Inside the Brick House

Get ready for fall with these fresh Fall ideas for decorating with gourds and pumpkins. Use them to add autumn elegance to your home both inside and out. I love the vases!

Crafty Gourd Critters
Fashion a family of friendly critters to nestle on a fence post or railing. Use small pumpkins and gourds for bodies and attach sunflower seeds, feathers, and nuts with hot glue to make facial features.


Gourd Candleholders
Craft a set of candleholders from gourds by simply cutting off the tops and hollowing out the centers. For an easy autumn display, arrange them in a metal tray filled with green hedge apples.

Hanging Gourd Vase
Hook a swan gourd over a balcony rail to create a hanging vase. Cut a 1- to 2-inch hole near the neck of the gourd, remove a bit of the pith, and insert mums, black-eyed Susans, and a length of Virginia creeper.

Carved Pumpkins aren't limited to October 31. Turn a few pumpkins into bowls by cutting off the top and scooping out the insides. Use a pencil to trace a scallop design and carve. A power drill and drill bits make quick work of adding decorative circles. Place a vase of flowers in one pumpkin and candles in others. Display with squatty pumpkins with their stems cut off for optimal stacking potential. CO:BHG.com
Mix it and Match it because well, everyone loves all that fall has to offer -- pumpkins, flowers, baskets, and leaves! No need to pick a favorite with this mix-and-match design featuring several pretty ideas: gourds pouring from an upturned basket, dried hydrangeas in a tin vase, and scattered leaves around the whole display. CO:BHG.com

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If you have a little more time, you'll have fun pulling together this cool carving idea. Add the bonfire centerpiece to a backyard table or use it as a focal point in front. You'll need about 10 to 12 pumpkins and flickering candles to make these flames come to life.

Calling all you who have October birthday!!!!!! Let's spice things up with a Halloween pumpkin birthday party! Download the party pumpkin stencils and carve out the smiling faces on pumpkins. Shape scrapbooking paper into cones, creating a variety of tall and short hats. Use tape to secure the paper in cone shapes and decorate with an assortment of patterned- paper circles. Trim some of the hat edges with paper fringe. Hot-glue the hats to the tops of the pumpkins.

Use a faux or real pumpkin to create this funny pumpkin carving -- a gourd invaded by mice! Light yellow spray paint turns this pumpkin into a block of cheese, and drill bits make it easy to create different-size holes.