Turn scrap wood into charming bookends: build and paint a miniature house
Dreaming of a quaint wooden house? Use leftover wood to craft a miniature version of your dream home! This little village of houses will settle on your shelf and is sure to delight children at playtime.
Materials for the scrap wood bookend:
- Old wooden blocks
- Old nails and screws
- Saw
- Acrylic paint and brush
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Wooden sticks of various sizes (e.g., ice cream sticks)
Instructions for the scrap wood bookend:
1. Arrange the wooden blocks to explore the types of buildings you can make. Cut the blocks to make houses and roofs. Remember, the houses can be very different from one another and still look beautiful together.
2. Use a hot glue gun to attach the roof, and fix a chimney—an old nail or screw—to it. If inserting the old nail into the wood is difficult, you can first drill a hole into the roof and secure the nail with glue.
3. Examine the wood’s surface and decide whether you want to paint the house with acrylic paint or leave it in its natural wood tone. If you decide to paint, mix a soft, light shade. Paint the wood lightly, allowing the wood to show through in some spots.
4. Make a door from wooden sticks. Glue the sticks together using horizontal and diagonal supports. Alternatively, you can paint the door directly onto the house’s wall.
5. Paint the windows completely black first, and once the paint has dried, add white frames and crossbars.
