I live in Michigan near a large lake with my family. I spend most of my time helping my family on our fruit and vegetable farm, Magicland Farms. It is a lot of work, but very rewarding in many ways. I enjoy the outdoors and fresh air. I enjoy hard work and, like most people, the rewards from it.
In 1997 I remember crafting with gourds for the first time. My dad was writing an article about making gourd Christmas ornaments for the magazine, Hopscotch. So, my Momma and my sisters and I painted a bunch of gourds for our Christmas tree that year for pictures for the article.
My family and I work on a farm selling everything we grow (and only what we grow) at our roadside farm market, Magicland Farms. Ornamental and hard green gourds are included in our long list of fruit and vegetables. I find all the gourds for my projects right from our own farm. How lucky is that? However, you are welcome to stop by Magicland Farms and pick yourself up some gourds, too!
In 2001, I made eleven gourd ornaments (and a couple other gourd items from larger gourds) and put them out for sale at our farm stand. I was surprised to have all my gourds gone in one day! No, not sold, but stolen! I closed up shop for the year, very disappointed and upset (I was only a kid, not accustomed to the ways of world, yet). For Christmas that year I received the book, The Complete Book of Gourd Crafting by Ginger Summit and Jim Widess. That one book was packed full with inspiration and it made me want to try my hand at gourds again. I made twice as many gourd creations the following year and even sold some. (I wish I took pictures of my gourds during the first four years, but I didn't even think of it at the time!) But it was from then on that I’ve been perfecting in the art by teaching myself many different techniques. Painting, carving, woodburning, beading, sculpting, coiling, weaving, etc.
It takes quite a bit of time, effort, and expertise to complete each gourd, but they are fun to do and sales have been heightening each year. I sell my gourds in our craft room at Magicland Farms, craft shows, and Etsy. I also have a YouTube channel where I instruct others in the art of gourding. Check it out HERE.
I have always loved to write. I remember writing many reports and stories for school and how much I enjoyed it. Yes, I enjoyed school! :)
Out of school I came up with many, many story ideas and plots. I never thought of submitting anything to be published until I came across an essay contest. I didn't win the contest, but the editor thought very highly of my work and invited me to send more articles in. I submitted three soon after. One was accepted and my first article was published when I was 14.
In 2001, my sister and I began a magazine for young girls and wrote most of the content ourselves. It was much loved by our readers, but time and money closed us down in 2009.
I mainly write about gourd crafting, other craft subjects, gardening, and religious topics.
Greenhouse Megastore Blog
Think Crafts Blog
Art Instruction Blog
Gardening and Crafting with Bernadette
Proofreader:
As of recently I have been studying to become a certified proofreader. I was homeschooled for all my school years and I believe it was the attention given to my writing and English that planted the seed.
Videographer:
It has only been this past year that my interest in shooting and editing videos began. I realized that a great way for me to be able to share my passion for gourd art, crafting in general, and gardening was through making my own videos for YouTube. Visit my YouTube channels:
youtube.com/bernadettegourder
youtube.com/bernadettesgarden
Photographer:
Photography isn't a new interest of mine. I received my first camera at the age of twelve and had lots of fun snapping pictures of everything. As the years have gone by I have been learning how to take better and better pictures. Most of the photos I have taken are for my articles and blogs, for taking photos of the progress and seasons of my garden and my family's farm, and just for the fun of it.
Gardener:
If I had to choose from every line of work or hobby I am into, my favorite would probably be gardening. It must be from the farmer in me.
Gardening for me is much more than putting a plant in the ground and walking away, and then coming back to enjoy the fragrance once it has bloomed. I make sure the garden is well laid out with beautiful and sturdy handmade structures. I make sure I spend the time to learn everything there is to know about a certain plant. I like to say I am a budding horticulturalist as I am interested in the workings of a garden, within and without.
I purchase plants from nurseries and mail-order places, but I find it the most enjoyable to collect my own seeds and start the plants myself. The experience that you can take out of gardening is unbelievable. My hobby has recently turned into a small nursery business where I grow some of my favorite annual and perennial flowers for sale. My working names are Morning Glory Nursery, Foxglove Nursery, and Hollyhock Nursery. I am thinking of Morning Glory because they are such fun flowers to grow; Foxglove because my last name is Fox; and Hollyhock because they were the first flowers I sold back when I was just 9 years old. What do you think of the names?
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