How to make a bird house from an old carton

Bird houses don't have to be expensive investments, this one is made from an old juice carton and a few household bits and bobs and makes the perfect Easter craft.

We've styled ours for Easter, just in time for all the new baby birds being born, but really your feathered friends will thank you for this whatever time of year you make it.

Kids will love getting involved too, so why not keep it as a weekend activity to do together? Depnding on their age most children should be able to make this from start to finish with very little help (apart from a bit of tricky cutting) and they'll be chuffed with themselves for making something so pretty.

It'll take a little patience as there are a few steps which require leaving the bird house to dry, so make sure you have other things to do in between your crafting! We've found tea and biscuits to be an excellent time filler.

• Large empty juice carton
• Pencil
• Craft knife
• Acrylic paint
• Thin lollipop sticks
• Glue
• Craft tape
• Scissors
• Bamboo skewer
• Bird seed
• String

Step 1

Draw an arch in the middle on one side of an empty juice carton. If your child is little then help them cut out an arch with a craft knife.

Step 2

Paint the carton with acrylic paint, and leave to dry. Apply a second coat so you can't see any of the labels or lettering on the pack and leave to dry again.

Step 3

Make a small hole on the top ridge of the carton and thread some string through to hang your bird house from. Then glue some thin lollipop sticks over the top of the carton to create a roof and leave to dry.

Step 4

Cut some strips of craft tape and stick around the outside of the carton. Pierce the carton below the arch with a bamboo skewer (make sure you do this bit!), then push it all the way through to the back and out the other side. Fill the bottom of the carton with bird seed, and hang up from a branch with the string.

Craft: by Suzie Attaway