Decorating dried gourds is a fun way to express your artistic or crafty side. Natural gourds come in all shapes and sizes, accept a variety of artistic media, and are fairly inexpensive to purchase. Here are some basics for what types of media work well when decorating dried gourds.
Leather Dye. Leather dye is one of the best tools you can use for decorating dried gourds. Since dried gourds have a leather-like feel anyway, they soak up leather dye perfectly. You can achieve gorgeous deep, opaque color results by using leather dyes. Leather dyes are applied using a cotton dauber. They are quite thin and tend to run so you will have to work very quickly. Any gourd that has been dyed with leather dye will need to be sealed with an oil-based sealant (such as polyurethane) once you are finished decorating it. Always wear gloves and old clothes when working with leather dye. It will stain your hands for days and ruin clothing. Leather dyes come in dozens of colors and can be purchased at The Caning Shop.
Oil Pastels. Oil pastels are another great medium to use on dried gourds. Oil pastels will stick to the gourd surface and can be manipulated and blended with blending stumps or a cotton swab. Because the surface of the gourd is so smooth, you will have to be careful not to rub away too much of the color. Like the leather dyes, oil pastels will need to be set with a clear coating upon finishing your design. Be careful to brush the clear coat on very lightly, with a soft brush, as heavy strokes may remove the pastels from the gourd surface.
Colored Pencils. Many gourd surfaces will take colored pencils well. Colored pencils allow you to create intricate designs, particularly on smaller gourds. Choose a good quality colored pencil. A spray coating may be applied as a finish.
Acrylic Paints. Acrylic paints are one of the most popular choices for decorating dried gourds. Acrylic paints adhere well to the gourd surface and generally will not flake off once your design is complete, even without a top coat. Just be sure not to try tempera or oil paints. Tempera paints will flake off after drying and oil paints will never dry on the smooth gourd surface.
Charcoal. Charcoal is another tool you can use to decorate gourds. The smooth gourd surface allows you to do nice charcoal drawings or decorations. You will definitely need a clear coat to protect your charcoal. Just as with the oil pastels, you will need to brush the coating on very lightly with a soft bristle brush to keep the charcoal from rubbing off of the gourd surface.
Shoe Polish. Shoe polish works similarly to leather dye in that it works well to change the color of an entire gourd surface. The results you get with shoe polish, however, will be transparent and not opaque. Shoe polish will provide a very subtle change and again should be sealed with a top coat, once you have finished your entire artwork.
Furniture Stain. Furniture stains sold in gel form also work well for dying the entire surface of a gourd. Wearing gloves, simply rub the stain on with a soft cloth or paper towel, pressing into the surface of the gourd. The subtle change often covers imperfections on the gourd surface, leaving you with a nicer canvass to decorate. Just as with most media, furniture stain needs to be sealed on the gourd surface.
As you can see, a variety of artistic media can be used to decorate natural gourds. Already dried gourds can be purchased online through various retailers, or you may be able to find them locally at a pumpkin or gourd farm in the fall. If you would like to save some money by drying your own gourds, check out How To Dry Your Own Gourds. With a few supplies you’ll be well on your way to creating your own gourd crafts.
