Thanksgiving is a great time to get creative with gourds, but perhaps you want to decorate them in a new way. Here are some great ideas on decorating your Thanksgiving gourds.
Engraving Gourds
Items you will need
Wood-burning pen
Pencil or pen
Gourd
One great way to be creative is using your own design and then engraving that design onto the gourd. First you will trace your design on the gourd with either a pencil or pen. Then you will heat up the wood-burning pen and go over your design with it. To get an even line you need to go slow. This is a great way to show off your design skills.
Gourd Center Piece Bowl
Items you will need
Gourd
Pencil
Nail
Mini hand jigsaw
Drill with wire brush
Sand paper
Sealer
First pick a gourd that has a nice round bottom for a bowl. Next you will use a pencil to trace a line to cut the bowl section. Now puncture the line with a nail, then take your mini hand jigsaw and go into the hole then cut the area you have traced to cut off your bowl. Now you will want to scrap out the inside of the gourd. Make sure you get all of the pulp from inside and to help you do this use the drill with a wire brush. Please make sure to wear protective gear for your eyes and a mask. Then you go over the inside and lip with sandpaper to make sure it is all smooth. Now you can paint or stain the outside of the bowl or the inside. Pick colors that are great for fall and thanksgiving. Orange and black work great just like brown does as well. You can paint the inside one color and use multiple colors on the outside, or vice versa. Just remember once you paint a section, like the outside, let it completely dry before painting the inside. Once it is all painted the way you want, use a sealer on the inside and outside. I recommend a high gloss sealer such as MinWax Poly-crylic sealer. This makes a great center piece item for your table. You can place a cloth inside and use it for your rolls at dinner time.
Gourd Turkey
Items you will need
Gourd
Round toothpicks
Pumpkin
Orange rind
Cloves
Corn husks or tamale wrappers
Tempera paints
Pair of red gloves
I found this gourd craft at Familyfun.go.com. To form the turkey’s face, push some toothpicks halfway into one side of the gourd then attach it to the pumpkin with the remaining portion of toothpicks sticking out. Now take the chili pepper and push a tooth pick through one side, then attach to the gourd for the wattle.
Use two orange rind circles with a clove in the center for the eyes. Use the cloves to push into the gourd to attach them.
You will want to dilute some tempura paints so you can tint the corn husks to use as feathers. Use two parts water to one part paint. Once the husks are tinted then use toothpicks to attach them to the pumpkin.
Once your turkey is put together, place on top of the red gloves to give your turkey feet.
You can also use more tinted husks or some dried fall leaves to set under the turkey for further decoration.
Decorating for thanksgiving is fun. If you have children get them involved with what they can do as well to make it a family event. Have a safe and fun Thanksgiving!
For more ideas please visit the following sites.
Theartfulcrafter.comGourd Decorating Methods
