Turn An Old Book Into Cutesy Bird Decor For Your Home

Hundreds of millions of books end up rotting away in landfills every year. Instead of letting your old ones do the same, why not find a way to repurpose them around your home? If you like birds and want a chance to represent both your love of these elegant animals and your passion for reading, try making a cute, decorative birdhouse from the tomes. Even if you don't have your own books you want to repurpose, they are a cheap thrift store find that everyone overlooks — so grab a few with pretty covers and pictures to use. 

It should be noted that though this DIY looks like a charming birdhouse, it's probably for the best that you just use it for decoration. The cardboard and paper are likely to turn moldy and fall apart when introduced to the elements, and they don't provide a lot of insulation. If you want to use up some other old items you own, you can make functional and creative birdhouses from recycled materials you may have lying around. 

But while it may not be a functional birdhouse, it is a wonderful piece of decor to put in your home. To get started on this project, you need only a few items. In addition to your old hardcover book, gather cardboard, scissors, a box cutter, and a hot glue gun. You can use any kind of cardboard you have, including old cereal boxes, shoeboxes, or delivery boxes.

To start, pull all the pages out of the book. Then, cut the cardboard, using your book cover as a reference. Make the bottom the same size as your closed book. You can adjust the height of the sides, but you want their widths to be the same as the width and length of the cover so that when you use the book as the roof, it all touches. Additionally, give the front and back sides of the house pointed tops to match the open cover angle.

Add a circular hole to the front using your box cutter. To get a proper circle, trace a small circular object first. Then, use the hot glue to attach all the sides together and to the bottom piece. Once all of that is dry, glue your book cover to the top to act as the roof. Add a few more decorations to make it yours, such as ribbons, stickers, extra decorative pages, a bit of trim on the side, or even a chimney. 

If you have several books to repurpose, you can take a few covers and replace the cardboard. This works particularly well with children's stories because of all the colors and images. You won't need many of the pages themselves. To use those, you can upcycle old books into charming fall decor on a dime by carving the paper into three-dimensional shapes.