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“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Out With the Old, In With the New


Last year, I made this small memory box out of an ornamental gourd. I have other photos of it in my Flickr account.

I sketched my ideas onto the gourd and then lightly burned them in with a Walnut Hollow woodburning tool. After that, I used one of my X-acto knives to cut the lid.

Once the lid was removed, I scraped and sanded the entire inside surface. I also reinforced the entire gourd's walls with wood putty. The walls of this gourd were so thin and delicate that I wanted to make sure it would withstand just about anything. Once the putty had dried completely, the entire inside was sanded smooth, painted and given two coats of varnish.

Once that was done it was time to continue on with the exterior design. This included more burning and finally, painting. On the more natural looking areas of this gourd, I had rubbed a metalic gold onto the surface so that it would give a light shimmer in light. The outside was given several coats of varnish to give it a glass-like appearance. A drilled natural stone was also attached as the handle on the lid.
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Saddly, I have finally reached the limit (200 photos) in my Flickr account.

This means I either have to upgrade to the pro (paid) version or delete photos that are there to make room for new photos. Even though it is relatively inexpensive, I am unable to afford the upgrade right now so I will be having to delete older photos as I add new ones. For me, the hardest part has been having to decide which ones will be culled. Take a stroll thru there now as the scenery will sure to be changing quite often. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful, creative day!

9 comments:

~Stella August 5, 2007 at 12:55 PM  

A very complex project! And it turned out lovely!

:)
Stella

LadyK August 5, 2007 at 4:17 PM  

Thank you very much Stella, I'm glad you like it. :)

Karen August 5, 2007 at 4:39 PM  

That gourd is amazing! Great detail.

Amanda August 6, 2007 at 12:19 AM  

ooh, i haven't visited your blog yet... it is beautifully set up! *jealoushands*
also, i really like the project you just completed. it's lovely.

MaryAnn August 6, 2007 at 10:09 AM  

Love the gourd. I am going to be in the same boat with flickr shortly.

Morrgan August 6, 2007 at 3:22 PM  

Oh cool, I've wondered about what goes into making gourds. Great work. :)

Dr.John August 8, 2007 at 7:16 PM  

I love the project. Step by step instructions are nice. I always wondered how those things got made Now I know. Thany you.

pinkmilk August 9, 2007 at 10:19 AM  

Ah that's sweet! Love the way it opens, like a little emagic box of secrets.

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