[Illustration: Finished Wire Feet for Gourd-Vase.] [Illustration: Ornamental and Useful Gourds.] Select a deep-colored gourd, saw off the top and scrape out the inside; then varnish the vase and mount it on feet of twisted wire, made according to Fig. 134; bend down the feet, as in Fig. 135, when the wire will be formed into Fig. 136. To fasten this on the vase, first bore holes in the bottom of the gourd, then sew the feet firmly on, passing the needle through the holes previously made and bending the wire a little to fit to the gourd. Gild the wire feet, and your vase is finished. Another way is to save the top sawed off, fasten an ornament of twisted wire on the top of it, and then, after making the vase as the one just described, add bands of gilded cardboard made to fit the gourd, fastening them to the vase with glue. Handles can also be fashioned of cardboard and sewed to the upper band before it is glued to the vase, as in the illustration. There are many other ways of utilizing gourds, but we will leave it to your ingenuity to think up new and pretty conceits. Pine-cones, large and small, acorns, and balls from the sweet-gum tree, can be used as =Small Decorations.= Never try to fasten them by the natural stems, for these will soon break off, but place in each one a small screw-eye, and when tied in groups they form ornaments for waste-baskets and fancy baskets of all kinds. We have seen chandeliers with gilded cones hanging from the different points, and being the identical color of the chandelier, they seemed of the same metal, and added novelty and grace to its appearance. There are some varieties of the tree-fungi which make dark, rich-colored =Brackets.= Use heavy cardboard or thin board as a covering for the back; have this fit the fungus perfectly, and fasten it securely in position with very stiff glue or nails. Paint the back the same color as the fungus, and on either side of the upper edge place screw-eyes by which to fasten up the bracket. Many of the curiously formed galls and oak-apples to be found on different trees can also be employed as ornaments. Nothing can be finer than our brilliant autumn season, which is said to be more beautiful in this than in other countries, with its crisp mornings and bright sunny afternoons. When the weather is too lovely to remain in-doors, and all nature invites us out, then is the time to gather our fall decorations. [Illustration] [Illustration: The Little Brown Squirrel.] FOOTNOTE: [D] For this work the staple-tacks used for tacking down matting will be found very convenient. CHAPTER XIX. NUTTING-PARTIES.