Making Gourd Jewelry For Unique Holiday Gifts

Whenever you have a gourd that you cut apart to make a bowl or a vase or a lamp you invariably end up with pieces of gourd left over. Most people just toss these out without another thought. But save all your scraps because you can make interesting jewelry out of them. If you have the skinny neck of a dipper gourd, you can cut it into slices and string it as a gourd necklace. If you have a bottle gourd just the right diameter, use can saw it in slices and make bracelets. Gourds are super light so the jewelry is also light and easy to wear.

Or you can buy mini jewelry gourds. Pick out two that are about the same shape and size and you can make earrings.

For decorating gourds you can use spray paint, acrylics, leather dyes, inks, or oil paints. Or you can glue yarn or beads to them. Or if you are good at the peyote stitch, you'll find out why it's also called the gourd stitch, as it works really well on gourds.