How to Stencil Gourds

Due to the attributes that make them similar to wood, gourds have become a popular crafting medium. Like wooden object, gourds can be carved, stained, painted, polished and stenciled. While the shape and texture of a gourd may make stenciling it seem difficult, a gourd is stenciled in the same basic way that other objects are stenciled. Stenciling of gourds can be done at any time of year, but due to the harvest season of gourds being during the fall months, gourds are ideal for Halloween and Thanksgiving projects.

Print and cut out a stencil if you do not already have one. Websites like Spraypaintstencils.com and Fashionfrog.com offer free stencils that can be downloaded to your computer and printed out.

Use a craft or an X-Acto knife to cut out the stencils. Stencils found online will have black areas that must be removed from the image before the stencil can be used.

Tape the stencil to the gourd you would like to stencil. Make sure the stencil is as flat against the gourd as possible. Due to the irregular shape of the gourd, the stencil will not lie perfectly flat even when taped down, but try to get it as close as you can.

Coat the paintbrush with just enough paint to coat the gourd. If the paintbrush is dripping, the paint will run down inside the stencil instead of staying in place.

Hold down any parts of the stencil that are bubbled up with your fingers. Press the areas flat against the gourd’s skin while applying the paint.

Let the paint dry for a few minutes before removing the stencil from the gourd. When the paint is almost dry, remove the stencil from the gourd by untaping one side of the stencil and rolling it off of the gourd.