DIY Paper Mache Pumpkin Centerpiece

 

When it comes to hosting fall gatherings and parties with family and friends it's a known tradition to create a table centerpiece for the occasion! We all love to dress up a table with a dramatic centerpiece especially for entertaining! It's a given! And this time of year it's usually done using pumpkins. Carving a pumpkin has been a time honored tradition for centuries! But the tradition has evolved into  more modern ways to decorate - especially using faux pumpkins - where you don't have to worry about making a gooey mess, pests or decay. So today, I'm showing you how to swap out your traditional vase for a more creative designed vase for a more unique fall centerpiece! Perfect for this month's theme on Tradition for our monthly Sustainable Craft Challenge that's hosted by Julie @Sum of their Stories! 

This challenge is all about sustainable crafting! Each month is themed and all projects must have some sort of a sustainable element to them. This could be an upcycling or recycling element, or something that reduces waste, uses leftovers, etc. 

 

 How you decorate a pumpkin is virtually unlimited. There are so many ways!  For a unique fall centerpiece, rather than settle for a traditional vase, tap into your creativity and make one out of an unfinished paper mache pumpkin - a tall one at that! Then draw a decorative scallop design around the top, and follow the lines using a craft knife, cutting off the top. A bold move would be to enhance the pumpkin by painting it a metallic gold! Sounds cool, doesn't it! But there's so much more to creating a lovely fall centerpiece! So let's get started!

Materials:

• Paper Mache Pumpkin - 14.5" tall
• Top (or a small round object to draw on scallop design)
• Pencil
• Craft knife
• Rustoleum Metallic Gold spray paint
• Velvet ribbon 2.5"wide
• Scissors
• Aileene's Tacky Glue
• Leaf template
• Floral stem wire
• StarBond Instant Adhesive
• Parchment paper
• Small rocks/or glass
• Velvet pumpkin stems
• Fall Florals

Pumpkin decorations make beautiful fall centerpieces! Luckily, I had everything I needed in my stash! The paper mache pumpkin was left over from a few years ago. I had gotten two from FactoryDirectCraft - one I decorated here, but I had no idea what I would do with the second one, until now!

Begin by using a top from a small container to draw scallop shapes around the pumpkin to remove the pumpkin top.  

Use a craft (x-acto) knife to carefully cut the top out .  .  .

creating a cool opening for the vase with a decorative look for the top.

Once the top was removed, spray painted both pieces (outside) using a metallic gold color. - sorry, I completely forgot to take a picture. It was extremely hot outside and I didn't want to be out there for long.

While the paint was drying I cut up ribbon strips following the design of the velvet ribbon. Once the pumpkin was dry, I applied tacky glue to the crevices of the pumpkin - one at a time - and .  .  .

laid a strip of ribbon on top of the glue, starting at the bottom up to the top, while smoothing the strip down along the pumpkin. 

Continue applying tacky glue in the pumpkin crevices and laying down the ribbon strips - nine in all - until .  .  .

all the pumpkin crevices are cover with strips of velvet and glitter ribbon for a decorative look!  Unexpected and quite charming, gluing strips of sparkly gold & purple velvet ribbon is a unique way to decorate a pumpkin vase centerpiece.

To compliment the ribbon strips and the small velvet pumpkin stems used in the vase, make velvet leaves out of the ribbon using a leaf template found online,

Laying the template on top of the velvet ribbon and .  .  .

cutting the leaf out.

Doesn't this look so cool for a leaf! The design and colors!

Now make several more!

Add Starbond Instant Adhesive, a quick dry glue, along the middle back of the leaf to add stem wire to make the leaves flexible - shaping as you like!

Cover with parchment paper to smooth the stem wire down onto the adhesive. Let dry.

Then shape to your liking!

Here I added three leaves to a stem wire and covered the wire with cutoff ribbon edges.

                  

Have fun adding fall florals to create a lovely centerpiece! 

This fall centerpiece idea trades traditional orange, yellow and reds tone for purple, burgundy and gold hues for a dramatic bold look! And of course, I had to tie a bow ribbon to the top!

You know I'm loving this look and hope you do too!

Be sure to check out all the Tradition Sustainable Crafts projects listed below:

Julie |  Sum of Their Stories | Vintage Doily Afternoon Tea Embroidery Upcycle

Terri | Our Good Life | Halloween Scenes on Thrift Store Paintings

Gail | Purple Hues and Me | DIY Paper Mache Pumpkin Centerpiece

Mel | Decor Craft Design | DIY Halloween Haunted House Sign

Jo | A Rose Tinted World | DIY Halloween Bowling Game

Shelly | Mimi-A Great Name for Grandma | DIY Bubbling Cauldron

Transform a Tissue Box Cover

                         

I sneeze all the time. I don't know what sets me off, but I have Kleenex tissue boxes all over the house just in case I have to sneeze. Once I get started, I can sneeze several times before it stops. It doesn't matter where I am - the bedroom, greatroom  or kitchen. If I could put a tissue box in the shower, I would, lol!

I must say that I am very particular about how the store bought tissue boxes are decorated. I can't buy just any design color! I'm always on the lookout for ones decorated with a bit of purple or more and sometimes that's hard to find. So I have to "settle" for whatever is out there. I've always said to myself, I need to make my own tissue box covers, but I never did - until now!  

I was in a Goodwill and saw a plain old gray tissue box cover. It was tagged at $3 and thought, now is the time - so I bought it along with a couple of other items I might upcycle in the future. 

When I got home, I looked online at Michaels and found an unfinished wood tissue box cover for $6.99.  Hobby Lobby didn't have any, so three dollars was quite the bargain - just in time for this month's 'Do It Over' Designers Blog Hop!

The "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by Anne @The Apple Street Cottage. It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new. Anything from fabric, old dishes, and decor, to dressers and hutches. Items found in closets, cabinets, barns, garages, yard sales, thrift stores, you name it! 

You won't believe how easy it was to transform the thrift store tissue box cover!

Supplies Used:

• Wood tissue box cover
• Tape measure or ruler.
• Laser printed design/scissors
• White acrylic paint/sponge brush
• Matte Mod Podge/paint brush
• Parchment paper
• Clear plastic bag (Ziplock) 
• Craft knife
• Mod Podge Spray Acrylic Sealer

Let's begin by making sure the wood surface of the tissue box is clean and free of any dirt, grime or oils.  It's best to use a damp cloth to do this. You don't want to soak the wood with water or cleaning solution. They might cause the wood to swell. Once the surface is cleaned and dry, use a tape measure or ruler to measure the tissue box cover. I measured it at 5.5" on all five (top included) sides. Then I looked online for a purple print design that I liked which I copied onto WORD using the 5.5" measurements and printed it out using my laser printer.

Once the first design sheet was printed, I cut it out to see how it would look on the tissue box cover. Perfect! Then printed out four more copies to cut out. I planned to put this tissue box cover in my kitchen, especially since my kitchen cabinets are white.

The next step is to place a sheet of parchment down on your work surface and paint the box with a couple coats of white acrylic paint, letting it dry between coats.

Once the acrylic paint is thoroughly dry, using a paint brush, begin applying a generous layer of Matte Mod Podge (for a flat finish) on the surface of the tissue box - one side at a time. 

Gently lay one of the square sheets down on one side of the tissue box cover, starting in one corner and moving toward the opposite corner, down and over until that side is covered with the design sheet. Repeat for the other three sides matching the flower design.

Use plastic food wrap to smooth out the paper and prevent wrinkles. Let dry.

Once all four sides are completely dry, begin adding Mod Podge over the design - 

on all four sides.

Let dry completely or overnight.

I love how the corners and edges of the tissue box cover are showing the painted white edges of the tissue box cover - especially since my kitchen cabinets are white.

For the top, apply a generous layer of Mod Podge and lay the final design sheet on top.  

Smoothing out, as before. Pay close attention to smoothing the paper down and around the opening - making sure it's sealed down.

Once the top design sheet is completely dry, begin cutting out the opening using a craft knife.

How cool does this look!

And finally, take the tissue box cover outside to apply Mod Podge Spray Acrylic Sealer to protect the finish.

Hope you enjoyed my decoupage transformation!

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative Projects by the 

"Do It Over Designers" listed below:

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Unique Creations by Anita

Sum of Their Stories

The Apple Street Cottage

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Decorative Chenille Trim Ribbon Pumpkin

 

One of the best activity to do this time of year is having fun decorating pumpkins! And you all know that there are upteen thousand ways to decorate a pumpkin, lol! There seems to be no limit in pumpkin creativity! You see them everywhere: fifty ways to decorate a pumpkin or 100 plus creative pumpkin decorating ideas, etc.! I even have my own post on pumpkin theme decorations you can check out here!

 Welcome to this months' Creative Craft Hop hosted by Donna @Modern on Monticello who's filling in for Sara @Birdz of a Feather for a few months. Thank you Donna for keeping this awesome hop going! 

If you're coming over from Jenna @The Painted Apron, isn't her Blooming Pumpkin adorable! Jenna is so creative!

I love that you can use pretty much anything to decorate a pumpkin. And pumpkin decorating doesn't have to be complicated to be lovely and sophisticated. I was inspired to decorate my latest pumpkin from ornaments I previously made using chenille stems as seen here and here. 

I'm calling this a Decorative Chenille Trim Ribbon Pumpkin!

Supplies:

• Pumpkin - 12" tall
• Ribbon 2.5" width, fall plaid pattern
• Chenille stems 12" orange
• Fabri-Tac fabric glue
• Scissors
• Straight pins

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How to:

I'm using a white pumpkin that I had in my stash. It's a good size, about 12 inches high and a little over 12 inches deep. I got the 50yd roll of wired ribbon on clearance from Sam's earlier this year for $4.88! What a bargain! Begin by leaving the ribbon on the roll, pulling out a couple of feet onto the work surface. Take a chenille stem and fold in half, 

pinching the middle into a point. Then open the stem, curving each side into a petal shape. If you push the point while holding the stem, the sides will automatically curve.

Apply fabri-tac glue along one side of the entire stem and .  .  .

press the point of the chenille stem onto the center of the ribbon - although I was trying to put the point in the middle of the plaid stripe - shaping the stem into a petal while smoothing the stem wire down onto the ribbon. Let dry.

Continue creating as many chenille stem petals as needed and gluing them down onto the ribbon and letting them dry. Once they are thoroughly dry, cut out following the bottom of the stem outline.

Once the stems are cut out, wrap each petal around the glue bottle to shape into a curve.

 To decorate, use straight pins inserted into the bottom of the petals to hold them in place around the pumpkin.

Once the first layer of petals are pinned, 

overlapping the second layer starting at the base of the pumpkin stem.

And then, adding a third layer of petals in between the bottom petals. You can fluff up the petals by pushing the bottom pointed tip up along the pumpkin.

And finally, add a handmade bow tied with an orange chenille stem on top for a 

festive fall look!

An easy and creative contemporary flair pumpkin!

Be sure to check out all the talented bloggers and their wonderful creations listed below!

Coppery Stemware Refresh in 3 Simple Steps -  Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction

Halloween Ceramic Book Makeovers - Niki @Life as a Leo Wife

How to Use Paper Leaves in Fall Decor - Carol @Blue Sky at Home

DIY Fall Olive Wreath - Terrie @Decorate and More With Tip

Easy DIY Fall Ribbon Wreath - Donna @Modern on Monticello

Blooming Pumpkin -  Jenna@ The Painted Apron

Decorative Chenille Trim Ribbon Pumpkin - Gail @Purple Hues and Me