Thanks for visiting my site.
Welcome to my collection of unique, handcrafted architectural birdhouses. All designed and crafted to have an "antique" look.
I find design inspiration from old homes and churches. These unique, handcrafted pieces are created with western red cedar exteriors for many years of use outdoors.
Classic pieces that look wonderful in the garden or home.
Jim
THE STORY:
Growing up in New England, we were surrounded by beautiful old architecture. The homes in many of the old seaport towns where we lived are some of the oldest homes in the United States.
Taking my interest in woodworking, I have been able to recreate many of the homes and buildings that are so familiar to me growing up.
My wife and I enjoy our wooded backyard and the many birds we have been able to attract through the habitat we have provided for them.
THE CRAFT:
The creation of handcrafted birdhouses with inspiration from old homes, churches, and school houses.
THE PROCESS:
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care."
Matthew 10:29
Each handcrafted birdhouse starts with a review of the overall dimensions, angles, windows and colors. From there a base "box" is built that forms the base for the birdhouse. Next cedar strips are glued and nailed to the house to resemble the siding. Then some molding goes on to frame the doors and windows. Windows and shutters added, then on to paint and top coats for outdoor use.
The cedar exterior and multiple coats of finish will preserve these birdhouses for many years of outdoor use.
About the artist....
I started creating hand crafted birdhouses years ago mostly for gifts and for our garden in Roswell GA. Over the years, our garden has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and the plans for several on my birdhouses were available for purchase through BH&G.
Our young family is no longer "young" and I have found there is time to get back into building birdhouses. I was very fortunate to meet a gentleman from North Georgia who provided some new inspiration as I got back into building birdhouses. Each birdhouse is numbered adding to it's one of kind character. The colors are selected from a historical color palette of Benjamin Moore paints.
Thank you for taking the time to look at my work and please contact
me if I can answer any questions.
Jim
colors
Colors reflect historical palette of exterior homes. Each of the homes have been painted (exterior only) with colors that are selected from various historical color collections.
maintenance
In order to properly clean the birdhouses each season, either the base or the roof is removable. Wood screws are used for panel access and the access depends on the style of the birdhouse.
Materials
The base structure of all the houses is pine which is best for the birds as there are no chemicals. All exterior wood is rot resistant cedar. Paint colors are latex acrylics sealed with several coats of high quality acrylic exterior product.
WHY 10:29?
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10: 29-31
"Sparrow" is the name given to several different species of birds in the Bible -- they ate grain and insects and gathered in noisy flocks. Sparrows would often build their untidy nests in the eaves of houses, but were not driven away when they built their nests in the Temple (Psa. 84:3).
In the days of our Lord sparrows were sold for a very low price -- two of them for a copper coin (Matt. 10:29). So insignificant were these little birds that if you bought four sparrows the seller would throw in one more for free (Luke 12:4-7). It was this extra sparrow of which Jesus said, "and not one of them is forgotten before God." His care for His creation is so great that even this extra sparrow is noted and observed by God!
The point our Lord was making is this: if God is concerned about the tiny sparrow and notes its fate, how much greater must His concern be for man, who is immeasurably greater in value than the sparrow! Jesus said, "not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will" (Matt. 10:29). It is very interesting that Jesus chose the most common of all birds to teach a profound truth: in God's eyes, no one is insignificant!
We may not esteem the tiny sparrow, but Jesus used it to illustrate our heavenly Father's watchful care: "you are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt. 10:31). If God is concerned about the tiny sparrow, how much greater must His concern be for man, who is immeasurably greater in value than the sparrow!
There is no place for worry in the life of a sparrow, and no attempt stockpile supplies for the future -- yet their lives go on. The point Jesus is making is not that the birds do not work; it has been said that no one works harder than a sparrow to make a living; the point He is making is that they do not worry. Sparrows do not strain to see into a future, which they cannot see, and do not seek to find security in the things they have accumulated for the future.
His eye is on the sparrow...
In 1904, a songwriter, Mrs. Civilla Martin, went to visit a bedridden friend in Elmira, New York. Mrs. Martin asked the woman if she ever got discouraged because of her physical condition. Her friend quickly responded: "Mrs. Martin, how can I be discouraged when my heavenly Father watches over each little sparrow and I know He loves and cares for me?"
On her journey back home, Mrs. Martin completed the writing of her new text, which has since been a source of much encouragement to many of God's people:
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely and long for Heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me...
Let not your heart be troubled His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears.
Though by the path He leadeth but one step I may see
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me...
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies
I draw the closer to Him; from care He sets me free
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me...
The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Mrs. Martin and the hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of that experience.
Remember... In God's eyes, no one is insignificant!
