This craft was shared with me by my daughter's former preschool teacher. Ms. Jane continues to be one of the most artistic teachers Emily has had; the crafts the kids made at 3 and 4 were some of the most adorable and creative I have seen. We are grateful for Ms. Jane and the love of crafts she instilled in the children she lovingly cared for!
This project uses a plastic coffee can but any tall plastic container with a lid will work. I am a huge fan of recycled crafts and remember, a great place to get your materials is the ReSource Warehouse here in Hickory. I have seen plastic containers available there for free! Another hint as you work on this project: mixing a little bit of school glue with the craft paint often helps the color adhere to the plastic container.
Materials needed:
- plastic coffee can or similar container with plastic lid
- acrylic paints (colors depend on your design)
- paint brushes
- razor knife and/or scissors
- awl or something to poke holes
- glue
- piece of drowel or sturdy twig
- googly eyes (optional)
- pipe cleaners
- plastic embroidery canvas
- string, electrical wire or something to use to hang the birdhouse
- modge podge or spray acrylic
I used empty coffee cans to make the bird houses for decorative purposes only; if you want to use the houses outdoors, use plastic cans as tin or metal would get too hot for the birds.
Decide what you want to make; I made a lady bug, butterfly, cricket, and bumblebee. You can really make anything you can imagine.
Painting the cans with acrylic paints worked best; I put several coats on and allowed to dry. 
Then I cut out an opening in the lid for the mouth and made a hole for the perch: a cut dowel rod.
The eyes were painted on but you can glue on googly eyes if you prefer. 
Poke two holes in the can to weave a pipe cleaner through and shape for antennas.
For the wings, I cut slits in the sides of the can and inserted plastic embroidery canvas that I had prepainted and cut to desired shapes. It's kid safe and easy to use. 
I cut two holes in the top and inserted black electrical wire to hang the birdhouse by.
To finish off and keep it from scratching, use modge podge or clear spray acrylic.
That's about it ~ A fun craft and the Grandkids loved it!!!
