Greenman Gourds: Gourds!

Greenman Gourds: Gourds! My boyfriend just took some photos of many of his fantastic gourds and put them on his new gourd blog. Check it out.

The Horses Are Ready

I got my horse gourd vase finished and listed on Etsy today. It should show up in my shop to the right. I can't believe how I have so many things to list, yet can't seem to get around to it. But today the weather is beautiful and I'm home on a Saturday so I took it outside and took photos.

A New Gourd Doll

I started making this doll a few months ago. I like it so far. I really do. I'm just not sure where to go from here.  Yarn hair? Wire hair? Paint in the face with acrylics? Leave it primitive looking? Oh well I'll come up with something. I've done the pyrography on it.

Gourd Rain Stick Build Along

Part One and Part Two


I grew this snake gourd in my garden and was hoarding it to make something special. Then I decided it would be just right for a rain stick. I really enjoyed this project even if it was rather labor intensive. Now I just need to join a drum circle or something so I have a chance to play it in a real environment.
I'm getting quite the collection of weird gourd instruments. I'm made a didjeridoo, some rattles, a guiro, a drum, and now a rain stick.

Update: I have no idea why Youtube videos suddenly stopped working on my blogs, even the ones that were my own productions. Until I figure this out, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Horse and Purse Build Along Part 2

Today I worked on my horse gourd vase again. I touched up the ink dyes, then I used the heat activated glue to put on the metal leafing over the sun. Looks pretty snazzy. I cut some sisal to go around the brim. I need to sew on a Buffalo Head Nickle button. But then I realized that I need to paint the interior black first. I bought spray paint for that very purpose a week ago and I can't find it today. ARGH.

I also dyed the exterior of the gourd purse. I used butterscotch and berry ink dyes blended together with a white felt square. Then I dribbled rubbing alcohol on it. That came out pretty interesting so I went ahead and heat set it with the heat gun. The next thing I have to do on that is add a leather hinge.

I want to make a cowgirl gourd too. That was is still being working on by my subconscious mind. It's for the Zombie Nanner Gang theme 'Lonesome Cowgirl'. But I haven't had time to sketch it out yet so it will have to wait until later. So much to do, so little time.

Gourd Artist

Youtube has a wealth of videos about gourd art. Here is one I found tonight.

Gourd Purse Build Along Part 1

I just started a gourd purse. I was about ready to clean a canteen gourd when my boyfriend handed me one he'd already cleaned inside and out and painted the interior. So I was able to decoupage the insides before it got dark. I'll let that dry overnight and then give it 2 more coats.

One photo is of the decorative paper I added to the interior, plus the clear medium, and the pre-painted gourd.

The others are of the interior as I was adding the collage with a foam brush.

Pyrography on Gourds

I just wrote an article on pyrography on gourds here: Gourd It has lots of photos.

Wild Horse Trotting Around a Gourd Vase

Last night my boyfriend was making a paleo style bowl and had just woodburned a curly horned ram on it. I said it sure would be neat to do a horse, so I sketched up some horses. They weren't really the style he needed, so I slept on it, and this morning I just couldn't bear to waste those horse sketches. So I got some of the new pyrography paper we just got and traced the best of the horses onto it. I selected a gourd that would make a good vase and set out to work sawing off the top and cleaning it for woodburning. It was very satisfying seeing my drawings come to life on the gourd. Then I got to experiment with the new ink dyes we got. The Gourdmaster ones were so much better than the other brand we bought. In fact the other brand left streaks and dried so quickly I could barely get in onto the gourd before it dried. The Gourdmaster inks stayed wet a long time and covered up the streaks from the first inks. Unfortunately we spent $30.00 on the other inks. If my boyfriend hadn't already opened all three packages (each with three bottles) I would have returned them the next chance I got. Maybe they work great on some things, but not on gourds.



I already drilled holes around the rim of the gourd because I either want to sew on pine needles or raffia around the brim. And I think I have a buffalo head nickle button around here that I can sew on to the front. But tomorrow is another day and it's time to wind down now.

My Heart

Check out the new gourd art my boyfriend just finished. http://greenmanarchery.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-gourd-art.html

Gourd Hand Saw

We got a new gourd saw and I must say it's making my life so much easier. It's given me a renewed interest in gourd crafting. Yesterday I even dug out a gourd lamp I started a few years ago. I just got tired of all the hand sawing. So I flip it over and it had a spider inside and also silverfish. Yuck. So I learned something new...silver fish like to eat the papery part on the inside of a cut gourd.

So I used the new cleaning ball to get the papery part removed, and removed the spider of course, and then I cut out a lot more bits with the new gourd hand saw. It was fun. I also cut out a fairy gourd house with doors and windows, and I started working on my rain stick gourd I'm making from a snake gourd that I grew in my garden.

I'm having a blast. As soon as I have breakfast, I'm going to go work on my gourds some more.

New Gourd Inks

Welburn Gourd Farm is offering an opportunity to have your gourd art featuring their new meallic gourd inks featured on their website with a link to your website. To find out what it's all about sign up for their free newsletter. We picked up some of their inks when we went there last week, and I haven't tried them yet, so here is my opportunity. A new adventure in gourd art!

Gourd Necklace Display

I wanted to show off this gourd necklace display I made for showing off my necklaces. I found a big gourd that would stand by itself and painted it black. Or if you make one, you can leave it the natural color which looks a lot like skin. I try to find unique ways to display my jewelry because so many others use the same store bought displays. After painting the gourd, it's finished with a matt spray to protect it from scratches.

Field Trip to Welburn Gourd Farm

Photos from the Welburn Gourd Farm we visited today. Perfect weather, white puffy cirrus clouds and hardly a soul there on a Friday morning. They've got a much bigger store too, with new inks, dyes, and other products specifically designed with gourd artists in mind. And generous too. When a gourd was a bit too big for one price ring, he often gave us the lower price and he didn't need to do that. His name is Danny and he's been working there for five years.

We each got some big gourds for drums, plus some assorted gourds for other projects or just because they looked too cool to resist. I got some nice dipper gourds too.

Welburn just had a big gourd festival in June so I thought the inventory might have been picked over, but to my surprise every bin was filled as full as you can imagine. Enough to break the bank if you get too carried away.

They do mail order, but there is no substitute for hand picking your own gourds.

Gourd Inventory

Since my boyfriend wants to go to the gourd farm on Friday, he asked me to inventory our gourd stash. After moving bag after bag of gourds, I was surprised I hadn't seen any spiders. Lots of dust but no spiders. I decided to move one more big gourd that had been on the bottom of the pile, and just had a feeling that that was the one. I spun it around by the stem, and there was the grandmother of all black widows on that sucker. I splatted it with my shoe along with an egg sack. Ick.

Anyway, if anyone wants to pre-order a witch or santa gourd give me a holler. I'm going to start putting them in my Etsy Shop soon for the holidays, and I may as well start on yours first. Savvy?

New Gourd Art Angels

Yesterday I painted 3 gourds. I need to get them finished and into my shop because I don't want them sitting around outside for too long. They are durable, but not if exposed to the weather for a long time. Best to clean them, and keep them indoors. I have so many more to paint. I've been a slacker. Why on earth did I buy so many? Because I thought they would sell, that's why. But I should have just bought a dozen and tested the market.

The desert scene was inspired by a trip we took to Quartzsite AZ.

My boyfriend just started making a bowl out of one and is woodburning petroglyphs on it. It looks amazing.