue a small dowel or twig into the paper punched hole.

7. Take a pipe cleaner and fold it in half. Wrap each end of the pipe cleaner around a pencil to form curly ends on the antenna. Glue the pipe cleaner onto the can, positioning it over the eyes on the lid. 

8. For the wings, take a white square of fun foam, fold it in half and cut a tear drop shape cut in a square at the fold. Open up and glue to the top of the can right behind the antennas.

9. Using a drill, or a fat nail and hammer, make two holes close together on the top of the wings and can. Pull fishing line or strong string through the holes and knot off. Hang from a tree in your yard. Everyone will envy this bird house!

Enjoy !