How to Decorate Warty Gourds

Include the warts on your gourd as a part of the decoration.

When fall rolls around, pumpkins and other gourds become a plentiful decorating option. While pumpkins tend to have smooth surfaces, some other gourds come with warts and imperfections. If you want to use these gourds as a decoration or for a kids' craft at Halloween or Thanksgiving, you can work the warts into your design. If you're looking for a temporary fall decoration, you can put your design directly onto the gourd. But if you'd like your art to last for a few seasons, you'll need to dry and clean the gourd first.

Things You'll Need

• 5-gallon bucket
• Bleach
• Abrasive kitchen pad
• Paints
• Polyurethane spray
• Hot glue
• Miscellaneous design materials

Instructions

1. Clean your dried gourd. Soak the gourd in 5 gallons of hot water, then scrub with an abrasive kitchen pad. Dip the gourd in a bleaching solution that is one part bleach and nine parts water. This will remove the mold from the gourd's skin. If you're not planning to keep your decoration after this fall, you can skip this step.

2. Lightly sketch a design for your gourd on its skin. Here is where you can begin to work your design around the natural warts on the gourd. For instance, if you're decorating a gourd for Halloween, you can make your gourd into a witch, with the long neck of the gourd functioning as the witch's long nose. Sketch eyes and a mouth and turn the warts on the gourd into warts on the witch's face.

3. Paint in the sketch on the gourd, working around the warts or highlighting them according to your design. If you are working with a dried gourd, preserve your design by following the finished product with a coat of polyurethane spray for varnish. You can also use a hot-glue gun to attach beads or other design items to the gourd, according to your design pattern.

References

• UNL Extension: Backyard Farmer: Choose, Store And Decorate Pumpkins & Gourds For Fall Displays
• The Artful Crafter: Gourd Decorating Methods