Vintage Tin Dollhouse Repurpose

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How To Turn A Vintage Tin Dollhouse Into A Birdhouse

Supplies:

Pencil
Scissors
Duck Tape
Heavy Duty Velcro - I used the Scotch Extreme Fasteners (for Indoor/Outdoor)
Corrugated Plastic Sheet (18x24)
Hole saw bit - preferable 1 ⅛" or 1 ½" (optional)
Drill (optional)

Instructions:

This is what my corrugated plastic sheet looks like. Sort of like one of those heavy duty poster boards you would use for a yard sale, but much thicker and sturdier.

I used the corrugated plastic to cover up the backside of the house so it would be more like a birdhouse and not free for just any Tom, Dick and Harry to sleep in (I'm talking to you Mr. Chipmunk).

So I started out by roughly measuring where I needed to cut it. Since this is a ranch and pretty long, I needed more than one run of the plastic to cover the back.

After cutting out the plastic with household scissors and notching it out for roof lines, I placed it on the backside.

And then did the same with the second half of my back side.

I used a hole saw bit with the drill to quickly and easily cut the holes.

Depending on what type of birds you want to live in your birdhouse, you can make the hole size accordingly. I found this chart which is sort of handy for determining hole size.

I'm going for house wrens so the hole size is 1 ⅛".

Or you could use an x-acto knife if you are careful and can make the holes smooth. I don't trust myself around an x-acto knife and am sort of partial to my fingers, so I used the hole saw bit.

Tape the two pieces together with your duck tape and use the velcro to attached the plastic to the backside. This will enable you to remove the backside and clean the birdhouse yearly and then pop the back right back on.

And this is how it looks from behind. No you can't see the tin carpeting and fake paintings on the wall, but it will keep the birds safe.

One important thing I forgot to mention. There are four rooms, but only three holes because the living room has the big picture window on the front side and I figured they could go use that as their "hole" for that room.

So now I'm just waiting for the birds to settle in and invite me over for drinks.

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