Birdhouses make delightful little projects for a variety of craft techniques, especially with the warmer weather. With free birdhouse designs, you can create an indoor or outdoor home accent, or a fun gift for a friend or family member. You can even use recycled materials in your birdhouse crafts. Make or embellish an unfinished birdhouse for Mother’s Day with one of these free birdhouse designs.

Simple Painting- Purchase an unfinished birdhouse from your craft store or online. Some even come with jute hangers. You will first need to sand the unfinished wood with sand paper and wipe clean with tack cloth. Paint with bold and colorful colors. You can paint the birdhouse one solid color, or paint the roof a complimentary color. Seal with an outdoor sealer like PLAID FolkArt Outdoor Gloss Sealer or finish with a product like Krylon UV-Resistant Clear to keep the color from fading in the sun.

Plastic Bottle Birdhouse- Use an empty plastic milk jug or 2 liter plastic bottle for this birdhouse craft. The larger milk jugs are better for larger birds like robins. Create several birdhouses in different sizes to hang from a tree, and accommodate all different bird sizes. Use a craft knife or sharp scissors to cut a door into the side of the milk jug or bottle, near the bottom. Line the bottom of the jug or bottle with hay for the birds. Secure heavy wire or twin around the top of the jug to hang. You can also paint and decorate the milk carton before hanging. For step-by-step instructions, see Plastic Bottle Birdfeeder.

Scrapbook Paper- Instead of painting the entire birdhouse, you can also use coordinating scrapbook papers to cover the roof and/or the sides of the birdhouse. If covering both the roof and the sides, pick two coordinating scrapbook papers. You will need to cut scrapbook papers to fit and glue to birdhouse, smoothing out. Finish with a coat of glaze, such as Triple Thick Gloss Glaze from DecoArt, to give a hard, ceramic look.

Shapes- You can add shapes to your birdhouse with a variety of methods. Decoupage die-cut or simple cut shapes to your birdhouse, such as flowers, leaves or fruit. Use a stencil to help paint letters or shapes on your birdhouse. Spell out “Home” on your birdhouse for a whimsical touch. You can also use stamps to embellish your birdhouse. You can stamp an outline with ink and then you paint with a fine paintbrush to fill in the shape.

Berry Basket Birdhouse- You can make a simple birdhouse with a plastic strawberry basket, fiber scraps and shredded junk mail paper. Weave strips of fabric, ribbon and/or yarn through the mesh holes of a strawberry basket. Use all different colors and materials for a fun, outdoor accent piece. Fill the basket with some shredded paper. Use a bit of yarn or twine to hang the basket from a tree. Birds will love this little, hanging birdhouse!

For more birdhouse design ideas, see 11 Free Birdhouse Designs and Craft Video.