Things You'll Need:
- gourds or squash
- glue gun
- craft items like feathers, googly eyes and pipe cleaners
-
Step 1
Gather your supplies. During the fall season, it is easy to find gourds, pumpkins and squash at produce stands. If gourds are not in season, use a potato instead.
You will also need craft items for decorating your gourd. Consider googly eyes, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, felt, ribbon, yarn and construction paper. You can also use nature items such as pebbles, sticks, acorns and colorful fall leaves. -
Step 2
If you are making your gourd people to go along with a children's story, read through it and make a list of characters that you will need. This ensures that you have sufficient gourds and other supplies for your project.
-
Step 3
Have your child create each story character with the gourds or acorns. The easiest way to attach the craft materials to the gourds and acorns is by using a hot glue gun, so be sure to use a low-temp gun and help your child with this step. Children often have strange ideas of what the story characters should look like. Push preconceived notions aside and just go with your child's creativity.
-
Step 4
Make each gourd unique. Try cotton balls for hair on some and yarn for others. A pipe cleaner mouth can be cheerful while a round bead used as a mouth can convey surprise.
-
Step 5
Once you are finished playing with the gourds, display them in a window or on a table as a seasonal decoration.
