One Piece Night Light Tutorial

Gourd Night Light Instructions

The one-piece night light may be simpler to use since you don't have to attach the brass plated metal bracket, nut and screw. The downside is that you can only get one night light from your gourd rather than two, since you won't be cutting the gourd in half.
To get started, you'll need a clean mini bottle gourd, egg gourd or any gourd of suitable size.  The part of the fixture that fits inside the gourd is about 2 ¼" tall. You'll want to have a gourd that is large enough to clear the bulb. You'll also want enough room to be able to insert the bulb with the gourd attached. 

   

Start by cutting a hole in the bottom center of the gourd. A step drill works very well for this, but you could use any drill bit or cutting burr. The widest part of the night light where the gourd sits is about 22 mm (an inch is 25 mm). I used a 20 mm step drill so I knew I would need to enlarge the hole a little. A Dremel sanding mandrel works well for this.

   

Clean out some of the seeds and pulp to make the rest of the cutting easier and less messy. Once the back is open, it will be easier to clean the inside well.
Open the back side of the gourd. You can do this several ways, depending what tools you have available;
A filigree burr, step drill, gourd saw, or band saw would all work. It doesn't matter if it's a little messy to begin with, just be careful not to take off too much material, be sure to the leave the hole in the bottom intact.

   

In this case I had two holes on the back. That's okay, we'll connect them.

   

The sanding mandrel helped clean the edges and connect the two holes. Once that is done, sand the back to get it nice and even. You can use a belt sander to sand the back of the gourd, if you prefer. On small gourds, I find it easier and less likely to break the gourd by simply putting a sheet of medium grit sandpaper on a flat surface to sand the back of the gourd. 

      

Now you'll be able to clean the inside well. Before you do too much more, it's a good idea to check that your light fixture will fit well and still leave enough room for changing the bulb. Also, check to see if there is enough clearance, allowing you to fully insert the plug without the gourd hitting the outlet. In the photo, you can see that mine is just slightly wider at bottom (back side) than the base of the plug. It needs just a little more sanding. 

   

Clean the inside really well. Optional: If your gourd is very thin walled, you can use PC Wood Petrifier to strengthen it. It has a watery consistency that doesn't smell. Just brush it on the inside liberally and let it soak in. You have to let it dry before proceeding. 
On to decorating! You can make either a luminary style night light, a glowing style night light, or a combination. The luminary style uses holes with or without beads to let light shine through the gourd. Having multiple sizes of holes adds interest. For the glowing style, you'll carve part way through the gourd. The carved lines let light shine through. You can incorporate both techniques if you want to. When carving lines, a small round cutting burr works well. You'll hold the handpiece parallel to the gourd to cut lines (Carver's Grip). Hold the gourd to a light to check that the lines are showing. When piercing holes, you'll want to hold the handpiece perpendicular to the gourd with your hand resting on the gourd for stability (greatly improves accuracy). Go straight in and straight out to avoid breaking the drill bits.
Here are some photo examples:

   

These are two I made.

   

These are by Bonnie Gibson. 

The next photo is of Graham Ottoson. Notice her tool is perpendicular to the gourd surface and her hand is resting on the gourd for stability. 

Regardless of the type of artwork you're going to add, you'll want to do it before carving or piercing holes. It would be difficult to paint afterwards, as the paint will clog the lines and holes. You'll need to choose when to apply any finish; before or after the carving. 
If you want to leave the gourd it's natural color and just use wax to finish, apply the wax and buff it in well. If you use an oil pastel crayon to draw on your design, the oil pastel will wipe off the waxed surface easily after you've carved or pierced your design. This is a great tip from Graham Ottoson. 
For alcohol inks or transparant acrylics backgrounds, as done on the Kokopelli design, you can draw your image on the gourd with a pencil. Your design will be visible through the inks or transparent acrylics. Proceed with carving and/or making holes. You will remove the pencil marks when you carve or pierce holes.
If you'll be using opaque paints, you'll need to paint in a way that you'll be able to see your design after painting. In the desert scene and the dragonfly examples above, simply marking and painting the design works fine. Holes are added on the lines and in the images after painting.
To do a solid color background, such as the sun on the water scene, you can paint first, then add the lines after the paint has dried. You'll carve away the marks.
If adding beads, depending on your design, you may want to make the appropriate size holes for the beads before the smaller holes around where the bead will be. You can use any glue that dries clear to secure the beads after all the artwork is done.
Glue the gourd to the light fixture with the glue of your choice; ie, hot glue, Aleenie's Tacky Glue, five minute epoxy, epoxy clay, gel super glue, etc. Once your adhesive has set, insert the bulb, plug it in and let it shine!

Terri Summer
Arizona Gourds
www.arizonagourds.com
Terri@arizonagourds.com
319 855-9665