DECORATING FOR FALL WITH HOMEMADE CLOTH PUMPKINS
Decorating For Fall With Homemade Cloth Pumpkins
Happy Fall!
Several years ago while visiting my friend Lisa in Arizona, we went to a store that was selling darling pumpkins cut from cloth, filled with rice or beans, and topped off with a natural pumpkin stem. Lisa had purchased several and had them beautifully displayed under glass domes in her kitchen.
The pumpkins being sold in the store were lovely, but were also very expensive. So, I decided that I could easily make them myself with scraps of fabric I had leftover from various upholstery jobs. This way the pumpkins would even coordinate with my home decor.
So, after Halloween and Thanksgiving have passed……
And its time to discard my natural pumpkins……
But I really hate to part with them ’cause they’ve been good company and they look so cute……
But I know Christmas is comin’ and I gotta get with the program……
I go ahead and gather them all up……
……and carefully remove their stems. I end up with stems both large…….
……and small. This way I can make fabric pumpkins of all sizes.
Sometimes the stems pop right off…
and other times they need to be carefully cut off.
All of the flesh from the pumpkins also needs to be removed. You don’t want to leave behind any of the orange stuff that you see here. Pliers will sometimes do the trick in helping to ply the flesh right off the stem.
I then lay them out to dry before storing them in a ziplock bag. Be sure they are thoroughly dried before storing them or you will end up with moldy stems. I did that one year and salvaged them by soaking the stems in bleach.
I also tell all my friends to save me their pumpkin stems for me. I do so with the promise that if they give me their stems I will give them a pumpkin. So that I remember who gave me stems I write their names down and stick it in the bag along with the stems. That way I won’t forget to surprise them the following year with a pumpkin.
I made this little pumpkin for my friend Arlene.
And these two were gifted to my friend Brenda. Brenda displays them on a credenza in her foyer.
So, each year when Fall approaches and I start to think about decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, I get out all the pumpkin stems I collected the previous year and set about sewing more pumpkins.
As the years have passed, I have added to my collection and now have a large variety of them to display around my home.
I display these on the family room coffee table. They match the pillows on my sofas.
This pretty off-white pumpkin found a home in my Butler’s Pantry.
And these are displayed on a buffet in my dining room
These chanelle pumpkins greet guests in my foyer……
……and these go on the bar. I made them from the same material as my bar stool cushions.
And, these are displayed on a coffee table, also in my bar.
I display these in my kitchen…..
……and these go on my formal dining room table.
These puppies can be found on the informal dining table in my kitchen……
But last Thanksgiving was a really special one. For the first time since my oldest son was married, my daughter-in-law’s family would be joining us for Thanksgiving. They were coming all the way from Alabama and Tennessee and so I wanted everything to be perfect. I came up with the idea of making burlap pumpkins and using them as both place card holders and party favors. So, I set about to make 14 little pumpkins.
I cut and I stuffed and I sewed and I glued and this was the result.
My property is covered with Oak trees and every fall I am inundated with thousands of pesky acorns. They are pretty but they are also messy, especially when they fall on the driveway.
So last fall I decided to put some of them to good use as an extra ornamentation on the place cards. I found this nifty free Thanksgiving printable here at a really cool website called Silverbox Creative Studio. I used their free printable as my place cards and as gift tags for the pumpkins I gave away. I am so grateful to creative folks that share free printables, as I am not an artist and they make me look good.
The girls in the family were excited to learn that they got to take their little pumpkins home. So now some of my pumpkins live in Alabama and others live in Tennessee and Washington, DC too!
I used other larger pumpkins to display along with the cornucopia centerpiece.
This was the final result.
In my next post I will give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the cloth pumpkins.
And, stay tuned and I’ll be sharing my Thanksgiving menu and lots of great recipes too.
RESOURCES: To get the look of my table setting click on the links below for my suppliers
- China: My china is by Lenox and is called Eternal. It is ivory with gold trim.
- Flatware: I purchased my “Amber” colored “Napoleon” flatware at Horchow.
- Napkin Rings: I bought mine in 2012 at Pier 1 Imports. They carry a similar one this year.
- Charger: I bought mine in 2012 at Pier 1 Imports. They no longer offer them but have this one which is similar.
- Napkins & Tablecloth: I sewed my own from fabric I purchased at Home Fabrics.
- Cornucopia: Every year I make my own floral arrangements using a basket similar to this one. I buy my flowers at Costco.
- Natural Pumpkins & Gourds: Trader Joes is a great resource for unusual “fantasy” pumpkins and gourds. Get them before Halloween for the best selection.
- Free Place Card Printable: Silverbox Creative Studio
- Burlap Fabric: I purchased my burlap from BurlapFabric.com.
- Wrought Iron Votives: From my own company, The Hill Ironworks. Coming soon to my Etsy store. Stay tuned!
- NOTE: None of the above resources know me. I’m just tellin’ you about them ‘cuz I’m nice.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT: DECORATING FOR FALL WITH HOMEMADE CLOTH PUMPKINS
Do you have a special Thanksgiving craft that you can share with me? I’d love some new ideas for this Thanksgiving!
All opinions expressed in this post are my own. All photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
