For Mother’s Day, I got a little crafty (with my beloved gourds of course – Ronny might call me obsessed!). I created fun birdhouses to give as gifts. I did quite a bit of research on how to correctly dry my gourds and store them. I wrote about that here.
![DSC00540-2](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8Ji78jEYaZbcjEB6C73PeQfp2ZrxlmHG-o42b2IzI5eVDVytvTS5Gk8IyopHa6sfR7SyBJRHiUm_iE-Q3dnhtGXnqL7TXV2oitusuUb68V_QOaPu21JN9ofkC3PDjNadePV8tyz1pTQ/?imgmax=800)
I waited about 6 months until they were totally cured and dried so that I could hear the seeds rattling around inside. I decided to make my mothers and grandma a birdhouse – just in time for Mother’s Day. Here is the tutorial:
Gourd Birdhouse
Supplies: Gourd(s), rubber gloves, mouth & nose mask, bleach, sandpaper, drill & drill bits, wire, twine.
1. Start by taking fine sandpaper to the mold spots on the gourd. {be sure you are wearing your gloves and mask…you don’t want to breath in mold! I have proof that I wore mine.} My gourd had a lot of wrinkles, so I had to be a little careful with the sanding so it didn’t leave a lot of marks.
![DSC01940 DSC01940](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJEpQo_Ldic0Jazo939ZmSs6Z0qnrYOmgVPtlOvLWljv0jjAvScChAJcoo_ZiC_pmowcE02vWCS5iV7M5pOrc5kY-MWib4BXvgtur0f_AxEJaC4ZJ3ZYQRsLTmJODGdOQAfwF3l5-my4/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01951 DSC01951](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZkdqj7wyXZUPrJF39kqJcq3vIpMEc2qjqkiqQZeAvCLVQYn2PqSHP1YJZwKzeM6mtX0RUvy7VbguAZhpK-9mEWlvw4W0o3e9IaOYNS0luk9Plsf6-RBuZQS8tQsnLQclx2yLuBoy0PY/?imgmax=800)
2. After you remove the mold, give the gourd a diluted bleach bath. This will help get some of the mold off. Then be sure to let it dry.
![DSC01939 DSC01939](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMcmSUKoFcOMrjwHsvYe0elBMGgsNVKIDqOxjNbDzh9qQjeua7iP-JKHsT4bCq-H8AOW-cy-F00EfZhZ9toJhMaMtpZ5qemmZX4yTB9yCGwuTfGE6iYKKRBgmC2bAc0z7OXjn_1U-5Rk/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01937 DSC01937](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWNKHIQlr5bPk8KW3CaNjMbUS1fkTK-K4vSaBvwCvXs-HInonWDaaG3pz_g60XFnokHFkqHwkdOD4K-BKWLG1Gxo8JE_yFM4GznYtGf_p_aFtHqTzQL8vaaO6Yi0W1_VEsm4zEckCZYc/?imgmax=800)
3. After it is dry, start with the bottom and drill 3-5 small holes. This will allow for any drainage of water that gets into the birdhouse.
![DSC01942 DSC01942](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0sdRwQYhetWy9dd976-ZxGFU5voJhPuX8qz0zM-pK5GhcnaLcNMxdWDw-JKpr-QPOCcdFnZKI0HbvEBkLIozgrJoN7ilBGiiCcJkZuxrAeebnqVExNC-vDGASP8FUjCIHUo3uQhnbPI/?imgmax=800)
4. Next, drill a hole through both sides of the gourd underneath the stem in order to hang your gourd.
![DSC01943 DSC01943](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPjfI2c8GDopNwTooxCXlu4_v5xBIPA8ZBbRvEXHPku6q8sTFt3WrtFIDeioihBEth3-82dZ0v-vz0ag-Ti8chuTkfnQggl-VyLRTPwlWjTwnJmIjcx7R72A0XhrHcMHMsbqmRnsuuBA/?imgmax=800)
5. To create the hole for the birds, make sure to research what kind of birds might be in your area to use it. I used this chart and decided to create about a 2-inch hole. You can use a large drill bit, but I decided to make several small holes in a circular pattern where I wanted my bird opening.
![DSC01944 DSC01944](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SZAfueUV4H6sY1_GUX600dRSRMv1RNnR4CEO9G8ZfYjQOqt5NWYRtLh3NmJTd1PeDucau32JCNxWPLGh_D-7hvWMmaAbb1K0E-VTtQzEE7V2cqETG7IjX8M91TNij-w5FsnAJFC5ATI/?imgmax=800)
6. Punch out the center of the hole, or use the drill bit to “cut-through” to the surrounding holes. Then sand the edges smooth.
![DSC01945 DSC01945](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6esVBkBpSuPvcso-OS0dddLOZMA0AQzv-uwAjLDiSYcaH5W4huCfWrUWiP3FijQmG8Iz-xR81qVkltduywkUnlEYDbd4nL3eBbsfZRMbGcoTSVOVUSwqdzspwshTc6vJaYUAWQyl2Iw/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01947 DSC01947](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WWpJOJej3mzeh0WwQPo1jZ6aJf-A8VcHYe4d3n4VaLNP1_3kChfBNyO7uFiQaE9Zlp06scdfD2PnGWwOCNx3qcVRtzjLoon2j6KZo-gZyvo9bwk85wL0avmnpNmdYqncDKNeHQLEHkY/?imgmax=800)
7. Pull the “innerds” out. Some of the websites that I found said to leave a few of the seeds inside to help attract birds.
![DSC01948 DSC01948](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZah2uEamc8d8Mm3UUBk9MyOMKJuCkH0dt8MV6eql7m5S9TEKsGbvLk1GaWpIpl0czkE5ZG8ziQxKhBxwe1tM4mwfP51i7tIw13SqqQNlrVHYAT0lmhjnc8-Bz4j0CmQdKT6MdxHyGMo0/?imgmax=800)
Almost done!
![DSC01950 DSC01950](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxf7dSRWPxarGoJzd2rfZ3evLM3QKnCNLZ-y4L-kiVVlDcueQhIrUxtOnT1PT0Dfv-PP5cLXTWY7EkBN-74_wperBgqHrGc6stSwjTpwBWgdmXLNHxjFo2XJhfMQMqWYpkDNG8QrAHsw/?imgmax=800)
8. To finish it up, you can use spray paint or just a polyurethane coating. The paint or coating will keep the gourd from rotting. Here is an example of a “hammered” textured spray paint I used on most of the gourds, but I left my favorite gourd natural and just used the clear polyurethane coat.
![DSC01956 DSC01956](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BV0Ve35zRwfnTPYobWDaEKeFg5HcPfdAUZJuelweZwVW1lkApAh0SrSGOGcEwjlnz6zgqoGEVJ_F0Xw6bu1eZnutMRdbg5NeyO74eVIGls-oNR6CyaZapcqcic_RTI2hm_HjZ5ehB6A/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01958 DSC01958](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULd6B6PYnQ34YYIRenetyWYZne5sFRGouKRjflPuhQmn8HZVKhxPo497jzGoZk4FZw5JpMdAf5sxNdaQ5TY7o55MWS4ZNecz7ZdFsDb0AB_EmGVA1nrtEljRFbXR18ngweKrTIwL-2Ng/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01955 DSC01955](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPppFQGP7iDWBfnPyZdb7S-FRtAkFZ0eRaignEI9CIB1dU-a6EGTNUNYjhyphenhyphenNRn4Vec_f9lhlNM8p66_b_iTWnkxGfmLtRqCNGgMli6GRLsA5y-IpBioCNhpMe7-yCJFhnfBIcTWkV-3I/?imgmax=800)
9. In order to hand the gourd, Ronny helped me put a small wire through the stem hole. I then tied jute twine (because that is what I had – you could use wire or any other type of hanging material) to the wire and hung from my tree.
![DSC01973 DSC01973](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlIhFd7l29TsutuJHjPjDRoKH2CDob-XS1bHup5k1RSSe0_xnZfvXkmmgjNzmVjqBypABpVdQzEH85CJoMFlsZPqG2lJnFpuCmTJlE047JuNotSRBE8ha_1NcCpAGN34a0eaJcPgxGXA/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01974 DSC01974](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGhl1btwNkIcFu2BY3oCko-iz1d_eylVNjxHjSi2DCri-Hxvdm9Uc7C9OqA9AhVrnjQ5AwhcDToX_5QBs5MMDiKgrA74c7RCiBqSsWi-q5moQ3bHm_oMcpAgDWdq9LXNZiHV-JOd-3sQ/?imgmax=800)
![DSC01977 DSC01977](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVNspOOsVdDpa7bO1ZW-6nh9mkfrhyphenhyphen4FldyslUSkrmcGkZwdMnIqza-xl8X2lr4Izz-eJGkRBjOpAOZDT8fgyaGFrtbNVIzkQ8sv01tawLXJlgyPlTJh2XEWta_kU2Xo4gkzupnYRKio/?imgmax=800)