GOURD BIRDHOUSES

I've always wanted to make a few birdhouses from gourds but never seemed to actually get around to actually making them until now.  I recently picked up a few gourds for $5 each while visiting the Past Tense Arts and Antiques Store in Lapeer Mi and within a week, these 2 birdhouses became part of my home landscaping!  Hopefully next spring I will find them fully occupied with happily nesting feathered families. 

DESIGNING ... 

Since no 2 gourds are exactly alike, it's difficult to create patterns for these natural surfaces.  I prefer to play with a variety of design ideas with my Photoshop image editor before grabbing my craft paints and brushes.  I first take a digital photo, open it in my editor, cut out the areas around the shape which I can then use as my basic shape template. 

Digital designing allows me to experiment with the design without worry. Because I create a new layer for each design element and color, correcting unwanted errors is as simple as deleting or modifying the individual layer in question. 

For my original design, the top half of the gourd was going to have a shingled cottage roof.  I later discarded the layer in lieu of a new one featuring long downward facing leaves to better balance the upward facing leaves along the bottom of the gourd.

I use a digital pen to add a layer of outlining.  I save this layer as a .png image and use it as a project guide which I can refer to while painting the actual gourd. I may also want to use it to create clipart or digital elements in the future so I'll file it away until I need it.

I copy and paste both the line art pattern guide along with my color sample onto a new document, print it out and then head over to my painting table.


PAINTING:

As you can see, the actual project sort of resembles but is not exactly as I originally designed it which is as it should be when it comes to creative adventures.  By nature, I prefer to freestyle paint and use a pencil to draw directly on my surface.  Transferring lines directly from a pattern is a difficult task on rounded naturally shaped surfaces like this one!

There was no need to digitally design this birdhouse as Mother Nature already seemed to have something in mind for it!  After both birdhouses were completed, I used a sponge brush to apply a coat of Thompson's Clear Wood Sealer to the outside surfaces and around the drilled openings.

Now all that's left to do is be on the lookout for potential tenants!