Can you carve gourds

They also require a large garden since the vines can grow to fifty feet or more. They should then be placed on pallets and dried in the sun for a week or two. Next, they should be moved to a warm dry space indoors. Drying can take from several weeks to several months, depending on the size of the gourds. If the seeds rattle as you shake the gourd, it is ready to carve. Once you have the gourds, the rest is easy! I noticed that the gourds I bought were a bit moldy, so I started my project by scrubbing the gourds with a bleach-water solution.

Once the surface had dried, I sanded the gourds lightly with a fine grit sandpaper to remove any imperfections. I immediately grabbed a safety mask! I placed a dowel rod through one of the pilot holes, and removed the dried seeds and pulp. I then used my craft knife to cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth. To finish and preserve the gourd, I stained the exterior with wood stain. The first coat left the surface somewhat blotchy, so I used a second coat. I then applied several coats of polyurethane.

I really enjoyed this project, so much in fact that I think I will try a more complicated Halloween design again next year. If you are growing your own gourds a good place to grow them is on a fence. Get a bucket, large enough to hold your gourd. Fill it with hot water, and add a squirt of dishwashing detergent and a half a cup or so of bleach.

Allow your gourd to soak in this solution for about an hour before you even try to do any scrubbing; it will make your life a lot easier! By the way, you'll have to find a way to keep the gourd submerged in that water, it will want to pop up since it is so light. I found something heavy and placed it over the bucket. Using a steel wool pad, scrub the skin of the gourd. As you do so, you will notice the first layer of waxy skin peeling off.

This is a good thing, you want to remove that first layer. For stubborn spots, I found that using the back of a knife to scrape it off worked great. Take your time. If mold and the first layer of skin isn't coming off, change your soapy water and let it soak again. I really found letting the gourd soak for awhile makes the job a lot easier! Here's what my gourd looked like when I was done scrubbing.

It still had some spots on it, as you can see. Allow your gourd to dry completely, preferably overnight. Cleaning the Inside : You need to put on some protective equipment to clean out and carve your gourd.

This is because gourd dust is very hazardous. The dust contains mold spores and we don't want to inhale that. Clean and carve your gourd outside. Where a good quality dust mask and some eye protection. Many people use a mini jig-saw to cut and carve their gourd. I didn't have one. But I do have a Dremel tool, and boy do I love my Dremel.

I used my tiny drill bit on my Dremel to carve regular pumpkins so I wanted to see how it would work on the gourd, and it worked great. The drill bit works to make the first hole and then you can make it cut by applying pressure to the drill bit, moving it in the direction of the cut, and applying an up and down see-saw motion as the same time.

For your first cut, carve out a large hole in the bottom of the gourd. Remove the circle you just cut and get a bag ready to throw away the insides.

There will be seeds in there, and it will be dusty too. Make sure you have on that dust mask and eye protection, and it is a good idea to have on disposable gloves too. I was able to clean my gourd out by reaching it and pulling down all the woody threads with my gloved hand.

For the top part of the gourd, the neck made it pretty tight to get up there with my hand. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to get the rest out, which worked great. I also read that gourd crafters often use a wire hanger that they have bent into a tool to get up in those tight spaces.

This is to clean and kill off any mold that was up inside. Allow to dry overnight. Now the fun part, decorating your gourd craft! Remove seeds and flesh. Using a smaller bit, drill holes all over the surface of the pumpkin or gourd, in a pattern or randomly. Wipe the exterior clean and place the gourd over the votive.

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