Indian Corn: Now What Do I Do?

[iolanthe-rosa.livejournal.com]

I grew some beautiful Indian Corn, a multi-colored variety called "Painted Mountain." It's now ripe and looking very vibrant and healthy. My plan is to dry the stalks and ears, tie them together and then use them as a decoration on my front porch for Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving. But it just occurred to me that I have no idea how to do that.

Do I pull out the stalks now? Or do I let them dry in place? Is there a different process for drying the ears of corn as opposed to the plant itself? How do I store it so it still looks good in 3 months?

If any of you craft-savvy folks know the answers to these questions, I would really appreciate love to hear from you.