Santa Gourd Ornaments
by Sammie Crawford
Sammie Crawford is a professional teacher known as The Fairy Gourdmother® and is a member of the Society of Decorative Painters as well as the American Gourd Society. She has been painting gourds for almost 30 years.
Her designs have been published in craft magazines and she has written twelve how-to gourd painting books. She has designed ornaments for the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress and gourd ornaments for the White House three different times.
Enjoy Sammie's collection of Santa gourds as you paint your own.
Each ornament pattern is shown separately below.
(Printable Directions also available below.)
Download Printable Directions for Black Santa Here
Download Printable Directions for Red Santa Here
Download Printable Directions for White Santa Here
PALETTE
Delta Ceramcoat
14k Gold Adobe
Antique Gold
Black
Black Cherry
Burnt Sienna
Cape Cod Blue
Dk. Flesh
Dk. Foliage
Ivory
Light Foliage
Med. Flesh
Med. Foliage
Opaque Red
Rain Grey
Raw Sienna
Santa’s Flesh
Spice Brown
White
BRUSHES
Loew-Cornell
Series 7300 # 12 flat Med. Foliage
Series 7350 10/0 liner
Series 7520 ½” filbert rake
# 275 ½” mop
# 515 sm. & lg. berry makers
SUPPLIES
12-14” tall club gourd
Blending gel
Satin spray varnish
DIRECTIONS
Apply pattern minus details and base coat the hat and robe Black, the face & hands Medium Flesh, the fur and hair Rain Grey. Use the filbert rake to keep these areas soft and fuzzy at the edges. Base the ribbons White, leaves Medium Foliage and the bells Antique Gold. Use the liner brush and Opaque Red to stripe the ribbons and shade the bends with Cape Cod Blue. The leaves are shaded with Dark Foliage and highlighted with Light Foliage. The bells are shaded with Raw Sienna and highlighted with Ivory. Use the liner brush to place gold comma strokes and green curlicues in among the ribbons. Outline the features with thinned Burnt Sienna and fill the nostrils and mouth in with Black Cherry. The face is shaded with Dark Flesh and highlighted with Santa’s Flesh. Apply blending gel to the cheeks and float Adobe across the area. Mop to soften the edges. The eyes are Medium Foliage with Black pupils. Use the liner brush to pull a thin line of Black across the eyelid then float a Black shadow across the eye just under the lid. Keep it light. Add White comma strokes. Apply Rain strokes to the eyebrows and mustache then when dry, White strokes leaving some grey showing. The beard is done the same way using the filbert rake brush. The fur has random Black and White hairs over the Rain base. Use enough White to lighten it but don’t lose your grey base. Be sparing with the Black, too. The tree is Medium Foliage, shaded with Dk. Foliage and highlighted with Lt. Foliage. The trunk is Spice brown. The 14k Gold swirls on the sleeves are done with the liner brush. Lastly, use your berry maker to place Opaque Red holly berries on the tree and among the ribbons with White comma strokes for highlight. Use a smaller berry maker for the gold dots on the sleeves. When the dots are dry, finish with several light coats of spray varnish allowing drying time between coats.
Red Santa
SURFACE
8-9” tall, 9-10” dia. Banana Gourd
HINT: Use the “fattest” gourd you can find. It makes putting a face on it much easier. First, fill the eyes in solid with Cool White. I do this in order to see if the eyes are the same size, even and level.
PROJECT SUPPLIES
Rabbit pelt, sheepskin or faux fur*
*This little Santa ornament has sheepskin fur on it, but you obviously can use any fur trim you want. I’ve also found that faux fur is better in the long run since real fur tends to shed in ten or twelve years.
Ribbon rose
1/8” craft ribbon
Hot glue gun
Drill & small drill bit
DecoArt extender DAS1
DecoArt spray varnish DA512
PAINTS
DECOART® AMERICANA ACRYLICS
Baby Blue DA042
Cool White DA240
Coral Blush DA292
Country Blue DA041
Highlight Flesh DA024
Lamp Black DA067
Raw Sienna DA093
Shading Flesh DA137
True Red DA129
Warm Beige DA078
BRUSHES
LOEW-CORNELL®
Series 7000 #4 round
Series 7300 ½” flat
Series 7350 10/0 liner
Series 7520 ½” filbert rake
#275 ½” mop
DIRECTIONS
Drill a small hole near the top of the gourd for the ribbon hanger. You may remove the stem at this point or, if you would rather, leave it on. Basecoat the face rectangle with Warm Beige and the rest of the gourd with True Red…Be sure to take the beige up high enough so that it’s under the fur trim when finished. Apply the face pattern and outline the features with the liner brush and Raw Sienna. Fill the eyes in with Cool White and the mouth triangle with Shading Flesh. Paint the eyes Country Blue and float Baby Blue across the bottom. Apply extender to the cheeks and place a dab of Coral Blush on them. Use the mop brush to soften and blend the edges. The shade above the eyelid, in the wrinkles and around the nose area with Shading Flesh. Back to back opposite most of the shading, float Highlight Flesh. Use the liner brush and Lamp Black to place a thin line across the top of each eye. Use the flat brush and the same color to float across the top of the eye, casting a shadow on the eyeball. Place a white comma stroke and dot in the eye for sparkle. Use the liner and thinned Cool White for the eyebrows, eyelashes, and mustache. Use the rake brush and thinned Cool White to make the hair and beard. Finish with several light coats of spray varnish allowing drying time between coats. String the ribbon through the hole for a hanger and glue an approximate 1” wide strip of fur around the gourd.
White Santa
Palette
Delta Ceramcoat
Adobe
Black
Burnt Sienna
Candy Bar
Chambray Blue
Dark Flesh
Denim Blue
Hippo Grey
Medium Flesh
Santa’s Flesh
White
Brushes
Loew-Cornell
Series 7300 #12 flat
Series 7350 10/0 liner
Series 7520 ½” filbert rake
Series 7550 1” wash
Supplies
Banana gourd
Ribbon rose
Jingle bell
White rabbit pelt
Glue gun
Color Float
White ribbon
Sparkle Glaze
Directions Drill a hole through the top of the gourd for the hanger then coat with a wood sealer. Base the gourd white. Base an area for the face in Med. Flesh. Apply pattern. Fill eyes in solid White. Base the iris Chambray Blue, the pupil Black. Shade across the top of the eye, under the eyelid, with Denim Blue and outline the iris with the same. Place a white dot for the sparkle in each eye in the same place. Outline features with thinned Burnt Sienna using the liner brush. Shade under the eyebrow, down each side of the nose, in wrinkles, above eyelids, under mustache and under eyes with Dark Flesh. Fill in the mouth with Candy Bar. Highlight eyelids, top of the lip, the opposite sides of the wrinkles and down the bridge of the nose with Santa’s Flesh. Float Adobe across the cheeks and on the bulb of the nose. Use the liner and thinned Hippo to form eyebrows and mustache then go back over with White, leaving some grey showing. Use the rake brush and thinned grey to make the beard. When dry, wash over it with white. Apply several light coats of spray varnish. When dry, use the sponge brush to apply Sparkle Glaze to the beard and hat. Measure around the hat at the base and cut a strip of fur approx. 1 inch wide to fit. Cut the pelt from the back and hold it up off the surface to avoid cutting the hair. Glue the fur in place starting at the back per photo. Glue the bell on top and string the ribbon through the hole for a hanger.
Patterns and photos copyright held by the artist, Sammie Crawford.