5 simple & fantastic ways to DIY pumpkins

I know now that Halloween is behind us, many of you turn the page to Christmas.  Well, not this girl.  November is all about birthdays and Thanksgiving over here.  Both my birthday and Mr. Masterpiece’s birthdays are this month along with Thanksgiving, which is truly the quintessential American Holiday.  So I like to linger in Fall celebrations and don’t really turn my decor and mind over to Christmas until the end of the month.  {Ok, I might sneak a little bit of Christmas in but the focus is truly still about Autumn and family}.

On that note, I wanted to share some fantastic ways you can create some pumpkin decor to add to your Thanksgiving festivities and decorations.  I have created these through the years, and I pull them out year after year.  They are all pretty easy techniques and I started with inexpensive pumpkins so you’re not spending loads of time or money on complicated projects.  Have fun and make them your own!

§ PAINT

dollar tree pumpkin upcycle | make-overs

Paint is an easy technique to spruce up any project from rooms, to furniture to smaller DIYs like these.  I painted various sized pumpkins in white and used Spanish moss, twigs and drawer pulls I had in my craft stash to use as stems.  I attached the stem materials with a hot glue gun once the paint had fully dried.  I usually let my paint projects dry overnight, outside.

§ MOSS

Anybody who has been here awhile knows I love all things moss so of course I created moss pumpkins.  Once again, using a hot glue gun I wrapped sheet moss around the pumpkin forms.  Towards the end you will probably have to glue small little pieces to cover up any wholes.  For the stems I glued twig ends I found in my backyard.  I recently shared these moss pumpkins in my chippy shutter centerpiece post.

chippy shutter centerpiece

§ GLITTER

german glass glitter pumpkins {pottery barn knock off}

Ok, these are FUN!  They were actually a Pottery Barn Knock-off and they just add a great pop of sparkle with the more rustic and organic decor I use.  These are messy to make but worth it in my opinion.  If you follow the original link it has the step by step tutorial.  Once again I used twigs from my yard as the stems.  

 

§ DECOUPAGE

Using book print pages on projects is a favorite technique of mine.  Not too long ago I shared with you the bookprint leaf garland I created for Fall.  Here I ripped small pieces of pages, which I then inked the edges with s stamp pad to create an aged look.  I applied the page pieces to the pumpkin form using a decoupage medium overlapping the pieces, while covering the whole pumpkin.  To seal the project apply a layer of decoupage medium over the whole pumpkin when you are done.  As finishing touches I used ribbons and leaf pins I had in my craft stash as the stem, which add great texture and detail.   

§ CHALKBOARD

dollar tree pumpkin upcycle | make-overs

The last technique I am showing is a chalkboard pumpkin, which is a fun way to personalize it with words, numbers, dates, monograms etc.  Simply apply a few coats of chalkboard paint, letting it dry between coats.  I also added a drawer pull again and twine for the stem.  You can read all the directions on the original post. 

I hope this inspires you to create some pumpkins of your own or at least sparks an idea for creating something unique to your decor.

“Creativity the more you use, the more you have.”

~Maya Angelou~

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