Creating a Gourd Tree with Proxxon Tools!

As everyone knows, I'm in the process of moving, but I'm also gearing up for the Fall Shows that I participate in. I wanted to make something for this project that might use up gourd pieces which I had on hand and yet incorporate some of the wonderful Proxxon Tools that I get to work with into the process. I rarely if ever throw away a gourd piece because I have found that they can be all used in one purpose or another, whether it's to use them in another piece or just to use them to practice a technique on. I make quite a few bowls and use a lot of different techniques on them such as wood burning, weaving, carving, painting, etc. Whether they have a useful purpose or a purely decorative one, I make a lot and also use a lot in the classes that I teach.

Items needed for this project:  
I used 5 gourd tops for this project
1 Dowel Rod
1 Wooden base
4 pcs of pvc pipe to be used as spacers between limbs
Glue ( I used gorilla glue for wood)
Brown Acrylic paint
Green Acrylic paint
A spray acrylic sealer
The Proxxon JigSaw
The Proxxon Delta Sander
The Proxxon Drill
Cleaning tools
Respirator

 I know that I've shown you the bottoms of the gourds before they've been cleaned, but these are some tops in all of their nastiness. All of the insides have to be cleaned out and you need to wear a respirator when you do so. Inhaling gourd dust can damage your lungs, just like inhaling fine wood dust can do.

 After cleaning the insides of the gourd tops, I improvised and used a saburr burr in the Proxxon Drill to drill a partial hole in the wooden stand to insert the dowel rod into. Once that was done, I glued the rod in the hole with the Gorilla glue for wood.

 I then proceeded to use the Proxxon Drill to make holes in the tops of five gourd tops to slide down the rod with spacers which I cut with the Proxxon Jig Saw.

 I also used my Proxxon Jig Saw to cut random curved edges around the bottom of the tops.

 After which I used my Proxxon Delta Sander to sand off any rough edges. I then proceeded to paint the trunk of the tree brown and the limbs green. Once everything was painted and dry. I glued all the pieces together and this is the result!

 A very folk artsy tree that can be decorated for Christmas in whatever way someone might want to. I'm going to try and make several to sell at the shows I'm going to in the next month. You can do so many things with Proxxon Tools that you really owe it to yourself to check them out if you like working with tools.

Barbara