Whole Pumpkin Projects

Friday, March 28, 2014

Whole Pumpkin Projects

This fall, decorate with whole pumpkins.

Traditionally, on Halloween we cut pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns to decorate our houses and porch steps. This year, try something different. Use the whole pumpkin to create different projects that don't involve a knife or pulling pumpkin seeds out of the inside. Whole pumpkins can also grace your tables and home during the Thanksgiving season.

Pumpkins in Hats

Use a pink balloon to resemble a chewing gum bubble.

Decorate your Halloween pumpkin in various hats for a fun display on your porch. If your son is a baseball player, add a baseball cap on top. Draw a funny face on the pumpkin with a marker. Blow up a pink balloon to the size of a chewing gum bubble and attach to the mouth. Make one pumpkin a glamorous, old-time movie star with a feather hat and boa. Add false eyelashes and a bright lipstick mouth. Take it a step further with more accessories. Paint the whole pumpkin green and draw a witch face. Use candy corn for witch teeth and add a black witch hat, a black wig and a black cape around the bottom.

Grow Your Own Pumpkins

Grow your own crop of tiny pumpkins.

Get the kids involved in growing a patch of miniature pumpkins. These pumpkins are great for adding fall color to your home or table. They grow in a minimum of yard space and are fun for kids to harvest. If you have no yard, you can even plant them in a large pot on a balcony and train them to grow up a trellis. Plant the small seedlings after the last frost in the spring and keep the dirt watered, but not soaked. When the pumpkins are completely orange, it's time to harvest. Each plant will produce eight to 10 small pumpkins.

Paint Your Pumpkins

Spray paint a pumpkin in any color you decide.

Although white pumpkins are sold in the supermarket and in pumpkin patches, they are usually more expensive and the supply is limited. Easily make your own ghostly pumpkins with a can of white spray paint. Do your spraying outside with plenty of newspaper underneath, and wait until the tops of the pumpkins are dry to spray the bottom. Spray the pumpkins in silver or gold for part of a beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece. For a lovely glow, cut the stem off of the pumpkin and drill out a hole in the top with a hole saw. Sit a tea light in the hollowed out area. The flame reflecting off of the gold or silver paint will create a beautiful shimmer.

Vegetable Head

Cut vegetables and use as facial features for a fun vegetable head pumpkin.

For a fun Thanksgiving decoration, give a pumpkin a personality of its own by decorating it with vegetables to make a face. Using a medium-sized pumpkin, lay leafy lettuce on the top as hair, and secure it with toothpicks. Use two radish slices for the pumpkin head's eyes, and lay two cucumber slices flat against the side as ears. A round slice of red bell pepper is a great smile and a carrot is perfect as a nose. Make some lettuce eyebrows and top it off with green onions sprouting from his head. Vary the facial features with any vegetable you have in your refrigerator. Citrus rinds work well for ears that stick out, or try shaping the rinds into a bulbous nose.

Stencils and Trim

Use embellishment and trim that you have on hand to create unique pumpkins.

You can add almost any type of embellishment to decorate a pumpkin. Spray a pumpkin white and use stencils to add birds, flowers or vines in maroon or black. Get 14 mini pumpkins and draw a different letter on each one to spell "Happy Halloween." Wrap pumpkins in lace and add satin flowers and netting for a shabby chic look. Glue buttons on a pumpkin in an imaginative design. Tack black rick rack up from the bottom to the stem on a pumpkin painted a fall color. Spray pumpkins black and add white, ghostly designs to the front. Use what you have in your drawers and your imagination to create one-of-a-kind looks.

Wedding outfits

Friday, March 28, 2014