Two of the best sellers in the gourd world are gourd santas and gourd snowmen and snow women. Every artist seems to put their own spin on the idea. I have no idea who came up with the first ones, but the idea stuck and they still make a fun project for families.

Typically a bottle gourd is used, but you could certainly use the smaller jewelry gourds to make tiny snowman earrings or santa Christmas tree ornaments.

You can either use the pointy top of the gourd to be the santa hat, or the snowman's top hat or you could sew, knit or crochet a seperate hat and maybe a neckscarf.

Once you've chosen your gourd, rinse it off in the sink, then wrap it in a wet towel for 5 minutes. Scrub off the dirt and the thin outer skin with a pot scrubber. A small stream of running water will help wash away the debris as you go.

Let the gourd dry thoroughly before painting. If the gourd has bugholes or dings you don't like, they can be filled with wood putty and then sanded smooth.

I like to paint gourds with acrylics when I need bright opaque colors. For other projects I use leather dyes but I think for the look we want, acrylics are a good choice. Oil paint will also work, but requires a lot more drying time.

When I am all finished and the paint is thoroughly dry, I spray with clear acrylic spray finish.

If the gourd won't stand on it's own, it's not a problem. Just find a small grapevine wreath or other stand to set it on. You could spray paint the wreath white if you want it to look like your snowman is standing on snow.

Don't forget some cool accessories like wire framed glasses for Santa or little stick arms for the snowman. Drill holes where you want the twigs and glue them in with a bit of wood glue.

I flipped over the cat calendar in my bathroom and Dec.'s photo is of a cat playing in the yard with a gourd santa. They're everywhere.