Purple martins nest almost exclusively in man-made structures like a birdhouse constructed from one of our raw, cleaned gourds. If you’re eager to attract this large swallow species to your backyard, a dried and cleaned gourd can easily be constructed into a birdhouse.

 Procedure:

• Select a well-dried and aesthetically pleasing gourd. Remember, thick walls will ensure that the gourd birdhouse will weather the elements well.  Varieties with broad bottoms like Martin and Bottle make good choices here.
• Using a 2″ circle saw, drill a hole roughly 3 inches above the base of the gourd.  Work slowly to avoid splintering the gourd.  The circle saw bit will leave a clean-edged hole.
• The gourd will still be full of seeds and some internal membranes, so you can empty those out through the hole you just cut. Don’t throw away the seeds! They can be planted to produce your own gourds during the next growing season.
• Drill three small holes in the bottom of the gourd for drainage. 1/8″ will do nicely here.
• Drill two holes at the top of the gourd and thread either sisal twine or thin wire through to hang the birdhouse.
• You are now free to paint, stain or seal your gourd birdhouse in any way you’d like. Bright solid colors work well.

If you need some creative inspiration, here’s a selection of gourd birdhouses available at our online store.

Various gourd shapes make up our MBGourd birdhouses

Raw penguin gourds

If you’re new to crafting with gourds, you’ve probably discovered that there are a dizzying number of gourd varieties – shapes, sizes and grades – available to the crafting consumer. Our raw, cleaned gourds are craft-ready for your next project.

The best way to create a beautiful gourd art piece is to start with a top quality gourd. The most prized gourds among many gourd artisans are those that are symmetrical with a smooth, thick shell without visible cracks or other imperfections. Inspect the surface of the gourd closely and look for cracks or other damage.

Superficial cracks can be easily patched and filled with any commercially available woodfiller.

Choose gourds that have a shape and size that works for your intended craft project. Penguin gourds have a curved neck that many find appealing, but may not stand upright on their own. Bottle gourds have a pinched waist between wider tops and bottoms. Experiment with different sizes and shapes to get those creative juices flowing. Does the raw gourd remind you of something? Build your design around it.

Treat the walls of the gourd as you would treat wood – it can be etched, burned with a woodburning tool, carved, stained and painted. The only limits are your imagination! Just a reminder: gourd dust can be irritating, so be sure to wear a respirator and work in a well-ventilated area if you are going to be cutting your gourd open.

Raw gourds at Meadowbrooke Gourds

For all of you DIYers out there or for those that are just interested in what we do at Meadowbrooke Gourds, here is some insight into one of the steps in gourd crafting- drying.

For those that want to craft and paint their own gourds without the hassle of growing, drying, and cleaning, we do offer raw, cleaned gourds in many shapes and sizes online here.

Here at the farm after the first frost, we cut the gourds off the vine and line them up in rows. There they sit until the snows melt and the ground thaws. By that time they are close to 90% dry. Then we pick them up, and the can begin thier journey to our washing and crafting rooms.

Gourds in our zone in Central Pennsylvania grow from June to October or until the first hard frost hits.  The frost will kill the vine and it will not continue to grow.  After the hard frost hits, pick your gourds and let them dry outside over winter, off the ground (skid, picnic table, etc.) if you can.  It is okay to place them on the ground-they will just take a little longer to dry.  If a gourd has a matured to a hard shell a frost will not harm it.  If a gourd got a late start and is not mature, the frost will make it rot.

A quality gourd will go through a skin decay molding process-this is normal as long as the gourd is still hard and not mushy to the touch.  Do not get discouraged if your gourds look terrible and may even smell.  Small gourds dry faster than larger ones.  Some really large gourds can take up to June the following year to dry completely.  Your gourd is completely dried when it weighs only ounces.  For most, this is around March or April.

Please let us know if you have any gourd drying questions! We’re here to help.

In yesterday’s post we talked about ways to use our Gourdicopia collection to create a stunning Thanksgiving table. We have even more ideas for you today!

Instead of using a bowl or container, create a Thanksgiving centerpiece spread. We absolutely love this table design by Kim Krejca. (view her original post here.)

image by Kim Krejca

Using Williams-Sonoma Great American Turkey dish towels as inspiration and a starting point, Kim used items she had around the house to create this lovely spread.  She incorporated artichokes, pears, dried gourds, pomegranates, artificial white pumpkins and autumn leaves, but the possibilities are really endless!!

Photo by Kim Krejca

Another way to enjoy the rustic simplicity of a raw, cleaned gourd is to craft it into a gourd luminary centerpiece. Just be sure to use an LED tealight in your dried gourds and not a real candle.

image courtesy of marthastewart.com

These examples by Martha Stewart are a great starting point for inspiration! The best thing is, once you create your luminaries they will last for years to come.

We always love reading others ideas for crafting their dried gourds! There are literally endless possibilities. We especially loved this luminary project for fall from Better Homes and Gardens. It is simple, beautiful and sure to give your home a cozy touch. To get started, the article details some tips for drying gourds for those that are growing and drying your own. If you would like to skip that step, Meadowbrooke Gourds offers raw gourds that are already cleaned and dried for you. We have many, many shapes and sizes to choose from and they are available online here.

This project involves wood burning your gourd. We go into more detail about wood burning in a previous blog post. 

From Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com):

1. Starting with a dried, cleaned gourd you must first cut the gourd. To make cutting the gourds easier and help prevent cracking and breaking, draw the cutting line with a pencil. Using a crafts knife, puncture small slits along the pencil line so it resembles a dotted line. Use the knife to cut between the lines. Smooth out any uneven spots.

2. Using the crafts knife, cut a 3-inch round hole in the bottom of each gourd. Make sure the gourds sit flat. If necessary, slightly shave the bottoms of the gourds so they sit flat.

3. Clean out the inside material.

6. Working in a well-ventilated room or outdoors, use the woodburning tool to burn a circle through the gourd. Burn two more holes to create the three-dot triangular motif.

7. Repeat the burning process around the entire gourd, placing the motifs about 2 inches apart.

8. Paint the gourd with a light coat of raw umber watercolor. Use the brown marker to make stripes on the stems. After the paint dries, spray the gourds with varnish.

9. Place a tea light in a votive cup and slip the gourd over the cup. Make sure the candle’s wick is trimmed short so the flame does not touch the gourd. Never leave burning candles unattended or use a candle without the cup.

These beautiful, fall luminaries are easy to craft! (image by Better Homes and Gardens)

Since a dried gourd can be crafted like a piece of wood, it offers a wonderful medium to be crafted in a multitude of ways. Probably the easiest way to craft a gourd when you’re getting started is to paint them! We are always in awe at the creativity displayed through gourd painting. Many paintings go beyond “crafts” and enter the world of fine art.

A couple hints:
-Acrylic paints or oil paints will work on your gourd
- No need to seal or sand the gourd before painting it
- Let your imagination run wild!!

Here are a few examples of painted gourds that we just love! Use them as inspiration for your own gourd painting projects:

Gourd Art by Bonnie Gibson. arizonagourds.com

So bright and beautiful! (image courtesy of Coconut Grove Grapevine.)

Our very own Dorris Risser's Folk Art Cat Gourd (one of Meadowbrooke Gourd's past painting classes)

Morning Glory and Ladybug gourd painting class

Just adorable! by Aurelia Conway in the book "Great Garden Gourds Book"

Meadowbrooke Gourds offers painting classes throughout the year at our farm in Carlisle, PA. Experience painting gourds with the help of a professional artist! Check our website for upcoming classes. 

In a recent post we explained how to create your very own butterfly gourd house with our raw, cleaned gourds. (We also have finished gourd butterfly houses for sale online and in our retail store.) Now that your butterfly house is hanging in the garden, it’s time to attract some beautiful butterflies!

Butterflies will use your gourd home as a way to stay safe from harmful animals, insects and inclement weather. One way to attract butterflies is to color your gourd with bright colors! Butterflies are particularly attracted to yellow, purple, red and pink. Paint flowers on your gourd or different designs incorporating various colors!

Placing your gourd in a sunny area with lots of flowers will also help to bring these lovely insects around your home. Here is a list of flowers that naturally attract butterflies!

Provide a source of water. Pour water on flat rocks or on stone walkways and place your butterfly house near this moisture. This encourages them to investigate and eventually use the house as shelter.

For more tips visit ehow.com here.

Right now at Meadowbrooke Gourds we are offering a SALE on 4″ -5″ raw, uncleaned gourds. Come out to the retail store and fill an entire bag for only $10! If you have always wanted to try crafting your own dried gourds, this is a great opportunity to try your hand at it. Crafting gourds is a lot of fun and the creativity is truly endless! We are constantly amazed by the new ideas and creations our local artists come up with.

Raw, uncleaned gourds on sale now at Meadowbrooke Gourds

We also offer cleaned raw gourds on our website in many different shapes and sizes. Check them out here.

Very much like a fragile piece of wood-you can do anything to a gourd you can to wood.  You can dye, paint, cut, wood burn, etc. your gourd.  We have not found any paint, shellac, dye etc. that cannot be used on a gourd.  Please remember though, like wood, a gourd will burn so we do not suggest putting a candle or open flame around it. More blog posts about crafting tips coming soon!

We hope that you all are having a great day! It is absolutely beautiful here in Carlisle. If you have ever considered growing your own gourds and this springtime weather has you in the mood to try it, here are some tips and advice for you to get started. The process of growing, drying and crafting your own gourds is a fun one to consider.

Gourds crafted by Meadowbrooke Gourds

This time of year in our Zone (Central PA -Zone 6)  is actually the perfect time to begin growing gourds. Plant your gourd seeds in about a 3 inch container or pot. Be sure to use no more than 2 seeds in each pot.

P.S. We offer gourd seeds of all shapes and sizes at mbgourds.com and in our retail store.

After they have been planted, soak the seeds with water. Then place the gourds in sunlight somewhere in your home and water them regularly like you would any normal house plant.

June 1st is about the time to plant your already potted gourds outside!  Make sure to plant the seeds outside in full sun, leaving about 8 inches between each plant. When watering, be careful not to soak the leaves themselves because this could spread disease. Try using soaker hoses or drip irrigation.

Don’t forget: Frost is an enemy of gourd plants and will ruin them. Be sure to check frost conditions so that your plants can grow to their full potential!

For more detailed and specific instructions be sure to check out our website!

Happy Planting! We’d love to hear about your gourd planting and see pics so please feel free to share.

We found this project from Crystal and Company – a wonderful blog that is definitely worth checking out!

Crystal posted a project for making these really cute Mod Podge Vases to give as gifts!

Mod Podge vase from Crystal & Co.

The project is so simple. First you tear scrapbook paper into imperfect pieces, then you layer it on any glass vase or recycled jar with mod podge. For more detail instructions with photos click here.

This made us think how pretty this technique would be on a dried, raw gourd vase! Dried gourds can be crafted just like a fragile piece of wood – perfect for decoupaging!

Grab your mod podge, interesting scrapbook paper pages and create a one-of-a-kind gourd.

These penguin gourds would make great decorative vases with the tops cut off!