I am so excited to share this fall DIY! I started this one last month and I finally put the finishing touches on it last week. This is the perfect project to dress up any Thanksgiving centerpiece, small table in your living room, or just add some fall decor.
You’ve probably seen these all over the internet. Harry and David has one similar and most online florists do as well. And they are pretty pricey! However, mine is a super affordable option that allows for both real and faux flower bouquets! And we get to extend the life of pumpkins in our decor! Speaking of pumpkins, this DIY can be created with a real pumpkin, but you risk it rotting before you actually get to use it. Using the foam craft pumpkins from the craft store allows you to use it season after season!
Here is what you’re going to need! A faux pumpkin of any size. I used a 9” white pumpkin for this craft, as I felt this size was best for a table and centerpiece. A 6” would work too, but I wouldn’t go any taller than 9”. You want to be able to see the person across the table and the added floral arrangement could obstruct your view.
For the next step, you will need a glass or round cookie cutter to cut out the top of the pumpkin. I finely traced mine with a pencil. Use an exacto knife to cut out your circle. This opening only needs to be large enough to create your bouquet, but if you decide to use real flowers, you will need it to be large enough to allow for a glass or can to fit inside for the water.
If you can’t freehand, like myself, you will need a Fall letter stencil. I found mine on Amazon. For the stencil, use stencil paint, a stencil brush, and tape to keep the stencil adhered to the pumpkins surface. When you apply stencil paint, remember to add a small amount to your brush, tab off a little paint on a paper plate or paper towel, and then apply to the stencil in small taps on the pumpkins surface. Don’t brush!
Now, because I didn’t think the paint wasn’t brilliant enough, I decided to apply fine gold glitter over the paint. However, you need to do this while the paint is still wet, so have some glitter handy in case you decided to do the same.
Let all of this dry before moving on to the next part. I felt like the fall was too blah, so I decided to stencil leaves along the corners. Follow all the stenciling steps above to create your leaf design. Again, I applied fine copper/orange glitter to the paint. Why not! Glitter makes everything more cheerful!
Once all of the glitter has dried, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge with a paint brush all over the designs. This will allow the glitter to stick permanently to your pumpkin and not fly all over the furniture, floor, you, or anything else it touches! You will thank me for this tip later!
For the floral arrangement, this is all up to you! I wanted all the deep fall colors, especially ones that went with the glitter colors I used. But, you don’t have to limit your bouquet to rusts and golds. Yellows and oranges would be gorgeous. As would plum and mustard yellow. The fall colors are your oyster! I added some faux berries in a pale green to add texture and to break up the colors within the bouquet. You usually see some sort of greenery within a real bouquet and I wanted to mimic that in my faux design.
To get started on the arrangement, gather your buds and decide how they look in a cluster. Once you decide, it’s time to cut. Obviously, the stems are going to be much taller than the pumpkin. Cut a little off the stem at a time using heavy wire cutters. Place a stem in the vase to see where it measures up, and if it’s still too tall, cut a little more. Don’t cut a lot at a time. Always cut a little, as you can’t add your stem back!
Here is my finished pumpkin vase! I used a plain white table cloth, brown napkins, and gold tapper candles along the sides of the pumpkin to amp up my centerpiece. And I love that it will last all fall long! What do you think of this DIY? Is it something you think you could replicate? Something you would use for your own Thanksgiving table or somewhere in your home?
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