Gourd Dollhouse Tutorial

Make a house that is just the perfect size and shape for your lovely little peg doll friends.

First: Select your gourd. I got mine from The Caning Shop in Berkeley. (By happy memory stirring coincedence, it was right behind (same building) The Gilman Street Project, which was where I first saw Nirvana, when we were all young enough that they should be playing in tiny all ages clubs.) These are Kettle and Bottle gourds. The bottle gourds were 14.00 and 9.00 being medium and small sized and the Kettle gourds were 5.50 each. They are very nice there and you can phone them so you can get help selecting the perfect gourd.

To cut the gourds you really do need a rotary tool (Dremel being the most widely owned).
You will want to select the rotary saw bit with the rough surface, the other spiral bit is much harder to control.

Draw on your door and window shapes in pencil (which will wipe off with a damp cloth if need be). I keep my shapes rounded and organic, being both easier to draw and to cut, and they work best with the gourd shape, as well.

To do the cutting I brace the gourd against my body as it does take a bit of pressure and a steady hand to do the cutting. Press straight down and the bit will drill right into the surface of the gourd. Once seated, press the bit forward to trace over your pencil lines. I like to make sure my hand will fit inside the door, as it makes cleaning out the gourd Much Easier. This is both Loud and Dusty. Eye and ear protection is recommended.

Once you have the holes cut, scrape out the seeds and dried gourd guts with a spoon.

Smoothing and getting out the flakey dry stuff is easier with this type of abrasive pad, cut small to fit inside your gourd.

Use a 450 grit sandpaper to round the edges of all the opening to make it safe for tiny, soft fingers.

I use inexpensive acrylic craft paint because it had great colors and covers very well. Also you can just squirt it right inside the gourd and spread it around.

Decorate your gourd with "curtains". I have used eyelet, fringe and pompoms for my curtains. All are cute. Hang with hot glue or other adhesive.

My rug is a felted weater scrap, trimmed with scallop shears, and also glued in place. The fluffy rug helps mitigate the uneven floor of the gourd.



Now make some tiny furnishings and move those sweetie peg dolls right in. Make a whole neighborhood.

Be sure to let me know if you make one! I will start a little flickr group, so everyone can show off their creations!

I will be putting these samples up in my Etsy shop, with their wee residents and some new furniture, hopefully next week.