Any other gourd crafters here?

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Dawn419

Dawn419

Lost in the Woods
12 Years
Apr 16, 2007
3,365
132
238
Evening Shade, AR
I got into "gourding" a few years ago and love it! I started out with making bird houses and just went wild after that!

Here are some pix of the different things I make with gourds:

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Sewing box:

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Toad Houses:

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Mask wall hanging:

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I've sold a few but mainly make them as gifts for friends and family.

The "shingles" on the gourd houses are gourd seeds. I bake them first (Skip's afraid they'd sprout if I don't), then attach them to the gourd with marine grade silicone. After I'm done shingling, I coat the seeds with several coats of Modge Podge. All of the pictures are decoupaged since I'm not good at painting.


Dawn
 
Those are awesome. I've been growing birdhouse gourds for the past 2 years. Last years crop yielded about 12 usable gourds, this year I only got 1 usable gourd. I have mostly been doing some plain birdhouses, sometimes with some "woodburning" on them. Next year I plan on planting about 2000 sqft of birdhouse gourds.
 
those are cute!..how do you do it?...i'm assuming scoop it out through the hole?...but, how do you perserve it?..thanks for the great pics!
 
I do not have the pics on this puter but I have made bowl and beaded vases and baskets with woodburnt designs on them from gourds...I wish I could find the time to do more but I enjoy working with them.

Yours are beautiful...great work. What type of paint do you use?
 
Last edited:
redoak,

It was a bad year for gourds here, also. We've been in a drought for the past several years, so I baby the darn things with a soaker hose, hand water as needed and mulch heavily...to no avail!!!
barnie.gif
Will try again next year, however!
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redhen,

For the birdhouses, I use spoons, clothes hangers (cut -up) and anything else I can think of to clean out the seeds.

For the toad houses, there is a large hole in the bottom of the gourd so the frogs/toads can burrow into the ground.

ry%3D400


I use Modge Podge (several coats) to preserve them and make them weather-proof. You can also use waxes/polishes intended for floors, furniture, shoes and leather. Varnishes, shellac, polyurethane, wood sealers, wood stains and resins can also be used as a preservative.

Thanks Cetawin!

I use Apple Barrel Acrylic paints on them.


Dawn
 
I've seen some simply amazing things done with gourds, been wanting to try some (have a lot of gourds, haven't had the time).

Made a shekere (spelling? ) before, a small one. My sister made some fantastic bowls out of the really huge gourds (bushel baskets gourds) used woodburning and painting on them.

If I ever get some free time, I have a few of the bushel basket gourds, and some bird house gourds - and I have seeds for bushel basket gourds I been meaning to plant....

meri
 
Don't have any pictures but made several birdhouses about 4 years ago and also made quite alot of ornaments with gourd eggs..I have a bag of gourds in the garage now in case I get so motivated again, lol!
 
Quote:
Mere...

Way to go on the spelling of shekerie!
bow.gif
You only forgot the "i"...I never get close to spelling that one, without looking it up.

What kind of beads did you use? I have plans to make a few of them (gourds are ready to go) but can't decide on the beads.
barnie.gif


Scrambled,

Love the ornament idea! Time has been the hold-up here also, plus I have atleast 4 unfinished gourd projects that I need to finish before I should really start any more.

My "projects-in-the-works" end up hanging all over the living room and Skip says it's like walking through an obstacle course...he's a foot taller than I am.
lau.gif



Dawn
 
I had vines with gourds growing on them but Hurricane Ike took them somewhere in the wind.I had most of mine growing up tree trunks..
sad.png
Knocked my huge luffa sponges outta my trees that I had them growing up on..busted them up when they fell to the ground..
Well I will try again next year...LOL...Gourds above looks awsome...
 

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