Plastic Bottle Bird House

The twig twist is a result of not wanting to push a stick through the middle of space needed for nesting. This is a coffee creamer bottle (International Delight). Remove the label; cut a small hole with a flat bottom. Hot glue a piece of soda straw that’s been cut lengthwise over the flat bottom of the hole.

I used Clematis vine but any freshly cut longer branches can be used. Bend an 18” piece into a circle the same circumference as the lower section of the bottle. Tie it with string or cord. I like to use spandex pantyhose cut horizontally into 1” bands. (they’re better than rubber bands). Make the second wrap longer so it expands slightly beyond the bottle and tie it too. It is important to bend and form the vines as soon after cutting as possible.

• Now slip it over the top of the bottle and position it below the hole. For extra strength run a thick row of hot glue on the bottle below the twig perch.

Make the roof from the plastic lid of an ice cream bucket. Cut off the folded down edge that snaps the lid to the bucket so it will conform to a slanted roof. Using the top of the bottle draw a circle in the center of the lid with a magic marker. Cut the hole slightly larger by cutting away the entire marker line. Cut a small wedge out of it.

Snug the inner circle around the neck of the bottle. It should overlap slightly. If it doesn’t, cut slivers out of the inner circle till it does

Drill holes on each side of the bottle cap and put two 10” cords from the outside in and tie knots in the ends. Then shove them down the sides of the lid.

Snug the inner circle of the roof on the neck of the bottle and hold the overlap jwhile you screw the cap on tightly. The cap usually secures the roof in place.

This was the completion of the original plan but I still had vine left over.

I added evergreen twigs and a freshly cut runaway Camelia branch to hold them together. I purpously sized and tied the wreath so the bottle would be wedged into it . I cut the cords in the bottle cap in half and tied the cap to the wreath. I added a hanging cord to the wreath slightly to one side to compensate for the weight of the evergreens and pine cone

I Just want to add that any kind of freshly cut long thin branches can be used for small wreaths. Here are the runaway Camellia branches I cut today. If a branch breaks when bending the thicker end Just break or cut iit off. They break because they get woody and less malleable.