Hubby bought me this giant gourd at a yard sale and cleaned it for me. You need to take the top layer of skin off. It's about 15 x 19. Hubby was appalled that I was doing the biggest one first but I had a gourd shard I did a few samples on first. I knew the smaller ones would seem easier in comparison.I went to the yard and got some lovely oak leaves for a pattern and traced them on the gourd then I woodburned them. Then I very gently put the black on the gourd with a q-tip. It is leather dye. Then the gourd is sprayed with a sealer. Voila!
Oh that is really, really beautiful Bethie!!!! I would be so proud to own something like that. I would never have thought to decorate a gourd in that way. Well done!!!!
Bethie, that is beautiful. I painted some birdhouse gourds a few years ago, some Randy drilled an opening for the birds and some I left undrilled just painted for decoration. I have woodburning gourds on my ever growing list of projects I want to try, but they just never get done. I am thinking getting the really large ones and making bowls.
So beautiful .You always do great work.I do love that gourd.I tried to find seeds last year but never found them.I have some bird house gourds I may try to do something with this year.
I love the leaf pattern you did - beautiful. This is one I made a while back, it's about a foot tall - the flash made it a little lighter in coloring, it looks more dark purple and bronze in real life. I swabbed the inside with black dye, the outside is a rubbed leather dye also. Glued scraps of suede for the collar and added one earring from a pair I had lost the other to for the bangle. It decorates a small myrtlewood table in the hallway at my house.
Jan, I put three websites for ordering gourds under the Craft projects for 2007 topic. http://www.gardenstew.com/about3899-15.html
Lovely. I grow gourds on the allotment but they never seem to get dry enough for me to use. I shall endevour to do better this year!
I saw them Toni. I could never ever do what you do with a raw gourd. I want one like you make. How can I order one?
Very lovely Bethie and Prim. I might have to try my hand at that. Bethie, you have passed 500 posts, are you going to pick another name.
