DIY Foam Board Birdhouse

My daughter has been noticing more and more how much I love to create new projects and decor for upcoming seasons and holidays, and wanted to create something all her own to put on display. Elmer's Board Mate collection has a whole lot of craft supplies meant just for little hands to use. At first glance, the Board Mate products are perfect for any poster or foam board presentations for school or work, but they really can be used to create almost anything! Since spring is (hopefully) here to stay, we decided to make a fun little birdhouse. 

Supplies:

Elmer's Foam Board (two 8x10 pieces, or one Bi-Fold Foam Board)

X-ACTO Curve™ Knife

Board Mate® Dual Tip Glue Pen

Board Mate® Permanent Dual-Color Markers

Board Mate® Extra Strength Glue Stick

Board Mate® Glitter Shakers

You can purchase all the Elmer's Board Mate products at most Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Meijer stores.

To build your birdhouse, you'll first need to cut out all the pieces out of foam board with the XACTO knife. I highly recommend using a ruler or straight edge over a cutting mat. Measure out and mark each piece before cutting.

You'll need:

Front & Back pieces (2): 5.25" x 3"

Sides (2): 3" x 3.25"

Bottom: 3.5" x 3"

Roof: 6" x 3.5"

For the front & back pieces, mark at the 3.25" height, and the top center with a pencil. With your ruler, draw a line from the 3.25" mark to the center line on each side to get the top angles.

For the roof, cut out the rectangle, then mark the center, vertically. Cut along the vertical line, but don't cut all the way through the board. This will help you bend the roof piece over the house without having to glue the rooftop together.

To assemble the birdhouse, start by gluing the sides to the front (or back) piece with the fine point tip of the glue pen. Hold in place until it's tacky enough to sit on its own, then add on the back piece. Glue on the bottom piece and let the house dry for 15+ minutes.

To glue the roof on, add a line of glue along the entire top edge of the birdhouse. Lay the bent roof on top of the house, making sure it's sitting evenly. Carefully press the roof down and hold until it stays in place. Let dry at least 30 minutes.

When the birdhouse is dry enough to hold up to a kid handling it (we waited overnight to be sure), it's time to decorate! My daughter loved using the Dual-Color Markers to color the sides of the birdhouse. They are pretty big markers, which is perfect for little hands!

Once all the sides were colored (in different colors, of course), it was time to add our favorite part - the glitter!! Since the roof had so much area to cover, we used the wide spread tip of the glue pen and it worked great! Just add an even coat of glue on one side of the roof, and pour your glitter on. Let sit for a minute or two, then carefully tap the birdhouse to remove excess glitter. When working with glitter, always work over a scrap piece of paper for easy clean-up. Repeat the glittering to the other side of the roof.

My daughter wasn't satisfied with the under side of the roof being colored in marker, so we used the fine point tip of the glue pen and added matching glitter to each side of the birdhouse.

Since the birdhouse is just for decoration and not for real birds, we didn't cut a hole in the front. Instead, we used the Extra Strength Glue Stick to draw a circle and added a glitter "door" instead!

Let the glue completely dry (20 minutes or so), and your birdhouse is done! Add to a shelf with your other spring decor and make sure to tell your child how great of a job they did!!

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I am part of the Elmer's Crafty Mamas Blogger Crew and have received supplies and compensation, but all ideas and opinions are 100% my own.