A dad has completed a unique labour of love as a way of brightening up his children’s Christmas.
Joiner Eddie Coutts spent more than 100 hours crafting an intricately detailed model church with a working clock and manse for his garden, which lights up in the dark and shows patterns on a replica stained glass window.
The 49-year-old’s home on Craigferrar Way in Aboyne has now become a local attraction, as admirers flock to see his creation.
Although he built the model with 11-year-old daughter Nicole and eight-year-old son Leon in mind, Mr Coutts said the creative process had “brought out the child in him”.
He said: “It is really for the kids, and the kids in the street as they pass by on the way to school.
“I work seven days a week so this has taken about 100 hours, all in the evening.
“Most nights over the last few weeks I would be in the shed until 11.30pm, but it has been worth it.
“My daughter Nicole is arty too, so likes to help, and it makes me feel good.
“If I ever have any frustrations, I just go to the shed and make something and then feel much better.”
The church has been crafted from pieces of wood left over from Mr Coutts’ work, as he “never throws anything away”.
The roof is made of lead, with the working clock attached, and a six inch nail has been turned upside down to form a spire.
Perspex windows on the church model have been coloured to act as stained glass when cast aglow by a small light inside.
And Mr Coutts has even sliced up branches to make the “logs” for a miniature shed outside, and placed a tiny axe – with a lead blade and a repurposed coffee stirrer as a handle – alongside them.
But the joiner says the model remains a work in progress, with yet more additions to come.
He said: “I’ll be adding wee bits here and there, eventually I want to make it look like Santa has been by leaving a present and some reindeer.”
And the kind-natured dad is considering using the popularity of the showpiece to raise money for charity, by creating a slot for donations in the roof of the manse.