Crafting with Gourds

Gourd Art at LSIrish.com

Gourds make a wonderful base for many of our favorite crafts – wood carving, wood burning, decoupage, and sculpture painting.

In these projects we will learn how to clean, cut, prepare, and decorate dried craft gourds.

Bee, Bug, and Seed Gourd House Roof Decorations

Begin this free, online dried craft gourd art project with our Basic Constructions step-by-step page. Then enjoy how to create your roof accents on our Bee House Roof Accents page, and the Bee House Gallery page.

In-depth tutorial coming soon!
I am working on posting over the weekend – March 29, 2024
Discover how easy and fun it is to cut and glue gourd together to create new shapes.  In this free online project we will explore the basic steps needed to make your own crafty bird gourds.
String House Decoupaged Gourd Art

Free online gourd art beginner’s project

Any natural fiber material can easily be collage to the surface of your gourd using archival white water-based glue. This fun bird house uses paper coffee filters, cotton cheese cloth, burlap, garden twine, and cotton cord to create a riot of texture. When the collage work is dry we will use oil pastels to brightly color the high ridges of the texture.
10” high, 8” diameter, 23” circumference kettle gourd

 

Crafting with Gourds
Lora S Irish
Available at Amazon.com
Crafting with Gourds
Building, Painting, and Embellishing Birdhouses, Flowerpots, Wind Chimes, and More (Fox Chapel Publishing) 14 Step-by-Step Projects for Natural, Seasonal Décor from Lora S. Irish Paperback – October 8, 2018Transform ordinary gourds into extraordinary art!14 step-by-step projects with bright, beautiful project photography
Learn to make delightful wind chimes, birdhouses, pitchers, flower pots & decorative figures
Covers a variety of color media, including colored pencils, watercolor, acrylics, oils, pastels, gel pens, & more
Explains all the gourd basics including selection, cleaning, cutting, shaping, surface prep, transferring designs, & finishing

Crafting with Gourds will teach you an amazing array of techniques for creating unique and attractive décor! This complete artist’s guide to gourd crafting provides useful tips & techniques on a wide range of color media, from craft acrylics and artist’s oils to pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, gel pens, and more.

 

Braided Raffia Gourd Rim
This step-by-step Autumn Bird Nest Gourd project focuses on a simple braided raffia rim that you can use for your gourd art.
Free online gourd art projects
Wood Spirit Gourd Mask
Some hot glue, copper foil, electric wires, vintage and damaged jewelry pieces, some thick cotton yarn, and a pair of old glasses quickly turned a practice gourd scrap into an Urban Warrior Gourd Art Mask.
Wood Spirit Gourd Pencil Jar
This Wood Spirit Colored Pencil Gourd is worked along the same technique as our free online gourd art project, Wood Spirit Gourd Mask, an in depth tutorial that will take you through all of the steps to create your own acrylic paint and colored pencil face painting.

 

Lora S. Irish patternsCreating Gourd Art Musical Instruments – Banjo

What happens when you unite the joy of gourd art crafting, the joy of bright and vibrant colors, and the joy of music?  You create this joyous gourd banjo with copper wire strings.

An extra large kettle gourd with some damage around the stem area inspired this fun gourd musical instrument project.  While I did not take step-by-step photos … I was too involved in the fun of creation to remember … I will share four easy ‘secrets’ that made the construction quick and accurate.

 

Coloring Wood Carving, Pyrography & Gourd Projects

Our navigation page for all coloring instructions for wood carving, pyrography, gourd, and craft projects

Color Theory by Irish
Free PDF Download

 

Elk and Wildlife Patterns by Lora IrishWildlife Elk PatternsMushroom Wood Spirit Patterns by Lora IrishMushroom SpiritsHeart Shaped Flower Patterns by Lora IrishArchitectural Icons
Visit our pattern website
ArtDesignsStudio.com
for more fun patterns, ideas, and designs to use
in your next craft project.

 

Crafting with Gourds Read More »

Free E-Project PDFs on Pyrography Color Theory

 

Two free E-Projects, for your download, are posted
on my pattern website – ArtDesignsStudio.com.

Please get your copies today!

 

Painting Wood, Water Colors, Colored Pencils, Marking Pens

 

Coloring Your Project

Painting with Eye Shadow for Wood Carving and Pyrographyfree pyrography clock pattern
Coloring Your Project
Color Chart for LSIrish.com
Basics to Painting
Adding Skin Colors with Watercolors
Basics to Painting
Acrylics over a Primer for Wood Carving
China Painting with Acrylics for Wood Carving
Dry Brushed Acrylics over Oil Stain for Wood Carvings
Marbling and Splatter Painting
Simple Dry Brushing for Wood Carving and Pyrography
Vintage Painting
Wood Carving and Burning Painting Supplies
Paint Kit Supplies for Painting Your Wood Carving
Steps to Success, Painting Your Wood Carving
Burnishing Your Wood Carving
Simple Blending with Acrylic Craft Paintsfinishing and paintinf techniques for wood
General Techniques Used in Wood Carving Painting
Basics to Painting for Pyrography and Wood Carving
Painting Eyes
Watercolors and Wood Burning
The Color Wheel, Who Is R. G. Biv?
Dry Brushing, Wood Painting Techniques by Lora Irish
Colored Pencil Let’s Talk Color
Marking Pen Quilts
Adult Coloring – Colored Pencil Application
Adult Coloring – Working with Colored Pencils
Adult Coloring Portraits
Colored Pencil Let’s Talk Color
Colored Pencil Pyrography
Color, Shadow, and Light in Pyrography
Coloring your Pyrography using Colored Pencils
Painting a Color Wheel for Pyrography, Gourd Art, Wood Carving
Working in Layers, Colored Pencils
Color Chart for LSIrish.com
Painted Blue Jeans 2, Free Craft Patterns
Painted Blue Jeans, Free Patterns
Sepia Toned Crayons

LSIrish.com

L S Irish Mission Statement
Free Wood Carving, Pyrography, Painting PDF Files
Selling Your Finished Work – Art and Craft Shows
Copyright, Can I sell my finished projects?
Lora Irish Copyright Article
How to Download

Free E-Project PDFs on Pyrography Color Theory Read More »

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Free Winter 2023 Tribal Celtic Pattern Pack

Go to my pattern website for your free  download at ArtDesignsStudio.com

It includes 4 free Tribal Celtic patterns that can be used in any craft, 5 work in progress photos of the finished pyrography game board, Introduction to Pyrography PDF, and Pyrography Pen Tips pdf.

Thank you so much, and with love for the new year,

-Lora

 

Happy Holidays!!!!! Read More »

Fish Decoy Wood Carving Free Online Projects

What do you do with that old fish tank that has been hidden in the corner of the basement forever? You turn it into a terrarium to display your collection of hand wood carved fish decoys!

Fish decoy carving is an area of whittling that is both easy, expressive, and creative.  The lid from your cat food can or leather scraps from an old purse can become the fins of your fish.  Copper wire can be made into the whiskers of a cat fish decoy, imitation fishing hooks, or hanging loops.

Coloring options are unlimited.  Bright acrylic craft paints color the body of your fish.  Now you can splatter it with white dots, dip the tip of a pencil into your color for big dots, or use the very edge of a shader brush to make ragged lines.

Learn more about fish decoy carving here.

Fish Decoy Carving

Burning & Carving Fish

Wood Carving Fish Decoys

Whittle Fish Decoy Carving

Just want some fishing patterns for your next pyrography or relief wood carving project …
Visit my pattern website at ArtDesignsStudio.com, Fishing Category

Fish Decoy Wood Carving Free Online Projects Read More »

Extreme Foam Pumpkin Carving

Snow Gnome Pyrography
Have a little free pyrography fun with this step-by-step PDF.

Our Best Discount of the Year
ArtDesignsStudio.com

Adult Coloring E-Project
Available at our pattern website – ArtDesignsStudio.com

If you enjoy Adult Coloring, Wood Carving, or Pyrography this E-Book, by Lora S. Irish, will teach you the techniques to create vibrant skin tones in your colored pencil works.  As an added bonus the patterns inside of the Adult Coloring Portrait E-Book are shown in a medium gray coloring, not as black outlined designs, so that your coloring will cover the pattern outlines.

  • Learn how to create new color tones through the use of a color wheel
  • Create your own skin shading practice grid using your colored pencil pack
  • Discover how to determine your light source and how it effects the highlights and shadows on the face
  • Practice using black cherry, indigo blue, deep forest green, and burnt umber as your shading base
  • Explore the different art papers that you can use with your printer for your portraits

146 pages of instructions, patterns, and ideas including 6 in-depth step-by-step portrait projects and 62 patterns for wood spirits, greenmen, shamans, wizards, vampires, dragons, and assorted designs.

 

Halloween Pumpkin E-Project
Available on our pattern website – ArtDesignsStudio.com

$9.95

Have you tried carving rigid XPS foam yet?  It is a construction product used for home insulation that is created with densely packed particles of polystyrene and it carves like a dream.  Light weight, water proof, and can be colored with acrylic craft paints.  This pdf by Lora S Irish will take you through all the steps needed to carve your own Extreme Pumpkin face.

 

In the northern hemisphere, this is the perfect time of year to harvest your walking sticks and hiking canes.   As the saplings along your fence lines, road side, or field edges begin to lost their leaves their trunk profile becomes visible.

Learn more about How to Harvest Your Walking Sticks

 

 

 

 

Autumn is a great time to start a new wood carving project.

Our free, online, step-by-step Canada Goose Relief Carving Project includes all the instructions a new carver needs to complete this realistic, painted waterfowl plaque.

 

 

Did you know that you can work your pyrography on many more surfaces than just wood.  Watercolor paper, vegetable-dyed leather, cotton canvas, and paper mache make great backgrounds for your next work.

Learn more about Pyrography on Paper
Pyrography on Leather
Wood Burned Paper Mache Mouse Box

wood carving wooden spoonsAre you ready to  start spoon carving?  This traditional whittling projects is quick, fun, and so easily adapted to new designs.

Learn more about Spoon Carving
Wood Carving
Cutting a Wooden Spoon Blank
Spoon Styles for Wood Carving
The Art of Spoon Carving by Lora S. Irish
Wood Carving a Basic Wooden Spoon

Wood Carving Wooden Spoons
Wooden Spoon Burning Patterns
Beginner’s Wood Carving, Spoon Carving
Wood Carving a Basic Wooden Spoon
Styles of Wood Carved Spoons

free painted blue jean patternsGet out your permanent marking and gel pens to have a fun evening of decorating our old blue jeans.  After the design is completed, iron your pants on a hot temperature to set your colors.

Learn more about Blue Jean Painting

 

Extreme Foam Pumpkin Carving Read More »

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