Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The Ingredient List
A Hollowed Out Gourd
Sandpaper, Paint, Varnish
Design Colors
String and Beads1. You'll need a hollowed out gourd. If you can find one locally, great, but this isn't the kind of item you see every day. One of the many places you may contact:
West Mountain Gourd Farm
Route 1, Box 853
Gilmer, TX 756442. Next decide what background color you like. You may need to sand the gourd a little before staining or painting it. You might also apply a clear coat of varnish to it. I use a quick-drying, environmentally-friendly, water-based varnish. It may not go on as smooth as oil-based varnishes, but it's very easy to work with and clean up afterwards.
3. Next decide on your design: circles, triangles, wavy lines. The ones I found already had the circles and dots carved into the gourd surface. All I had to do was paint them. I especially like using Polymark (Dimensional Fabric and Craft Paint) because you can buy it with glitter in it. Look for Polymark in fabric and craft stores. The little bottles are each 1 fl oz. On the red and gold shekere, I needed two bottles of red and two bottles of gold. After the design colors were applied, I put on some more clear varnish.
4. String and Beads- I use Darice Plastic Canvas, also found in craft stores. I buy about 50 yards, which is more than enough. Darice also makes beads in many colors. They were in the same stores where I found Polymark paints and plastic canvas. Look for string and beads that will match your design colors. How many beads will you need? It depends on how many you put at each knot, and how much space you allow, but to give an idea, the big shekere I made used about 500 beads; the smaller one around 360.
On to Page 3
Index - Ingredients - Neck Ring - Zig-Zag Lines - Tail
Copyright 1999 Steve Mugglin
Permission is given to make not-for-profit copies.
