Basic house

1 The pink birdhouse is the most basic of the four houses. It is one plank deep and two planks wide. Measure your plank width – mine is 7.5cm – and cut two pieces of 15cm for the sides; four pieces of 16cm for the front and back; and two pieces of 14cm for the roof. Sand all the cut edges.

2

Lay out your pieces – two pieces flat for the back, two sides, and topped with the two pieces for the front. For the base, measure the internal dimensions; cut a plank. Mine is 12.5 x 7.5cm.

3

In one of the front planks, drill an entry hole using the paddle drill bit – the ideal entry hole is 38mm (1½in) but I only had a 35mm (1¼in) paddle drill bit.

4

In the front and back planks, pre-drill the holes for the nails with the 2mm (⅛in) drill bit to prevent the wood splitting. You need three per side, 1cm in from the edges.

5 Apply wood glue to the short sides of the base and attach the side pieces. Apply more glue and stick the front and back pieces in place, then nail together through the pre-drilled holes.

6 Glue and nail the base in place, predrilling the nail holes and making sure the entry hole is in the upper part of the house. Glue and nail the roof in place, with the overhang above the entry hole.

7 Sand to smooth all edges. Paint your house – I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Henrietta. When dry, add details in other paint colours or with a black Sharpie, then apply a matt outdoor varnish.