A CRAFT DAY FOR THE BIRDS

Time to share a great project that my book group girls just finished.  We had a great time putting these birdhouses together and most of the girls had never used a drill, jigsaw, or electric sander.  These turned out so well that I think we'll be doing another wood project down the road.  Here are some pictures to show the process of Woodworking 101 - it was a beautiful and cool summer night when we worked on these!  

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Jan and Beth, sanding away at their roofing pieces.

Measure twice . . . cut once!  And whatever you do, don't forget your pearls!  That's Kirsten, keepin' it classy!

We had a few nailing mishaps . . .

The jigsaw didn't scare Gwen!

Kirsten - making an entrance.

Then, Day Two:  Painting  

(Not everyone could make it today, so there will be two more birdhouses added to the pictures soon.)

 After painting, we sanded to rough up the edges a bit.

 Then stained and wiped it off quickly - just enough to give a warm color to the sanded spots.

 And we're done!

 My birdhouse is in place by the garden and ready for customers.

Beautiful!!!  What bird wouldn't want to make these their home?

Do you want to have a craft day for the birds too?  Keep these things in mind:

1.  Birdhouses should not have a perch.  Even though they look nice, the birds don't need them and they give predators easy access to eggs and baby birds.  Birds will be more likely to choose a house that looks safe.  They're smarter than you think!

2.  Birdhouses should have drainage holes on the bottom to keep down the growth of bacteria and mold after a rain.  (Yes, ours have drainage holes.)

3.  Ideally, a birdhouse should have a hinged roof so you can clean out old nests after each nesting season.  (No, ours don't - that will come next with Woodworking 200!)

4.  The holes should be at least 5" from the bottom of the box, to discourage predators from just reaching in and helping themselves!

5.  Adding another piece of wood for the door makes for a deeper entrance - another deterrent to thieves.

6.  Remember, the height of the birdhouse will help determine who will be interested. 

        Tree Swallows prefer houses 5-15 ft. off the ground in an open area near water.

House Wrens prefer to be 4-10 ft. off the ground in a field or thicket.

Carolina Wrens prefer being 5-10 ft. off the ground in a field or thicket.

Chickadees prefer to be 5-15 ft. off the ground in open woods.

Downy Woodpeckers prefer to be 5-20 feet off the ground in forest openings.

and

House Finches prefer to be 5-10 feet off the ground in backyards.

Sharing on Metamorphosis Monday