Gourds, Gourd Books & Gift Certificates For Sale

Gift Certificates are now available! Please call or email us. The following books can be ordered by email or phone. They can also be purchased by visiting our farm.
Making Gourd Musical Instruments: Over 60 String, Wind & Percussion Instruments & How to Play Them By Ginger Summit & Jim Widess 144 pages Price: $14.95
Book Description: “Historically, ethnic groups in many countries have used a great number of musical instruments made from gourds. In North America these instruments are used mainly by percussionists. Most of the step-by-step projects in this book by gourd artists Summit and Widess (The Complete Book of Gourd Craft) are for percussion or stringed instruments such as the Latin American guiro (gourd scraper) or the spike fiddle. There are also a few from the wind family, such as the fipple flute. These are legitimate musical instruments made from traditional materials, and they are fully playable as well as being beautifully crafted. Highly recommended for general crafts as well as ethnomusicology collections.” —Library Journal “The authors introduce readers to make-it-yourself musical instruments. There is an amazing wealth of information here, covering not only how-to's and history but also extending into the social sciences and even science. We learn that pigeon flutes (crafted gourds attached to the birds' tails) were first mentioned about A.D. 1041 A.D. and that drummers are highly respected in India. Actual instructions on gourd transformations into spike fiddles, water drums, and even xylophones are included, along with a few photographs. But all the erudition tends to drown out the craft aspect, since instructions are sandwiched within the narrative text, and photographs are less than optimal. Nonetheless, a book that patient crafters will appreciate.” —Barbara Jacobs
Gourd Pyrography By Jim Widess 144 pages Price: $14.95
Book Description: “Gourd pyrography is a fancy phrase for the folk art of using heat to carve and scorch gourds. These beautiful objects are found in Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, Ghana, Senegal, China, Peru, Mexico, New Guinea, and the South Pacific. Early methods, involving fire and burning coals, have been superseded by modern tools and solid-state wood-burning systems. Here, four artists walk us through several projects using basic techniques, applying butterfly, floral, and geometric designs to pear-shaped gourds. Another project features a frog among blades of grass, surrounded by a salamander border. With pyrography pen charts, a list of supply sources, and a stunning gallery of works by 50 artists, this work-the author's third on gourd craft-is recommended for large art instruction and craft collections.” —Library Journal “So inspiring that it will have you wishing you had sown seeds for gourds last spring.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
How to Make Hawaiian Musical Instruments By Jim Widess 80 pages Price: $19.95
Book Description: Hawaii has a rich musical heritage that is carried on in the rhythmic beat if the ipu and resonant pounding of pahu drums at hula performances throughout the islands. While many of the musical instruments that accompany hula today can be traced back to early Polynesian roots, others - including the ipu heke (gourd drum), ipu hiokiokio (gourd nose flute) and the uliuli rattle - are considered to be uniquely Hawaiian. In the past, the only written information available on making Hawaiian musical instruments lay in the dusty notes of the early anthropologists. Now, for the first time, the manufacturing processes of eighteen traditional Hawaiian musical instruments are documented with carefully researched instructions, step-by-step photographs in an easy-to-follow craft guide.
Basic Wood Burning By Sue Waters 64 pages, 250 color photos, patterns Price: $12.95
Book Description: For anyone who has ever been interested in trying their hand at the art of wood burning, this book is a delight. Accomplished artist Sue Waters guides the beginner through six beautiful wood burning projects. All of the tools, techniques and patterns necessary to create these works of art are provided within. Trouble-shooting tips help the novice avoid common mistakes from the outset. Color photographs and basic, straight-forward descriptions detail every step along the way. By the time these projects are finished, you will have mastered lettering techniques, created floral displays, mountain and lake-side scenes, and even rendered your first elk on wood. When you close the last page you will be left with the satisfaction only tangible evidence of your new-found skills may provide. You will also have the confidence and skill necessary to explore new creative possibilities on your own. Even the artist familiar with basic wood burning techniques will find new and useful information within these colorful pages.
Building Gourd Birdhouses with the Fairy Gourdmother By Sammie Crawford 96 pages, 140 color photos Price: $24.99
Book Description: Offer your feathered neighbors a handcrafted home. This detailed project book for making and decorating gourd birdhouses and feeders is complete with patterns, color palettes, supply lists, and step-by-step directions for each project. The Fairy Gourdmother® walks you through creating ten birdhouses and feeders decorated in brilliant colors. From a charming hacienda birdhouse to a wall-mounted house in the shape of a wide-brimmed hat to a delightfully sarcastic hanging cat's head birdhouse, birds will flock to nest in your creative backyard subdivisions. Ideal for the aspiring gourd crafter, this how-to book has nearly 140 images and patterns with helpful painting, assembly, and gourd selection tips.
Gourds + Fiber: Embellishing Gourds with Basketry, Weaving, Stitching, Macrame & More By Ginger Summit & Jim Widess 144 Pages Price: $19.95
Book Description: Two of the world's leading experts combine gourd decorating and fiber arts for a fresh, up-to-date take on a centuries-old craft. Ginger Summit and Jim Widess will inspire gourd aficionados with a wide range of techniques, from coiling and plaiting to stitching and lacing. Over thirty fabulous projects use materials such as pine needles, silk cord, leather, reed, felt, and beads.
Creating Gourd Birds with the Fairy Gourdmother By Sammie Crawford 96 Pages, 220+ color photos Price: $24.99
Book Description: The Fairy Gourdmother® returns with another brilliant step-by-step guide to crafting with gourds, and this time it's for the birds! Follow along as she walks you through building and decorating twelve feathered friends, from the austere Edgar Allen Crow to a super cute pop-up birdie toy. You will learn practical assembly skills and excellent painting techniques so you can adorn your creations with life-like details. Each project comes complete with a detailed supply list, color palette, step-by-step instructions with photos, and a pattern. In addition, the guide offers resources and helpful tips. Ideal for gourders of all ages, this latest how-to is sure to help your gourding skills take flight.
Making More Gourd Ornaments By C. Angela Mohr 64 Pages, 203 color images Price: $19.99
Book Description: Learn techniques for making holiday ornaments out of fruit gourds. Make a Santa head from a banana gourd, a snow couple from mini-bottleneck gourds, and shiny ornaments from egg gourds. Eight projects show how to make your holiday gourd come alive with a little paint, beads, ribbon, a rubber stamp, and other handy household items. With 203 color images and step-by-step directions, both the beginner and advanced gourd artist will have fun decorating this holiday season. Features a gallery of completed projects that will inspire new innovations of your own.
Antler Art for Baskets and Gourds By Betsey Sloan 64 Pages, 169 color images Price: $19.99
Book Description: Enhance your gourd vessel or basket with antlers. Containing 169 color images and step-by-step instructions, learn how to drill, frame, and attach antlers to a traditional weave basket, gourd bowl, floor vases, and even masks. Twenty projects — both baskets and gourds — are featured for the beginner and advanced crafter. A gallery provides inspiration for your own creations.
Apples to Apples: Basic Techniques for Decorating Gourds By C. Angela Mohr 64 Pages, 178 color images Price: $19.99
Book Description: The shape of an Apple Gourd makes it perfect to decorate for beginning artists. Ten projects include a 'Be My Valentine' gourd, fish and rooster adorned gourds, a gourd decorated with gift wrapper, and a 'Thinking of You' gourd with well-wishes written on it. There are many techniques presented. Through 178 color images and step-by-step directions you can use color, paper, common art supplies, and special effects as decorations. A gallery of finished projects will inspire your own creations.
Weaving on Gourds By Marianne Barnes 112 Pages, 200 color images & 3 b/w patterns Price: $19.99
Book Description: Combine basket weaving and gourd art in this new DIY. With 200 color images and step-by-step directions, five projects are presented for both the beginner and advanced weaver: Twine and Triple Twine Gourd, Twill Woven Gourd, and a Gourd Basket with Four Rod Wale. Chapters cover preparing the gourd, weaving techniques, strengthening the rim, and adding embellishments to your finished woven gourd. Six contributing artists provide tips, and a gallery of completed works offers inspiration for creating your own designs.
Gourd Fun for Everyone By Sammie Crawford 128 Pages, 239 color photos Price: $22.99
Book Description: Discover a world of enchantment and creative possibilities with Sammie Crawford, the Fairy Gourdmother.™ Her painting and decorating techniques, patterns, and practical instruction will have you creating masterpieces. Gourds are everywhere: in gardens, at the grocery or farmer's market, and online. Whether you create a Christmas character, a frog prince, a snowman, a mermaid, a lighthouse, or a bow-legged cowboy, you'll be smiling from start to finish. Eight step-by-step projects are shown to get you started, and there are lots of other examples to inspire your own ideas of what a gourd can be.
Holiday Fun By Sammie Crawford Price: $14.99
Book Description: Create your own Christmas ornaments and decorations with these techniques for painting gourds. Learn step-by-step to do-it-yourself with tips for selecting the right gourd to paint and the right paint and brush to use. 138 color photographs for 11 projects show ornaments, including a Lifesaver Tree, a Nutcracker King, and a Peppermint Santa. The gallery of completed projects will inspire your own ideas for holiday decorating.
Chip-Carving Gourds: Advanced Techniques By Marilyn Rehm Price: $14.99
Book Description: See what a gourd and a chisel can make and learn that chip-carving has never been so easy. The advanced techniques demonstrated builds on the skills learned in the author's first book, A Guide to Chip-Carving Gourds. Step-by-step guide, with 229 color photographs, demonstrates the many ways to decorate a gourd with only the simplest of tools -- no electric cords, no noise, no dust. 10 Projects feature bowls, birdhouses, jewelry, and ornaments. A gallery of color photographs provides ideas for your own creations. This is a relaxing handcraft that any beginner or seasoned gourd crafter can learn and enjoy.
InLace Techniques By Betsey Sloan Price: $12.99
Book Description: This is the first comprehensive book written on the uses of InLace resin inlay for gourd artists and wood turners. Chapters present carving techniques in gourds, mixing resin, insetting, sanding, and polishing. Step-by-step directions that can be applied to any gourd and five projects from contributing artists are include, as well as three original designs for the crafter's use. The most common challenges working with resin inlay are addressed and ten gourd artisans and a wood turner share their experiences with this decorative inlay material. An extensive gallery of gourd and wood turned art will inspire readers to add personal touches to their projects. A resource list guides readers to suggested supplies.
Wild Women of Gourdonia By Stu Fabe & Marla Helton Price: $15.00
Book Description: “Wild Women of Gourdonia”, a 42-page hardcover book, comes from the fertile imaginations of Stu Fabe and Marla Helton. This collection of whimsical stories will make you smile, and their simple messages about celebrating each other and respecting the land remind us of what is truly important in life.
A Guide to Chip-Carving Gourds By Marilyn Rehm Price: $14.99
Book Description: Love working with gourds, but hate all the dust? This new book offers an alternative technique. Step-by-step instructions, along with 176 color photographs, show how to chip and chisel a gourd into a decorative piece for the house or outside. Best of all, only basic, simple tools are needed; no electric cords, no noise, no dust. Create a stunning array of bowls, birdhouses, and ornaments. A gallery of 16 color photographs provides ideas for your own creations. Chip-carving on Gourds is a gentle, relaxing handcraft that any beginner or seasoned gourd crafter can learn and enjoy.
Decorating Gourds: Carving, Burning, Painting, and More By Sue Waters Price: $14.95
Book Description: Discover the wonderful art of gourd carving and produce gourd-geous results in a minimal time! Gourds grow in all shapes and sizes, and no two are alike. This book shows you how to prepare a gourd for decoration, and then lets your creativity soar! Step-by-step photos and text demonstrate several techniques you could use, including carving, woodburning, painting, staining, stenciling, and pine needle weaving. The projects covered here include vessels, a hanging potpourri, and an adorable Santa Claus. Patterns are included to get you started, and a color photo gallery displays finished projects.
Gourd Crafts: 6 Projects & Patterns By Ro Shillingford Price: $14.95
Book Description: Learn all the steps necessary, from the ground up you might say, to create wonderful art with gourds. Over 220 clear color photos and concise text explain how to create gourd bird houses, bowls, apple boxes, whimsy-bird vases, ewers, and scarecrow roly-polys. The informative text also provides essential information on growing, curing, and cleaning gourds of different types. Cutting and cleaning techniques, the proper use of glues and wood fillers, and how to transfer pattern drawings to gourds are also covered. Decorating gourds is addressed in detail, including coloring, burning, decorative carving, and finishing techniques. Pattern drawings and a resources guide listing the names and addresses of useful suppliers are supplied. This is the perfect guide for all who pursue this entertaining and rewarding craft.
Coiled Designs for Gourd Art By Catherine Devine Price: $14.99
Book Description: Coiling is a basketry technique used as decoration in gourd art. Step-by-step coiling techniques, as well as pattern designs, help gourd enthusiasts use coiled waxed linen and colored thread to enhance their work. 196 color photos show how to trim a gourd bowl or vase and use the coiled threads to add color to your favorite gourds. A special chart will help crafters design their own coiling patterns. Beginners and advanced workers with gourds will be inspired by this book.
Gourd Puppets and Dolls: A Do-It-Yourself for Crafters By Angela Mohr Price: $14.95
Book Description: These projects join two age-old skills: gourding and sewing. With simple techniques, you can combine gourds with a cloth body to make dolls or puppets to enjoy or give as gifts. In this Do-It-Yourself guide, you'll learn how to make: - a gourd ragdoll - reversible dolls - marionettes - even bobble gourdheads! - And much, much more
Making Gourd Headpieces: Decorating and Creating Headgear for Every Occasion By Angela Mohr Price: $14.95
Book Description: Angela Mohr uses scraps and misshapen runts of gourds to make fun things to wear on your head. With simple tools and supplies already in the house or from a local craft shop, you can make tiaras, barrettes, seasonal headbands, and hatpins and also use gourds to decorate your hats and bonnets. In fact, with a gourd thinking cap, like the one shown in this book, you can create your own projects! Mohr provides easy step-by-step demonstration of how to make and decorate a variety of headpieces.
Making Gourd Ornaments By Angela Mohr Price: $12.95
Book Description: 162 clear color photos and lively instructions teach readers to create imaginative and colorful Christmas ornaments made from hard-shelled, miniature gourds. The designs include birdhouses, snowmen, angels, tree balls, double tree balls, tree toppers, and wall hangings. Step-by-step instructions proceed from initial gourd cleaning to final painting, wood burning, and the installation of hangers. Simple tools are required to complete the projects. Advice for growing gourds and a gallery of finished ornaments are provided to fire the reader's imagination to create beautiful handcrafted objects.
Gourd Art Basics: The Complete Guide to Cleaning, Preparation and Repair By Angela Mohr Price: $14.95
Book Description: In this new gourd book, author Angela Mohr demonstrates how to select and prepare gourds from the garden and demonstrates basic techniques for cleaning, shaping, and fixing gourds, which then can be decorated for everyday use, such as bowls and vases. This do-it-yourself how-to is perfect for any beginning gourd artisan to learn the finer points of a gourd, fix their common flaws and put the gourds to good use as accessories around the house.
The Works of Robert Rivera By Robert Rivera Price: $80
“Arguably the finest gourd painter in the country.” “A combination of Spanish, Indian and French heritage informs Robert’s designs. From decorative animal images to festively feathered kachina masks, he draws inspiration from many cultures to create his unique vessels which make the leap from craft to fine art. His favorite designs are classic Acoma, Zuni, Hopi and Mimbres, patterns that reflect the timeless character of the different cultures. He does not copy the designs, preferring to personally interpret them, but so deeply connected is Robert to the artistry that went before, that some years back, while attending an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, he was startled to come across a piece of prehistoric pottery, twelve hundred years old, with the exact same design of a gourd that he had painted.” -- http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/profile/rivera.html
The Complete Book of Gourd Craft By Ginger Summit & Jim Widess 144 Pages Price: $18.95
22 Projects 55 Decorative Techniques 300 Inspirational Designs From Library Journal: Gourds have been used for centuries as containers and decorative objects. Hardshell gourds with brightly painted faces and figures recently have become popular items at craft sales. This book covers growing, harvesting, and curing as well as crafting and finishing. Gourd crafters must work with the natural shape of the gourd, which cannot be reshaped once it has dried, but it can be cut, incised, painted, and embellished. The projects, presented by experienced gourd crafters, are artistic and imaginative and cover all techniques of dealing with gourds. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Book Description: “This book covers growing, harvesting, and curing as well as crafting and finishing....The projects, are artistic and imaginative and cover all techniques of dealing with gourds.” —Library Journal. “Lots of inspiring gourd crafting techniques and ideas—I highly recommend The Complete Book of Gourd Craft...its 300 color photos... depict many...amazing things you can create...plenty of detailed information.” —Organic Gardening.
Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures By Ginger Summit & Jim Widess 224 Pages Price: $24.95
Book Description: Dolls that dance, dolls that protect, dolls that charm: these beautiful gourd dolls do that and more. Ginger Summit and Jim Widess—authors of The Complete Book of Gourd Crafting and Making Gourd Musical Instruments—pay tribute to an ancient craft in a volume both inspirational and instructional. It’s packed with images of dolls from different cultures and eras, filled with testimonials from the most creative artists working today, and brimming with advice and irresistible projects. Summit and Widess explain how to choose a gourd, mold one as it’s growing, clean it properly and safely, pyrograph and sculpt faces, create movable joints, and make such creatures as a simple, limbless Stump Doll; beaded Zulu doll; endearing Hobgoblin; and stacked Mother and Daughter dolls.
Gourds in Your Garden: A Guidebook for the Home Gardener By Ginger Summit 128 Pages Price: $18.95
Book Description: Book Description Whether you're a seasoned gardener enchanted with their lush vines and unusually shaped fruit or a crafter in search of the perfect gourd for a specific project, this easy-to-use primer takes the mystery out of growing gourds. Largely ignored by most gardening books, gourd plants require specific attention to produce healthy vines and satisfactory fruit. Learn how to: * Identify popular gourd shapes * Plan and cultivate your garden * Grow, train, and harvest a bountiful crop * Control pests and disease with natural remedies * Prepare your gourds for use-in recipes and art projects. Lists of suppliers, a growing calendar, and space for notes on your own garden conditions make this the complete gourd sourcebook. A delight to read as well as a lasting reference, this long overdue guide to the adventures of growing one of Nature's greatest gifts is an essential addition to any gardener's library. About the Author: In 1990 I became intrigued with the idea of decorating gourds. However, in pursuing this interest, I became quite frustrated trying to find instructional books - they were few and far between. What began as a craft interest quickly became a passion as I discovered unusual uses of gourds in marketplaces and museums around the world. Extensive contacts with craftspeople and artists in this country revealed a vital interest in gourds as a new medium for expression. As a retired teacher, I wanted to share this new found knowledge with others hoping to provide the long needed resources, by writing books and articles on gourds.
Gourd Crafts: 20 Great Projects to Dye, Paint, Carve, Bead, and Woodburn in a Weekend By Ginger Summit 80 Pages Price: $14.95
Book Description: The many virtues of the humble gourd have been recognized for centuries. Used throughout the ages as storage vessels, dishes, utensils, musical instruments, and decorative items, gourds are a favorite craft material nowadays, affording an ideal surface for painting, carving, wood burning, cutting, and otherwise embellishing. Ginger Summit's excellent directions, supplemented with clear, step-by-step photos, demonstrate all these techniques, in which you learn to transform various gourd shapes into masks, candleholders, bracelets, numerous containers, and many other items. The designs complement the medium perfectly and make for relatively simple projects. A resource page lists suppliers and contact information for tools and the dried gourds themselves. --Amy Handy

Gourds, Gourd Books & Gift Certificates For Sale

Making Gourd Musical Instruments: Over 60 String, Wind & Percussion Instruments & How to Play Them

Gourd Pyrography

How to Make Hawaiian Musical Instruments

Basic Wood Burning

Building Gourd Birdhouses with the Fairy Gourdmother

Gourds + Fiber: Embellishing Gourds with Basketry, Weaving, Stitching, Macrame & More

Creating Gourd Birds with the Fairy Gourdmother

Making More Gourd Ornaments

Antler Art for Baskets and Gourds

Apples to Apples: Basic Techniques for Decorating Gourds

Weaving on Gourds

Gourd Fun for Everyone

Holiday Fun

Chip-Carving Gourds: Advanced Techniques

InLace Techniques

Wild Women of Gourdonia

A Guide to Chip-Carving Gourds

Decorating Gourds: Carving, Burning, Painting, and More

Gourd Crafts: 6 Projects & Patterns

Coiled Designs for Gourd Art

Gourd Puppets and Dolls: A Do-It-Yourself for Crafters

Making Gourd Headpieces: Decorating and Creating Headgear for Every Occasion

Making Gourd Ornaments

Gourd Art Basics: The Complete Guide to Cleaning, Preparation and Repair

The Works of Robert Rivera

The Complete Book of Gourd Craft

Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures

Gourds in Your Garden: A Guidebook for the Home Gardener

Gourd Crafts: 20 Great Projects to Dye, Paint, Carve, Bead, and Woodburn in a Weekend