Gourds

 

We are still waiting for our gourds to dry. They were quite green and are now turning brown and developing the character that gourds usually develop before they are ready. At least that is what I have read. I am on new ground with these gourds. I really like them, but I don't have any experience.

Any ideas for Christmas decorations? I thought about tying read and green bows around them but I don't have any definite ideas. I do like the fact that they are changing colors. They are developing a greenish, beige color that is very nice. They should become brown as they dry and I think these are "browning" nicely. 

I thought about "glittering" them but I just hate it when glitter gets all over the house, so I don't think that is an option I would choose. They are too big for ornaments and they are not quite dry yet so and I don't want to interrupt the process.

I have seen very small dried gourds made into miniature bird house Christmas ornaments, complete with a little hole drilled in them for the little bird ornament -- a small cardinal sitting on a perch -- very cute, but I didn't have any miniature gourds, only large ones. Maybe next year I will have a Christmas birdhouse with a cardinal for a decoration. I could paint cardinals on a full-sized birdhouse. That would be pretty.

Any suggestions for this year? I would really appreciate it!