Whimsical Scarecrow Gourd DIY

Add a touch of whimsy to your Fall decor creating an adorable scarecrow gourd.   Gourds are part of the pumpkin and squash family and a fun addition in decorating for the fall season! It's perfectly designed for many types of craft projects - especially the whimsical ones! But cleaning and drying gourds can take a lot of time and effort - sometimes up to a year to dry out completely. You can take the easy way out and decorate an already dried gourd or simply buy a paper mache gourd like I did. Either way, crafting gourds may become a creative obsession. There are so many unique ways to craft and use them in seasonal decor. 

Just by painting on a funny face and adding a few whimsical decorations, you're sure to put a smile on everyone's face who see it! And the whimsical gourd looks great as a centerpiece, as well as a fun conversation starter, too! Here's a fun way to decorate one:

Materials Needed

• Pot Belly Gourd (paper mache)
• White chalk paint/metallic acrylic paints
• Paint/sponge brushes
• Raffia
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors/
• Pencil/Magic marker (black)
• Burlap
• Mod Podge/sponge

Let's begin by painting the entire gourd with white chalk paint.  Once dry, paint the top portion with a few layers of a metallic bronze shade and .  .  .

let dry.

Then sponge paint the bottom area with a complimentary color like this golden brown acrylic.

Applying several layers for a rich autumn look and let dry.

To add to the whimsy look, make a raffia brim using raffia from the dollar store. This brim adds to an illusion of a scarecrow hat on top - that's why it's done in a different color.

To make the raffia brim, measure around the neck of the gourd with a strip of raffia, allowing for a few extra inches to tie the ends together and then cut off the measured piece from the bundle. Next, start cutting off lots of six inch strips of raffia for the fringe brim. I used two bundles to make strips. And it was more than what I needed to fit around the top of the gourd.  Next, line up a few of the 6" pieces together and fold in half forming loops on one end and place over the longer strip.

Make a lark's head knot by placing the loop over the long piece of raffia and pulling the raffia strands through the loop around the raffia, as pictured, 

pulling the raffia strands tight into a knot. 

Continue making larks head knots with groups of three to four 6" strips of raffia around the longer raffia strip until it is completely covered - leaving enough raffia to tie in a knot around the gourd.

Then evenly cut off the raffia to mimic a scarecrow hat's brim.

And tie it tightly around where the different colors of the gourd meet. Use hot glue to keep the brim in place.

And finally, fluff and separate the raffia around for a cool brim look.

You can take it up a notch and make a real hat out of burlap. Simply soak  burlap with Mod Podge to make it stiff using a sponge and .  .  .

hang up to dry.

Once the burlap has dried, use a large plate to cut out a circle - then cut the circle in half. 

Bring the two ends of the half circle together to form a cone.  Adjust the size of the cone so that the base fits the widest portion of the top of the gourd and sits perfectly on the raffia brim. Hold in place and apply glue to the edge of the burlap to seal.

Now it's time to make the face! Draw on a whimsical face using a pencil, starting with the eyes. Hmm - caution: I can't draw or paint, so please bare with me. I looked online for a funny scarecrow template - there are zillions of them, so I'm just winging it here by looking at some the examples. After drawing on the eyes  -

go over the lines with a black magic marker.

Then add the eyebrows, nose and mouth. Filling in the eyes with white chalkpaint, and nose, with a spicy orange acrylic.

Too cute!

How's this for whimsy!

Together with a pal from a few years ago.

Perfect for our Creative Craft Blog Hop!

Welcome to our monthly Creative Craft Blog Hop created by Chloe @ Celebrate & Decorate and Andrea @ Design Morsels!  I've teamed up with a talented group of creative bloggers to bring you lots of 

wonderful ideas and inspirations! 

Have fun and get inspired by all of the wonderful creations this month by clicking on the links below!

If you're hopping along this blog hop, I hope you enjoyed Rachelle's adorable rustic autumn craft! Your next stop is Lynne @My Family Tyme sharing her lovely stamped tea towels!

Celebrate and Decorate - Dollar Store Skull

Design Morsels - Mummy Door Decoration

Chas' Crazy Creations - Breast Cancer Awareness Wreath

Birdz of a Feather - Cement Planter DIY

My Thrift Store Addiction - Thrifty Tips for Crafting Seasonal Pillows

B4 and Afters - Crochet Scarf Patterns

Debbees Buzz - Elegant Black Pumpkins

The Painted Apron - Trick Or Treat Creations

My Hubbard Home - Rustic Autumn Craft

Purple Hues and Me - Whimsical Scarecrow Gourd DIY

My Family Thyme - Stamped Tea Towels

Our Crafty Mom - Halloween Tiered Tray Ideas

Raggedy Bits - How To Make Wooden Halloween Pumpkins

Home Is Where the Boat Is - Halloween Witch Craft

Decorate & More with Tip - Simple DIY Pumpkin Pillow

Zucchini Sisters - Pumpkin Truck Sign

BlueskyAtHome - DIY Pumpkin Wreath