This Easter decorate your home with eggs! They are simple, beautiful, and nothing says springtime quite like them. There are a lot of projects that use real eggs for centerpieces and decor. When you use GOURD eggs, however, you have a special piece that can last from spring to spring. Here are just a few projects to try using gourd eggs. We found all of these projects on Pinterest!

First, purchase your raw gourd eggs here. You can paint and decorate them however you like! The inspiration is endless.

Create an egg and moss wreath:

 

This is so simple and beautiful. Glue Spanish Moss to a grapevine wreath. Paint your gourd eggs with beige craft paint and speckle with brown craft paint mixed with water-based faux glaze (1:2 paint/glaze ratio). Use a toothbrush to get this spatter effect.

Easter egg place setting:

 

Use a gourd egg to mark seats in a place seating! Your guests can take home their personalized egg as a favor.

Decoupage your gourd eggs:

 

Source: marthastewart.com via i dream of chairs on Pinterest

 

Use Mod Podge to decoupage beautiful papers or pages from a book to your gourd Easter Eggs for a beautiful display.

More Gourd Easter Egg inspiration coming soon!

Decorate your home for Easter with a unique gourd basket hand painted by YOU! Talented local artist, Wendy Young, will be holding two Easter Basket painting classes on March 3rd at our Retail Store (125 Potato Road, Carlisle, PA). The cost is only $25 and includes all supplies.

The 10am – noon class will be painting the “Chocolate Bunnies Running Wild Basket”:

The 1:30 – 3:30 class will be painting the “Hippy Hop Bunny Basket.”

No prior experience necessary to paint these gorgeous keepsake baskets!!

You may register in store, by calling us at 717-776-6029 x102 or send an email to bethm@mbgourds.com.  Prepayment is required.  Should you need to cancel, you must notify us 3 days prior to the class or there will be no refund. Classes are limited, so please sign-up early.  Join us Saturday, March 3rd  and  welcome Wendy into our gourd family!

 

 

We’re very excited about one of our newest gourd collections – Wildflowers. The new collection could be described as “rustic chic”. Each piece is natural in color with a beautiful flower to decorate the center.

The medium lit gourds are approximately 5 1/2″ in diameter and comes with a green electric light that shines through the vine cut out design.

The small is approximately 4″ in diameter and comes with a rawhide tie around the neck of the vase.

How beautiful would one of these gourds look as part of a rustic bookshelf display like this one?

It’s time for the February Product of the Month! Or, in this case, a whole family of MacBunnies.

This warm and sunny weather has us dreaming about the arrival of spring. And what better way to prepare for spring breezes and the Easter season than with this adorable family of gourd bunnies!

The MacBunnies are available in two sizes – the small (right) is approximately 2″ in diameter and the medium version is approximately 5″ in diameter (left). The medium MacBunnies also have an electric light installed with a kite cut-out in the belly and a bow tied around their necks.

And the colors! Our medium MacBunnies are available in pink, blue and yellow and our small MacBunnies are available in pink (complete with pearls) and blue (buttons down the front of his vest, too). The small sized MacBunnies also feature a puff of cotton for a tail.

Welcome the MacBunnies into your home this Spring.

Perhaps one of the oldest uses for gourds are as vessels for holding and transporting liquids. Dippers, bowls and drinking vessels have historically been crafted from gourds by peoples from around the world.

Have you heard of the drink called yerba mate?  An infusion that hails from Argentina, it has become increasing popular over the years, due in part to its rejuvenating and antioxidant properties.  This link will tell you all about how to prepare the drink and its history, but what we want you to know is that the bitter infusion is prepared in – and consumed from – a gourd in combination with a metal straw called a bombilla. Our raw roger gourds could be used in crafting a mate gourd, if you so choose. They are also offered for sale at Guayaki and other online vendors.

Curing Your Mate Gourd

We recommend that you “cure” your gourd prior to your first use. This helps to protect the gourd for yerba mate use.

1. Using a teaspoon, scrape the inside of the gourd to remove any loose skin and debris.
2. Fill the gourd ½ full with dry loose yerba mate.
3. Carefully top off the gourd with boiling water. Note: when drinking yerba mate later, DO NOT use boiling water as this can burn your mouth and also harms the flavor of the yerba.
4. After a few minutes the water level should go down as it soaks into the yerba leaves. When this happens, carefully top off the gourd again with boiling water.
5. Let the gourd sit for about 12 hours to allow the yerba mate mixture to penetrate the gourd completely.
6. Empty and rinse the gourd with hot tap water.
7. Scrape the inside again (see step one).
8. Rinse with clean hot tap water and dry quickly and completely (see care instructions).

Caring For Your Gourd

Following a timely cleaning and drying routine after each use, storing your mate in a dry location, and inspecting the gourd prior to each use, should keep your gourd clean.

1. Immediately after each use, empty the gourd of yerba and rinse the gourd with clean clean tap water (if you use hot tap water it will help it dry faster).
2. Hand dry the gourd with a clean towel. (A towel will not completely dry the gourd but helps removes the excess water so the gourd dries faster). Prompt and complete drying is necessary to prevent mold growth.
3. Place the gourd upside down on a rack in a dry location and allow it to dry completely. It may be necessary to dry the gourd near some source of dry heat like a home heat radiator. However, be careful not to place the gourd near a flame or where it could catch fire – the gourd is flammable!
4. When your gourd is dry, store your gourd right-side-up in a well ventilated area. We recommend storing it near a window where sunlight can enter the gourd to help prevent mold or mildew.
5. Always inspect the gourd before each use to make sure your gourd is clean.

Although we have many weeks of winter still ahead of us, it is fun to think about the coming of Spring. We just finalized the dates of our 2012 Spring Open Houses, which also puts us in the mood to talk about bunnies, chicks, and all things Easter!

For just a taste of spring in your home all year long, we suggest our dragonfly, hummingbird, or butterfly! These gourds are simple, modern, and beautiful. The light makes them a great option for a soothing nightlight as well. Just click on any of the images to purchase.

Meadowbrooke Snowmen are one of the most beloved aspects of our winter collection. The best part is, these gourds can be displayed all winter long well after the holidays. Invite these “snowy creatures” to warm your home this winter.

 

 

Meet our #1 selling winter product- Nick!

This gourd snowman head is white in color with a black top. He has an orange carrot gourd nose and a gourd pipe. The large is approximately 8 inches in diameter and comes with an electric light.

Nick will warm up your home all winter long!

Purchase online here.

View our other snowman collections:

The Stanley Family
Oliver Collection
Brambles
Lana
Frosty Family
Charlie

 

One way to add an interesting touch to your holiday decor is to use gourds as part of  your wreaths.

Our small Angel gourd, Emily, is pictured above attached to the wreath on our Retail Store door. Give the wreath some interest with pinecones and other ornaments.

Any of these gourd ornaments pictured above would make a lovely addition to your wreath!

Picture these little guys on a rustic, snowflake wreath like pictured below.

Or get really creative and craft a wreath in the actual shape of a snowflake:

The gourd snowman ornament would look adorable in the center of this unique, rustic display!
Click here for the tutorial on how to craft this snowflake wreath. The instructions are for a much smaller decoration, but you can always make it larger to fit any door or space.

THANK YOU to everyone that participated in our online Silent Auction as well as the live Silent Auction at our Retail Store this past weekend.

Here are just a few of the unique, one-of-a-kind gourds that were sold: