You can create a beautiful and natural handcrafted birdhouse or bird feeder that will look great in your backyard and be a real conversation point. They are truly built from nature and one of a kind, since no two gourds are alike and you add your own style.
Materials:
gourd (about 7 inches in diameter). Use dipper, penguin, martin, birdhouse, or small Chinese gourd varieties. (You can order gourds from the farms listed in the right sidebar.)
18″ copper wire
2 large decorative beads
1 cup hook
metal scrub pad
drill and/or an Exacto saw
Optional:
wood-burning tool
waterproof pens
acrylic paints
leather dye
polyurethane finish
Instructions:
Wet the outside of the gourd with warm water. Allow the water to soak in for about five to ten minutes. Scrub the outside of the gourd with a metal scrubber pad to remove the dirt. The gourd should be clean and smooth, though it will have some imperfections. Allow to dry.
Use a drill to make the holes. Drill two 1/8 inch holes in the top for the hanger and four more in the bottom for drainage. Use a drill or an Exacto saw to make the birdhouse opening: it should be 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. For the birdfeeder, use an Exacto saw and make a large opening on one side (or both). The opening can be any shape you like as long as it’s large enough to allow the birds to see the food and get in to eat it.
Remove cover from gourd hole and pull out the inside seeds and matter. Use your fingers, tweezers, needle-nose pliers, a spoon–whatever works to break up the seed ball and shake it all out. It is not necessary to have the entire inside smooth. Just get the loose part out.
Push the wire through the two holes at the top. Twist the ends together to form a loop through the hole. Pull the loop around to hide the twisted part inside the top of the gourd.
Bend the wire flat at the tip of the loop. Push the flattened part through the two beads, thus stringing the beads onto the folded wire.
Open the wire loop above the beads and insert a pencil in the opening. While holding the beads in place, twist the wire with the pencil until it is twisted tight and twisted all the way through the beads.
If you want, decorate your gourd. You can decorate it using a wood-burning tool, waterproof pens, acrylic paints, leather dye, or you can leave it plain.
We recommend that you put a polyurethane finish on the outside of the gourd. Though gourds are durable and able to withstand the elements as they are, they will eventually break down. The polyurethane will help them last longer.
Using the cup hook, install your gourd birdhouse on the north side of your house, under the eaves. The gourd birdfeeder may be used anywhere in your yard.
Add some birdseed to the feeder; grow some millet for them–they’ll love it. Enjoy watching the birds flock to your gourd!