I wish I had taken a “before” picture.
I found this dried gourd at a second-hand store. It was a yellow-ish beige color and may have been a vase of some kind because it has a wooden ring glued to the bottom to keep it upright. I thought it would make an awesome drinking vessel at festivals during the summer. I removed the bottom then cleaned out the inside (there was a small amount of black mold and lots of dust and webs.) I painted the interior with white acrylic paint then sealed the bottom back up. I spray painted the outside in a lovely turquoiuse I had. Then I used a white paint pen to freehand on the design. I had to file down the opening a bit until I could get a cork to fit then attached a chai. Et voila! I still have to seal the inside but it is done for now. It was a dun project and if I ever find more gourds I am grabbing them! lol
So pretty!
That is so cool! Is it really safe to drink out of now or is it more decorative?
This is actually kind of funny — I was going to try to make a decorated gourd for you in the autumn-themed swap, but decided it would not meet criteria for a small. Plus, I would have had to order a gourd from the internet and wasn’t sure I’d get it in time to craft with it. But we must have been thinking about gourds at the same time.
Yours is really spectacular! Those designs are so eye-catching.
That’s too funny. lol
It is completely safe. The acrylic on the inside is non-toxic and will be coated with an appropriate sealer. It’sall good. 
Fantastic! I just watched this video the other day and have plans to grow gourd to make vessels. Looks like a lot of work to clean them out later but then they are just the coolest.
He shows sealing the inside with beeswax too.
This is gourdeous! But seriously, it’s beautiful.
The colors and the designs you drew are fantastic. This is so cool. I love the way you have the chain holding the cork on too. Like pretty jewelry.
Oih, thst’s a good idea. I went with the paint because there were visible dark areas that I just couldn’t remove. It seemed the safest to just seal over that puppy. I will have to look up tutorials now and tey some new techniques… and maybe find more gourds while I am at it. 
That’s really lovely.
You can grow the gourds yourself, you know. It’s too late this year (in the northern hemisphere), but look for birdhouse gourd seeds for next year. You’ll need to plant them along a fence or trellis, they climb.
I put them in my greenhouse one year, and they took over the whole place.
Oooh, and I tied strings on some young gourds, which shaped the gourds as they grew. Really fun to play with.
They do get moldy, which can make you sick when working with the gourds.
There’s a good article on growing them here How to Grow and Harvest Birdhouse Gourds | Gardener's Path.
Ooh, thank you for the information. I feel very challenged with my gardening here. We have a small backyard and my neighbor has a huge evergreen that puts my garden in shade by 5. It’s a struggle. I will research this. Thank you!
Really lovely! I can so see this at a festival!
So cool and unique. I love the colors and designs you chose. I bet it would draw lots of attention if you carry it around during a festival.
This is amazing! And the fact that you freehanded the drawing just blows me away!
You did a great job transforming this into something pretty and functional!
Congratulations! Your beautiful Goddess Drinking Gourd is a Featured Project this week!
Awww. Thank you!
This is very eye catching! Love your solution to cap it off to make it functional.
Beautiful!
Wow, gorgeous, love that color!