You can make amazing DIY projects not just from pumpkins but from gourds too! And proof of that are these incredible gourds painted like chickens! The original idea for this project comes from Suzy’s Artsy-Crafty Sitcom and it’s actually pretty simple to make, you just need the dedication and patience to make it beautiful!
“It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.” - Napoleon Hill
How To Make Chicken Gourds
Materials Needed
Well, for starters you’ll need gourds - as many as you’d wish to paint! And speaking of painting, you’ll also need acrylic paint in all the desired colors, as well as paintbrushes (the appropriate sizes to match the details you want to make). You’ll also need polymer clay, hot glue gun (and stick, of course), and a matte varnish spray (for final touches!).
Summing up:
- Gourds
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
- Polymer Clay
- Hot Glue
- Matte Varnish Spray
Directions to Follow
First thing you’ll do is get your gourds clean, it’s recommended that you use bleach and then scrub the gourd. After that, you can apply about three coats of paint to be the base color of your chicken. Then draw the paisley lines and start painting them - at this point, Suzy made clear she didn’t follow any patterns, so you’re totally free to get creative and follow your own style!
Once you had the steps done so far, you’re only missing the head. And here’s where the polymer clay comes in:
You’ll use it to create:
- Combs
- Beaks
- Wattles
One for each chicken! After shaping them, you’ll need to bake them for about an hour in the oven at 200ºF. Remember to let the pieces cool down before going to the next step, which is:
Use the hot glue to attach these pieces to the gourd and paint them with the desired colors.
Lastly:
Paint two small black dots to make their eyes and you’re all done!
Other Gourd Craft Ideas
Gourd Lanterns
These look really awesome and they really set a mood for both autumn months and Halloween! You can learn all about this project (materials needed and directions) at Makenzie.
Gourd Cats
These gourd cats are pretty much the same process you just learned for making gourds painted like chickens. You’ll just make a different painting pattern, and the slight adjustment of molding cat ears instead of combs, beaks, and wattles!
Glue-Decorated Centerpiece
This is a more classy way to DIY a gourd at home! Made with hot glue and spray paint, they’re probably the simplest choice of all we’ve shown you here today - and it looks really good, don’t you think? Check out the instructions!
Painted Ghost Gourds
Once again, we have a Halloween DIY idea that’s just super cool! These gourd ghosts are spooky and really easy to make, they’ll be awesome to put on your porch during Halloween week!
Gourd Planter
This is a nice idea as well, either for putting it in your garden or anywhere around your home. You can learn more about it here and here, but you’ll basically have the options of simply cutting the top of the gourd and making a simple planter, or making holes (sort of) in the middle of the gourd (like the one from the photo). It’ll be an awesome addition to your decor!
What do you think of these gourd crafts? They’re really unique, right? I had lots of fun collecting ideas and writing about these, so I hope you enjoyed it as well!
