Straight out of the pages of a fairytale, this enchanting doll's house made from a gourd will melt your little girl's heart.


The whimsical shape of the gourd gives it a magical quality, as if it came right out of a fairy kingdom. Re-visit your childhood fantasies by creating this fairy house for a special little one, you'll find it hard to resist the magic.

You'll need
Gourd
Butter curler
60D and 180D sandpaper
Scourer
Stanley knife
Dust mask
Hot glue gun
Araldite
Crystals
Plastic pearls and brass findings, plastic ball chain
PVA
5mm and 25mm flat wash brushes
Coloured tissue paper
Matisse artist's acrylics in Capitol Purple, white and gold
Small silk ribbon rose
Three small brass hinges
Round plywood shape (about 50mm diameter) from craft shops

Here's how
Step 1
Wearing a dust mask and rubber gloves clean the outside of the gourd with a wet scourer then leave to dry in the sun. Once dry, sand it with 180D sandpaper until the surface is completely smooth and free from marks.

Using a pencil, draw the outlines of the doors and windows.

Step 2
To cut the doors and windows, hold the Stanley knife perpendicular to the surface, lean the point on the pencil line, and taking great care, gently apply pressure to push the knife into the gourd. Slowly move the knife up and down while pressing downwards along the cutting line. Work slowly to ensure a smooth safe cut.

When you reach a corner, remove the knife, turn it and repeat the process until all outlines are cut. Gently stick the tip of the blade into the cut and push the door outwards.

Step 3
To clean the inside of the gourd, empty the contents and using the jagged edge of a butter curler, scrape along the inside walls, emptying the gourd regularly. When the inside of the gourd looks reasonably clean and smooth, cut a sheet of 60D sandpaper into small squares about 10 x 6mm, fold in half and sand the inside walls, again regularly emptying the gourd of dust.

Gently sand the cut edges of the doors and windows smooth. Repeat the cleaning and sanding process on the inside surface of the doors. When sanding is complete, wipe away all traces of dust with a damp cloth.

Step 4
Use a 25mm brush to paint the gourd white inside and out. Paint the doors, too. Use the smaller brush to paint the window frames. When paint is thoroughly dry, make a 90/10 mix of purple and white to paint the inside of the gourd and the window frames. Add an extra touch of purple to the mix and paint the doors.

Step 5
To apply a pattern to the gourd, tear tissue paper into small pieces about the size of a 10-cent piece. Pour some PVA into a container, dip the 25mm brush in then coat a small section of the gourd. Pick up a piece of the tissue paper on the brush and press it onto the PVA on the gourd, using the brush to smooth out any wrinkles.

Continue until you have completely covered the gourd with paper, ensuring each piece overlaps the previous piece. When covering the straight edges around the windows and doors, cut one side of the paper straight and glue it along the edge.

Apply PVA around the edge of the round plywood shape and drop it into position to form the floor of the upper storey. When gourd is completely covered, leave to dry for at least 24 hours.

Step 6
To decorate the windows and doors cut a piece of plastic ball chain to size for each side of the window. Glue in place with hot glue gun. Cut the chain about 30mm longer for the doors to allow for the swirls. Use a hot glue gun to stick pearls, crystals and rose in place, see the photo on previous page for placement guidelines.

Place doors in the openings, mark the hinge placements and glue one side of the hinges to the gourd and other side to the doors using Araldite. Cover hinges with paper if desired.

Tip for a gourd phone The Gourd Father (02) 4933 6624.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens July 2000.

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