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We so often feel that we need to use the iconic fruit (that everyone thinks is a vegetable) the pumpkin to decorate with when it comes to Halloween. Well, what about their cousins the gourds? Hmmm? I have some fun ideas to share using the relative of the pumpkin to make some awesome looking decorations that just might rival any old jack-0-lantern you might ever make.
The often forgotten autumn fruit – the gourd
Pumpkins pretty much come in the same basic shape. Certainly, they might be large, medium and small in size but we would rarely mistake a pumpkin for any other garden item. Gourds, in my humble opinion, are much more interesting in the shapes that they come in. Some will have a long neck, some resemble their cousin the pumpkin, while others have a unique and interesting shape all of their own. That is why I think they make for some rather interesting ideas for decorating for our favorite holiday, Halloween.
What you can use to decorate gourds for Halloween no carving needed
My recommendation is to go out in the garage and start rummaging around for pieces and parts. You might also have a drawer in the house that has old items that you planned to re-cycle or re-purpose in some way. Let your creativity take over and visualize what could be put on a gourd to make it have a face or design.
Items to consider would be:
- Old gears from watches or other small items
- Old upholstery tacks from furniture
- Cabinet pulls
- Small or medium sized valves
- Screws
- nuts and bolts
- wire
- jewelry parts
- ribbon
- thimbles (for a hat)
- keyhole plates
Just anything that you can find that could create a unique face or design. I find that often the gourd will look creative enough to determine what will look best. I once saw a gourd turned on it’s side and it became a mouse for Halloween. It had a short neck that became the face, 3 furniture upholstery tacks (2 for eyes, 1 for the nose), wire for the whiskers, curled wire for the tail and small paperclips for the ears. It was adorable!
You could also paint on the gourds just like you might on a pumpkin. I think gourds sometimes offer a more interesting canvas to work on. Paint bats, a face just whatever you want on them. There is just no limit to what you can create with some paint.
Just like with pumpkins, gourds can be embellished with duct tape, felt, paper or any medium you can glue, poke in, or attach in some creative way.
Of course you can also just leave them in their original state of being and put several in an arrangement in a bowl, too. Have fun decorating with some gourds and let us know your favorite way to work with gourds.
