Decorating with Pumpkins

I have a slight obsession with pumpkins.  And I'm a sucker for those "$1.00 per pumpkin" wagons that have popped up around our area.  This year...I swear more than ever...unique varieties of pumpkins are available, too, which doesn't help with my love (ahem, I mean addiction) to them.  They bring such a Fall-like feel to any home...whether indoors or out.

So here are a few fun PUMPKIN ideas I've stumbled upon to get you and your home into the Fall decorating spirit.  I love that these ideas are simple...and yet provide an alternative to the more traditional ways of decorating with this beautiful and quite colorful crop.  

{Click on the pictures to view a larger image of it and/or to access more info about the ideas shown.}  

{ONE} Tiered Dessert Tray

I don't know about you, but I have at least one of these tiered dessert trays in storage and only use them a couple of times a year...so making use of something I already own and giving it an alternative purpose is a great way to make use of it.  They also suggested added dried flowers to the tray, in addition to the variety of mini pumpkins/gourds shown in the picture.  

{TWO} Decorative Lantern

If you had a lantern like this on your deck or front porch this summer, you can now add mini pumpkins, pinecones, acorns, colorful leaves, etc. to them to give them a Fall look.

{THREE} Galvanized Metal & Sticks

If you have a mantle, placing a variety of pumpkins on it is a fun and easy idea.  A variety of sizes and colors can look neat, too.  And taking a walk in the woods (or out in your backyard) can provide you with sticks and twigs - Place these sticks in large vases or galvanized buckets, watering cans, etc.  

{FOUR} Candy Corn & Candles

Using basic mason jars, fill them with candy corn or candy pumpkins (...or even acorns...) and place votive or pillar candle inside.  These jars could also line a mantle or a walkway to the entrance of your home.  

{FIVE} Embellishments

I love this idea.  At your local arts and crafts store, purchase foam stickers in a font and color you like.  Then use burlap or felt to create flower embellishments for your pumpkin.  {For a burlap rosette tutorial, click here.)  In the example above, they spelled the word "fall," but other ideas might include: family, thankful, trick-or-treat, October, pumpkin, love, and so on. 

Ribbon can also be glued to pumpkins (see image below - far left).  Carve your mini pumpkins and use as lanterns along a pathway or placed on windowsills (see image below - middle).  Pumpkins can also be painted in metallic colors or bold colors to match the rooms of your house (see image below - far right).  You might even try chalkboard paint, so your kiddos can have fun drawing and creating faces on them over and over again.

                    

Have more PUMPKIN ideas?  Do share!...in the "comments" section below.