Before you start please make sure you read step one carefully.

You will need to make sure you alter all the slots on your design to the thickness of wood you are using. My wood was an awkward size and therefore you will need to adjectives the thickness of the slots accordingly.

You will need to select each slot and unlock the measurement.

Now change the width to the thickness of the material (I usually add about a 0.1 or 0.2 mm for ‘wiggle’ room.

It may be worth cutting a test slot in a small rectangle separate from the project to ensure the thickness is correct. 

Once you are happy with these changes lock the measurements so that you don't accidently change them. 

You are now ready to make the house.

Now that you are ready to cut out your hotel out. Black areas are to be cut, red areas are score. Orange are elements, and you can choose to use these or leave them off.

No other sizing is needed.

Place your chosen material into the laser and ensure that all elements are placed on the material using the camera on the laser. 

Next ensure that the settings for the cutting and scoring are suitable for the material used. My settings are for guidance only and were suitable for the material I was using at the time. 

Set the thickness of the material.

Once you are happy send the design to cut. Ensure you always keep an eye on the laser when it is in use.

When the cut is finished remove form the laser. You may want to leave the design unpainted. If so, move onto the next step.

I used acrylic paint pens to decorate the outside of the hotel. Once all the parts were painted I left them to dry. If you want the paints to dry quicker give them a short blast with a hairdryer or crafting heat gun.

Now it is time to assemble the hotel. You will see that there are gaps around the box. These were done on purpose so that there are more ways for the bugs to get in. Don't once it is finished you will not be able to see these gaps. 

This was a little fiddly to put together and I needed an extra pair of hands to help. 

Allow the glue to set before you move onto the next step.

Now it's time to get creative and fill the hotel with lots of luxury items for the bugs. We used bamboo canes (the ones on the garden centres weren't hollow so I found a children's fishing net and chopped up the handle!), some moss and then went for a walk and collected some stick which I also then cut to size.

NOTE** When sticking the rooms in be careful not to stick anything to close to the screw holes at the back otherwise you will have trouble hanging the hotel on the wall.

Using a hot glue gun stick the ‘rooms’ into your hotel as you wish.

If you wanted to add any finishing touches.  I added a ‘balcony’ across the moss and added some cute bugs to the front and stuck the ‘Bug Hotel’ sign to the front. 

With my 3D printer I am also going to make some cute ladybirds to sit on the roof and maybe a little bee to sit on the honeycomb side.

To hang (we have not done this yet - as true to form the weather this Easter Weekend in the UK is cold and wet) make the screw holes on the fence/wall and screw or hammer nails in. 

Hang the box over the fixings. One happy holiday home for a bug!