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Gardens
and Gourds
January 2006
Welcome to the
first newsletter of 2006. I hope you enjoy the new layout.
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Are
you planning on making a bowl or cup that will be used for eating
or drinking? There are some different ways to make your gourd
food safe.
1. Use a salad bowl finish that can be found in the woodworking
departments in stores or online. Just do a search for “Salad
Bowl Finish
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2.
A beeswax coating can be used.
It is best to heat the gourd in the
oven at 200º for about 15 minutes before applying the beeswax
for better absorbency. Be sure and melt the beeswax in a double
boiler or do what I do and put a can with the beeswax in a pot with
water. Melt it slowly on low so it doesn’t start spitting.
Beeswax is flammable and hot when melted so be careful because we
don’t want any accidents while we are having fun with gourds. |
3. You can also waterproof with 100% tung oil.
It will take awhile because you need to use 4 coats and let dry
between coats. If you happen to get tung oil that isn’t
100% pure you will need to let it sit before using for 4 weeks
to let the added chemicals evaporate out. |
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4.
You may even want to go primitive and use the water method. Just
fill the gourd with water and let it sit for a couple of days.
Throw that water out and refill. Keep up the process until the
water in the gourd no longer tastes bitter.
All
of these need to be done when the gourd has been cleaned thoroughly
and sanded smooth.
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Now
a word from our sponsor
No
mess for you with my gourds ready for crafting.
Let me do the work
and you add your artistic talents.
Do you have allergies?
Don't take the chance on having a reaction cleaning moldy
gourds.
All of our gourds for sale are cleaned and prepped so that
you won't have
any of the mess and dirty work to do.
Start creating the minute they arrive at your door.
We
offer gourds grown in Pennsylvania
but we are also an east coast distributor of gourds grown
at Welburn Gourd Farm
in California. |
Do
you have a gourd that you would like to line for interest or to
strengthen a thin wall?
I
came across this site that is explaining how to dye used dryer
sheets.
I thought it would be something neat to try as a liner for a gourd.
How
to dye dryer sheets
There
is a new gourd book out called "Gourd Art: Beyond the Basics"
and you find it on my books page.
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To unsubscribe
send email with unsubscribe in the subject box. email
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Here
are some samples of what you will find for your crafting needs.
#WLB23
Canteen Gourd
more details
#WLB112
Kettle Gourd
more details
#WLB117
Tobacco Box Gourd
more details
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