The Gourds

I had three projects to complete on Wednesday.

1)  I needed to finish staining the bench. It got its second coat of stain. Varnish next week.

2) I needed to complete a hiking project and I did.

AND
3) I wanted to clean the gourds I had bought at the Gourd Festival so I can begin that project.

 The gourds were dirty and moldy looking when I bought them from the gourd farm.

 I collected AZ rain water for soaking the gourds. This is what the water looked like after I finished cleaning the first group of gourds. I used the brush to remove the dirt, mold and gourd skin.

 The gourds are covered with a thin 'skin' that has to be removed before painting or decorating the gourd. You can see where some of the 'skin' has been brushed away, leaving a honey colored gourd.

 This is what these gourds look like once they are cleaned. I'm not going to share what I plan to do with these until I have completed the project.

These have all been cleaned and are drying in the sun. A couple needed another soaking & scraping.

 The round gourds have lots of potential. I don't have anything specific in mind, yet.

 I love the natural spots and colors on the gourds. I don't know if I will cover and hide this uniqueness or try to enhance it???

 This is the second round gourd. You can see where I have scraped at the skin. It's in curls & peelings. Most of the whiteness was scraped off. A great day to be working outside.

 Here is a warty gourd. The bumps did not come off during cleaning, brushing or scraping. I have three of these and a plan for them.

And here are the cleaned gourds, drying on newspaper. They are my next AZ project. Stay tuned...