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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween...Pumpkin Tower Tutorial

Happy Halloween everyone!! I made a pumpkin tower yesterday for Halloween, but I'm hoping it will last until Thanksgiving when we have everyone here for dinner. Thought I would share the tutorial with you!!

This year must have been a bumper crop for pumpkins, because they were fairly inexpensive. $2 - $6 each, even for the big ones. We buy them at Walmart for the best price.

Here's the creation I came up with...

pumpkin tower

This only took about 30 minutes to put together...

Here are the things I used.

  • 3 pumpkins in graduated sizes. You can stack more, but you will need a stronger stick
  • plant pot, wooden crate or some sort of base/holder
  • dowel, pvc pipe, old curtain rod or anything to poke inside the pumpkins for support
  • screwdriver, ice pick or drill to make the holes in the pumpkins
  • fall decorations as filler. I bought the artificial fall garland at Joann Fabric 50% off. I also used raffia that I already had. You can just use things from your yard too.


pumpkin tower

I placed something inside the plant pot to support the largest pumpkin. I also learned later that you may need to add some rocks in there to weigh down the pot!

pumpkin tower

Take the largest pumpkin and break off the stem.

I've come to the conclusion that when you don't want the stem to break off, it snaps in a second. If you want it off, you need to take a hammer to it.

pumpkin tower

Take drill or ice pick and poke a hole in or near the center. If I used my drill I could have drilled directly in the center, but I was too lazy to go in and get it!

pumpkin tower

Insert the dowel or pvc pipe.

pumpkin tower

If you need more support for your tower, you could poke a hole on the bottom of the large pumpkin and let the stick go into the rocks in the pot.

pumpkin tower

Next, take the medium pumpkin...

pumpkin tower

and poke a hole in the bottom.

pumpkin tower

Insert it onto the dowel and look at how it will land on the large pumpkin and "eye" where the top hole will be.

It will be close to the center, but all pumpkins aren't perfectly round. Mine had a flat back, so I had to adjust.

pumpkin tower

Two stacked.

pumpkin tower

Now take your smallest pumpkin and measure where the stick will end inside and cut off the extra stick.

(note to self...no more pictures including my "man hands". What the heck. They don't look like that in person. The camera must add 10 pounds to my hands! Lol)

pumpkin tower

Poke a hole in the bottom of the little one and slide it on to the dowel. Looks cute all wonky, but needs some filler!

pumpkin tower

I added some raffia to each intersection.

I also cut the fall garland into 3 pieces...small, medium and large lengths

pumpkin tower

I used floral "U" shaped picks to secure them. You could also use tacks or just nail them in.

pumpkin tower

Tap them in to hold all the parts and stems of the garland.

pumpkin tower


pumpkin tower

All finished and just in time before the sun was setting.

Total cost was $15.00...$11.00 for the pumpkins and $4.00 for the discounted garland. The rest I already had. It would be cheaper if I used natural foliage from the yard.

pumpkin tower

This tutorial was just the process of the "how to". You can change it up with things you have around your house or in your yard.

If I had bitter sweet growing in my yard, I would have used that. I love the look of bitter sweet. You can even use leaves that have fallen to tuck in between the layers.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

~Karen~

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18 comments:

  1. Don't you have squirrels in your neighborhood? Last year, I watched and it took a squirrel 30 minutes to go from outside to a hole big enough to get inside the pumpkin. I love your stack, but it would be destroyed if I put something like that out. I'd come home from work and find it in pieces, probably with a note reading, "Next year, forget the dowel and the staples. Love, your backyard squirrels".

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    1. I have never heard of squirrels eating pumpkins before. Learn something new every day. We have always had pumpkins out every year and the squirrels never touch them. I think it's because we have 3 very large oak trees in the back yard and they drop millions of acorns. I think the squirrels are full by the time they get to the front porch! Lol

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  2. So fun!!!!!

    How are you? It has been a while since I have been by.

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  3. This looks WONDERFUL! Thanks for the tutorial.
    Love your blog. You certainly have great ideas.

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  4. Great Display! I'm with Deb though. My squirrels LOVE to eat the pumpkins. But that's OK. Everybody's gotta eat!

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  5. Great pumpkin tower, but I cringed when I saw the pic of hammering off the stem.........I have been begging for stems to dry, as I make velvet pumpkins! LOL Nice tutorial!

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    1. I am so glad you commented about the pumpkin stems. I have never heard of that before. I just read a little about them and they actually sell them on ebay. That's the last time I'll take a hammer to them!! Lol

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  6. That's to funny Diane and I was thinking the same thing, what did that poor pumpkin do to you to deserve a hammer to the head??????????? Our pumpkins at WalMart have been at $3 for weeks now for any size. I wish I had the front porch you do, yes I have porch envy...........

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  7. Would you believe that I didn't buy any pumpkins yesterday because they didn't have any stems!!!! Looks like I will be heading back to the store....:o)) Great toot!
    P

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  8. Your pumpkin tower looks wonderful. Thanks for the tutorial.
    Ali x

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  9. Amazing ... there really is no end to your talents, Karen, do you sleep? Does your mind ever take a break!? Brilliant :)

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  10. It's a beautiful tower ... thanks for the great idea and photos. I hope your weather and wildlife keep it fresh for a long time. I'm with Diane, who commented above that she would have kept the stems. I'm glad I'm not the only one with a stash of punkin stems!

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  11. That is absolutely beautiful. It makes me sad that to see autumn end.

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  12. Amazing! Love the pumpking tower Karen, Thanks for the tutorial and I hope yours lasts until the end of November!

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  13. Karen, I decided to have a pumpkin patch next year instead of a vegetable garden........there were 28 pumpkin stems on ebay, about a month ago, that sold for $133.00!!!!! That's insane! I'm gonna' hit Walmart today and see if they have theirs marked down.....just for the stems!

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  14. Karen, I so enjoyed the photos and tutorial on the pumpkin tower. Would it work with those fake pumpkins from the craft store? My neighborhood is eaten up with deer, squirrels, etc.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jodi,
      I think the artificial pumpkins would work great. You could even skip the dowel or rod between them and just use a super strong adhesive to attach them…maybe a tube of liquid nails. I love that stuff.
      Definitely add rocks or a brick to the bottom of the plant pot or your container, because the pumpkins will be light weight.
      You can buy them in the clearance section, now that it's after Halloween.
      Hmmm…now you have me thinking!! Thanks...

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