Using Your Gourds
Although they are traditional fall-decorating fodder, these gourds manage to look surprisingly fresh -- more evocative of modernist ceramics than of paper pilgrim-hat place cards (not that there's anything wrong with those). Mixing painted bowls made from dried gourds with a pair of whole crook necks gives the autumnal standbys a life beyond the Thanksgiving table. Once you've arranged the gourds themselves, fill the bowls with natural, textured accents -- like nuts and leaves -- as well as a few shiny trimmings (such as the gold seed-pods shown here, available prepainted at craft stores) for even more color and contrast.

Gourd How-To
With just a few cuts, one large dried gourd can yield a big bowl, a small bowl, and a compote. Trace a line around the gourd a third of the way up from its bottom and one a quarter of the way down from its top. Use a craft saw to remove the stem, then carefully cut the gourd along the two lines. Working outdoors and wearing a dust mask, scrape out the flaky residue from inside the gourd, then use coarse sandpaper to smooth all its surfaces. Switch to fine sandpaper for a final rub. To paint the resulting bowls, apply a coat of primer, let it dry, and brush on two coats of high-gloss craft enamel. Gourds, from $5, Dry Nature Designs, 212-695-8911. Plasti-Kote Odds n' Ends enamel, $3, plastikote.com for stores.