Complete Book of Gourd Craft

from the introduction:
Gourds played an important role in the changes that took place as humans became tool users and masters of their environment. Evidence from Florida and the Ocampo Caves in Mexico indicates that gourds were used as containers long before baskets or pottery served that purpose. Samples of the oldest known pottery imitate the familiar shapes of bottle gourds, suggesting that the bottle gourd was familiar to, and most likely used by, the earliest cultures not only in Africa and North America, but in Asia, too. Primitive basketry techniques in the form of vine webbing and cordage have been found wrapped around ancient gourds in both Peru and Florida: the webbing served as handles and protective covering, and to attach gourd floats to nets for fishing. This book includes information about growing, drying, and cleaning gourds, and describes more than 55 ways you can decorate them, using stains, paints, carving, wood burning, basketry, decoupage, and other approaches. Plus, there are 22 fabulous projects to make, including a wood burned and stained bowl, a coiled basket with beads, a Santa puppet, a potpourri holder, a carved Halloween gourd, a painted pitcher, a gold leaf candle holder, and much more!