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Making a birdhouse out of a gourd can be a great family activity. You can grow your own gourds or buy them from a garden center or farm stand. The best gourd to use is a bottle gourd or sometimes called a Mexican bottle gourd. You want to get a gourd that has 3 or 4 inches of the stem left on as this is how you are going to hang it up. If the gourd is not dried out you must dry it out, placing it in a warm dry area, and this can take several months. Without cutting into the gourd, which will ruin it for making a birdhouse, check that it is dry by shaking it. If you hear the seeds inside the gourd is dry. Once it’s dried, wash the outside of the gourd with soapy water and let it dry. Now you can decide if you want to paint it or just shellac it. If you paint it let the coats dry 24 hours before you shellac it. You must shellac it or it will rot in the weather. Cut a 1 1/2 inch diameter hole in it and clean out the seeds. Hang your birdhouse with a wire through the stem. The birds will do the rest.

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