In my experience, you just have to remember when to say "make" and when to say "do". The native English speakers would say there's a rule ""make" means you end up creating something and "do" means it's just an action that may lead to some finished product or not", but the rule has many exceptions. (Like, why is it "to make love"? It's not like sexual intercourse is expected to result in the partners falling in love.)
As a little consolation for you, I can tell you that we struggle just as hard with the distinction of "ser" and "estar".