Paint Can Bird Houses

Paint Can Bird Houses!  Great reusing project; its fun for all and creates a living place for our bird friends!   

This is a project I did in the spring with my kids.  It was super fun for all!

We had just bought our house in that winter and painted every room so we had lots of empty paint cans.  Enjoy!

Mr. J even painted his hand! 

Materials Needed:

-empty paint cans (we had used a water based paint and were able to peel the dry paint out of the cans)

-drill and 2 inch bit (for drilling the holes)

-sanding block or sandpaper

-acrylic paint

-foam and other paint brushes

-tray/paper plate or something to use as your palette

-aluminum wire, optional (aluminum won't rust and break over time)

It was an extremely windy day when we did this so that is the explanation for the bricks holding everything down.

Process:

1. Drill the bird house opening about 1 3/4 inches from the bottom of the paint can.

2. Peel out the paint if possible (this was fun for the kids).

3. Scuff up the outside of the paint can using the sanding block. (This will make the paint stick better and last longer.)

4. Paint your bird house.  (I think these would also be cute painted like a face with the opening for the mouth, we have more cans to paint; maybe I'll have to try that.)

5. Hang your bird house out in nature.  You can just hook the house on a sturdy branch or use some aluminum wire to wire it to a tree branch.

*We hung ours in early spring and by early summer there were birds nesting in every one of them!