Instructions

• Step 1: Select gourd Select a bottle gourd that has a smaller bulb on top to serve as Santa's head with a large bulb on bottom, which will become his jolly mid-section.
• Step 2: Wash and dry Remove the stem at the top and wash the gourd thoroughly, scrubbing off dirt with a pot scrubber. Let it dry completely.
• Step 3: Fill in holes Fill in any holes or irregularities with wood putty and then sand it with fine sandpaper.
• Step 4: Paint the hat Paint Santa's red hat rimmed in white on the top of the gourd with a tassel hanging down the back of the gourd.
• TIP: You can skip painting the hat and either knit or buy a small Santa hat.
• Step 5: Paint the face Paint the eyes, eyebrows, nose, rosy cheeks, and mouth on the upper bulb. Add white painted hair on the sides and in back. Then add a moustache and a beard that can extend down onto the lower bulb of the gourd.
• Step 6: Create the body Paint the lower bulb of the gourd red to look like Santa's suit, with a black belt and white-trimmed sleeves ending in white mittens.
• TIP: Add creative details, like a sack full of toys, a scroll list, and a wreath.
• Step 7: Finish Let the paint dry and add a coat of clear acrylic spray finish. If the gourd won't stand on its own, place it on top of a small grapevine wreath.
• FACT: Gourds were used as national currency in Haiti in the early 1800s.

You Will Need

• Bottle gourd
• Wood putty
• Fine sandpaper
• Acrylic paints and paintbrushes
• Clear acrylic spray finish
• Grapevine wreath
• Santa cap (optional)