Decorative Pumpkins for Fallor Almost-Fall

As I said yesterday, I love fall.  I'm ready for fall to be here.  Like, now.  So I'm hauling out the fall decor in my home, hoping to create what does not yet exist where I live.  Even though "Fall" and "Halloween" are pretty distinct ideas in the decor world, I have always tried to merge the two, opting for the more generic pumpkins that can last from September all the way through Thanksgiving.  In fact, I usually get about as generic as you can get and use white pumpkins.  There's just something about white pumpkins for me -- they're so classy and timeless.  This year, however, I found some awesome orange Anthropologie pillow covers on clearance for dirt cheap and some vintage fabric on Etsy in a pretty orange print so I decided to get a little colorful.  It's the perfect timing since I'm finally slipcovering my red couches in gray canvas.  Orange + red = yuck {to my eyes}, but orange + gray = fresh and pretty.  Especially with some turquoise, lime green, and gold accents tied in.  Still not convinced?  Let me show you a couple things I've been working on.

Book Page Pumpkins

These are the most Halloween-specific of all the pumpkins I've made this year because of the eye mask. Once Halloween is past, I can just unpin the mask, remove the crow and have a more timeless pumpkin.  To make these, I just went to my dollar store and picked up several 6-inch pumpkins.  I had a vintage dictionary in my stash from another project, so I went through and tore out pages with words like danger, poison, wicked, and ghoul on them.  You have to look real close at the finished product to notice that, but I like the idea of it anyway.  Once I had torn out 5 or 6 pages, I tore each page into strips.

Working in small sections, I used Mod Podge to attach the strips of paper to my pumpkin.  First brush on some Mod Podge then press a strip of paper onto the pumpkin.  Use your fingers to get the paper to bend into all the creases then apply another coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper.  Work your way around the whole pumpkin making sure not to leave any gaps.  I used the Antique Mat Mod Podge to enhance the vintage feel of my dictionary pages.  Once the Pumpkin was dry I cut a little mask out of black felt and attached it with straight pins poked right into the foam pumpkin.  I wanted to be able to remove it later, but if you don't care about that, you could hot glue it on.  I also used a straight pin to poke two holes in the top of the pumpkin for the wires on the feet of my crow to go down into so that I could take him off, too, if I wanted -- for storage or whatever.  I love the way this little guy turned out.  I think it might be my favorite of all the pumpkins I've made this year.

Vintage Fabric Pumpkins

These ones were made exactly like the book page pumpkins, except I cut fabric into strips instead of tearing paper.  Working with one strip at a time, I Mod Podged the fabric all the way around the pumpkin.  You can kind-of stretch and pleat the fabric as you go to get good coverage.  To finish it off, I tied a big grosgrain ribbon bow and attached it with straight pins.  I don't know why I'm so fickle . . . I always think I may want to change things up later so I try really hard to leave myself that option.  For instance, A black and white striped bow would be really cute for Halloween and then you could switch to another color for the rest of the season.  I just like to have options.

Metallic Gold Mini-Pumpkins

These last ones are no-brainers.  I bout a few mini-pumpkins at the dollar store and sprayed them with metallic gold spray paint that I had in my craft closet.  They're the perfect size to use in a decorative bowl or vase as a centerpiece on your dining or coffee table.  I mixed mine with some decorative paper balls to keep it interesting.  Gold has fallen out of favor for the past decade or so, but I feel like it's making a comeback.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm kinda' liking it again anyway.  I love the way my gold mini-pumpkins look with the vintage orange ones, too.

I'm still going to pull out my white pumpkins this year, but I love these colorful additions for a change.  Stop by tomorrow for a Just Sweat Dream Team update from me and Brent.  {I hate those embarrassing video diaries . . . } Later in the week I'll be sharing another Halloween project with a free printable.  I hope you'll come back!