FROM tea lights and baubles to a lantern in the shape of a giraffe, Amanda Rutland had made them all.

And while ornaments are not unusual, Amanda’s definitely are as she crafts her items out of fruit.

Amanda uses gourds to create incredible designs.

Robust foodtsuff, gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments and food.

Amanda’s passion started five years ago on her allotment in Great Horkesley.

Now she has turned her hobby into a business selling unique lanterns and lights.

“It all started five years ago,” she said,

“I have an allotment and I like to grow things which are not commonly found in Essex such as different coloured carrots.

“I found these gourd and some of the packets mentioned on the back about crafts.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

“I was having to train them to grow over here and there wasn’t many people I knew of who did. I found a grower in Woodbridge but he has now stopped.

“People in America turn gourds into bowls and things like that and they use South American pictures on the gourds.

“I wanted to do something a bit more British. They are a sustainable, organic material with zero air miles.”

And it is a family affair for Amanda with her partner, Neil, making all the wooden bases for her lights.

She said: “An integral part of the whole thing is my partner. He is doing every base, his work is behind the scenes and doesn’t like being in front of the camera.”

Amanda grows all the gourds herself at her allotment. She then dries them out and hollows out the seeds before she can begin the intricate work of her designs.

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“Some people might buy in the materials to make it their own – I have had to grow them from scratch and it is a year and a half of work before I can even start making a lantern,” she said.

“I germinate the seeds around February or March and it is the following summer before I can do anything with them.

“The little baubles can take a few hours to complete – I spray them and then finish them.

“With the big lanterns it is difficult to say as I don’t start and finish them all in one go because of drying times and having a part time job. It can take days, weeks or months.”

Each lantern is unique even if they take similar styles. And Amanda has created unusual designs from swans and flamingos to a giraffe.

She said: “I try to do a few things for Halloween and for Christmas. The rest of the year I just do whatever I want.”

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

Amanda’s work is now reaching a new and wider audience after she won an episode of Kirstie Allsop’s Handmade Christmas.

She said: “I was scrolling on Facebook one day and saw the Essex Craft and Design Show had something from Kirstie calling for crafters.

“You had to email a couple of photographs and a bit of information about yourself. I didn’t think anything more about it and then they came back to me with some questions.

“Then towards the end of September they had a lady come down and look at the house and film. I had to do it up for Christmas – much to my partner’s annoyance.

“Then I had to go down to Devon to film the show.

“We had five hours but were allowed to prep first. It would normally take me five hours just to clear and gut a gourd.

“Neil had also done the base and we had to test the lights would work.”

Amanda said the experience was a whirlwind.

“I was fine in front of the cameras and lights – it didn’t bother me,” she said.

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“Kirstie was lovely and very complimentary. We all had a laugh.

“I went with the view of we have all won to get this far and to be whittled down from thousands to the final four.

“To get recognition for what I do – which is a very weird thing – that was enough for me. Everyone else was lovely and we are all in contact.

“The surprise on my face when I did win was genuine. It was a rollercoaster of emotions the whole day. It was incredible. They didn’t show my tears of joy.”

Amanda, who works in mental health, describes her crafting as a “hobby business” and said she hopes to expand in the future.

Prices for her work range from £28 for a tea light to £245 for a lantern in the shape of a giraffe.

She added: “I suppose the ultimate goal would be for it to become a full time job.

“It is a long term goal and I don’t know if it will happen. It is my passion and my thing.”