How to Make a Gourd Bowl

Using these gourd craft ideas from Bernadette Fox, ordinary candle wax, and permanent mousse hair dye, you can transform a dried gourd into a beautiful and practical bowl. The rim is stitched with natural shell coins giving this unique bowl a hint of elegance. It's the perfect project for the beginning gourd artist!

Materials:

• (1) Dried gourd cleaned and cut for use as a bowl (please see my other videos)
• (2) Colors of permanent mousse hair dye (your choice)
• Candle wax on a long wooden skewer
• Heat tool
• (5/64) Drill bit and pin vise or similar tool for drilling
• (2) Colors of 15mm mussel shell coins (your choice)
• Waxed thread

Video:

Instructions:

1. Apply one color of hair dye to entire exterior of gourd using a paper towel.
    
2. Melt wax onto gourd in random places using heat tool then apply second color of hair dye to gourd.
    
3. Remove wax or leave it on gourd for texture. Seal gourd with acrylic spray sealer.
    
4. Drill holes in gourd about 1.5" inches from rim in .5" increments [depending on circumference of your gourd].
    
5. With a whip stitch thread shell coins on waxed thread and stitch around the whole rim. This project has three coins per stitch with one color being dominant while the contrasting color was placed randomly around rim.