Okay, so I have been dying to do some holiday crafting and I finally made it happen tonight! The supplies I used are:
- unfinished wood pumpkins (mine are from Hobby Lobby)
- Waverly Antique Wax (or other stain/paint of your choice)
- paper napkins or tissue paper of your choice (the ones I used here are from Wal-Mart designed by Pioneer Woman)
- Elmer’s Glue Stick
- match, lighter or a craft knife
- a couple tumbling tower blocks (mine are from Dollar Tree)
- craft or wood glue (or you could use hot glue…I do not currently know where my glue gun is)
The first thing I did was paint one side of each of the pumpkins with the antique wax. It works like a stain and I just love the color. Make sure that you do the opposite sides of the pumpkins because later those sides will be facing each other and I think it looks best for the stems to face the same direction.
While they sat to dry, I took a napkin and peeled the second layer off (if you have a napkin that is more than 2 ply, you will want to peel all the layers so that you just have the designed one for the project). I love the design on these Pioneer Woman napkins! The colors are gorgeous. After I finished peeling the second layer off, I cut what was left into squares big enough to cover the pumpkins.
After flipping the pumpkins over, I applied Elmer’s glue (the purple glue stick is great because you can be more certain of the coverage) all over and then placed a napkin square over it, smoothing it out the best I could. Then I roughly trimmed around the pumpkin so there was not as much overhang. This next part is optional! I chose to burn the excess off. This is not something I came up with myself; I saw another crafter do it on YouTube and was amazed by the results. It was kind of shocking how fast mine burned and I almost burned myself, so if you do not feel comfortable trying it you will not find me criticizing you at all. Obviously I had my hands full with this step and could not take pictures. I stood with my pumpkin over the sink and lit the napkin and it burned up to the edge all the way around! It has such a clean finish! The alternative is to allow the glue to dry then flip the pumpkin over napkin side down and trim the excess off using a craft knife.
Then I glued two tumbling tower blocks, which I had also lightly stained, between the two pumpkins so that the napkin covered sides were both facing out. It turned out soooo pretty and I am anxious for the glue to fully dry so I can display it on my tiered tray. I will probably be making a mini riser for it as the sides of my tiered tray are kind of high. Hmmm…I am seeing a future crafting post coming up!
There is another pattern of napkin I plan to do tomorrow. It is a plaid pattern that I found at Dollar Tree before I found the Pioneer Woman design. Maybe I will come back and update the post with pictures of it.
These pumpkins are perfect for a tiered tray or really anywhere that you want to add a little pumpkin decoration for the fall season. It can be customized so easily – just use the napkin or tissue paper you like! You could also cover both sides of a single pumpkin, drill a hole at the top and make an ornament out of it using some twine. I considered putting it a the end of a beaded garland for my tiered tray, but I personally feel the pumpkin is too big for that. That does not mean that you would, so there is another idea! This could also be personalized to make name plates for a dinner party. The possibilities really do seem endless!
This was such a fun and quick craft! I hope you find this tutorial helpful. Have a great weekend!
This Beck Life: A Mom's Journey in Faith and Family 