gourd candy dish

 Apple gourds are the perfect gift for teachers.  They can use them on their desk to hold treats, supplies or surprises for the class.

Here's what you need:

Dried appple gourd

Paint

Clear sealer

Paint pen (optional)

Use a  fresh apple gourd and dry it for a year in your attic or other dark warm place.  Or go to a local pumpkin patch and look for already dried gourds.  Most of them have a pile of these somewhere.  You can also find them online.

Clean the gourd by soaking in warm water and using a scrubbing pad to get of all the debris.  Let dry.

Mark a line about 2" down from the top and cut with a saw.  I used a band saw but you could use a saber saw or table saw.  Sand the edges smooth.  I often use emery boards for small sanding jobs.  Mark a vertical line with a pencil on the inside to line up top and bottom.  Clean out the ribs and seeds inside the gourd.  The easieset way to paint these is by dumping in paint and brushing it around to cover completely.  Use 2 coats.  Let dry.
Paint the outside with several layers of paint to get the blend of colors.


This one started with a gold base coat and then I brushed on a couple of shades of red letting some of the gold show.



Glue a small piece of vinyl, leather, heavy fabric on the inside as a hinge, making sure to line up your top and bottom.  E6000 is a great all purpose crafting glue for heavy duty jobs like this.

You can add the teachers name on it with a paint pen if you like.

Spray with clear sealer at least 2 coats.  Use only wrapped candy.