When we took our field trip up to Apple Hill to make our Salted Caramel Apple Tart we found these really unique gourds. My mom had a vision of Tea Light Gourds for her Thanksgiving table scape so I let her run with this project! There were three big bins of gourds, and my mom picked out seven gourds, trying to get all different looking ones.
Gourds from Apple Hill.
Unique colors, shapes and warts!
The toughest part of this project was carving out the space in the gourds where the tea light would sit. Gourds are really hard and very thick. You'd think gourds would be similar to pumpkins, which you can carve "easily" with a plastic knife from Target. But, these gourds are tough and required a special trip to OSH and a call to our favorite construction guy, my dad.
Gourd, carved out, with tea light.
Final products!
A tip if you're planning to do this project: after carving the gourds, they go bad rather quickly. Plan to make them one or two days in advance, no sooner, and then be prepared to part with them after using them. The bottom of the gourds get mushy and moldy...leading to another tip: don't put the gourds down on a table without something underneath it like a table cloth or coaster if you care about your table. Just in case the bottom gets mushy before you're planning to dump them!
Completed table scape, looking festive!
Gourd tea lights in action, illuminating the beloved cranberry sauce.
The Gourd Tea Lights turned out beautifully, but my mom won't take any credit since my dad was the one who did all of the work (the carving). But she gets creative vision points! They added a very live and festive fall feeling to our Thanksgiving table.
My mom would definitely make these again, but next time she wants to try and find gourds that are more unique from one another. I have to admit - I wanted nothing to do with this project. I wasn't a team player, and I don't really have an explanation why. But, my mom said she would definitely make these again, and now that I've seen the results, I'm intrigued and will be a more active Girls Team member.
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