Halloween Pumpkin Man

                                                                                               Pumpkin Man is a great idea that I got from a magazine last fall and wanted to use it again this year.  Last year, I set him up early October and by Halloween he was leaking rotten pumpkin juice all over, so I decided to do it a little later this year.   This year I also made my “Man” a “Woman” by adding a cute little flower on top.   I just hot glued the  acorns on so we can just pop them off and carve our pumpkins the day before Halloween if we want to!  (My husband said we could get some more to carve…I think he really likes her on the porch…especially for Halloween:)

There are many different variations of the “Pumpkin Man”.  Here’s last years' (in it’s gooey, “melting” stage…just a little gross, but it made it a little more spooky).  I etched out the facial features and buttons all the way down, but didn’t hollow the pumpkins out so light could come through as described in this tutorial on etching pumpkins.  I think it could also look amazing with a black top hat and cane…dress it up or down!

I saw another idea on Studio 5 that took this similar stacking form, but they etched in their address.  A number on each pumpkin working down.  I thought that would be cute if you had a lot of people coming for a Halloween party.

Here’s an image I found on Martha Stewart – they used gourds!  I thought it might even be great to spray paint some of the pumpkins black and etch in a scull and cross bones to make it in a more spooky form.  The possibilities are endless people!!

SUPPLIES:

-  3 - 4 Pumpkins (graduating in size, like a snowman)

-  a couple dowels (get a good strong thickness)

-  etching tools, acorns, flowers (whatever you want to give your pumpkin man some character)

-  small screw driver or ice pick

-  hand saw

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Use the hand saw to cut off the stems of the bottom pumpkins so they can stack more evenly on each other.

2.  If you are etching, do it now before you put the Pumpkin Man together!

3.  Cut small holes with the small screw driver in the top and bottoms of each pumpkin so the dowels will easily slide into each pumpkin. Slide the dowel all the way through the top and bottom of the 2nd to bottom pumpkin first, then feed the stick into the bottom pumpkin. This is a little difficult – just work with the angles so the pumpkins will be held together with the dowels.  (Mine still has to lean against the house to stay upright.) Depending on how long your dowel is and how tall your Pumpkin Man is, you may have to have two dowels (the second to start half way up).  

4.  Add embellishments such as hats, flowers, etc.  To give your Pumpkin Man its character.

TIME:

1-3 hours (Depending on how you choose to decorate it!)

PRICE:

$14-25

Last year we picked pumpkins from a field and they were MUCH more expensive – it probably didn’t help that it was early October.  Now, they are probably on sale everywhere.  I got mine this year at Wal-Mart for $3 a piece – all sizes.  I didn’t pay per pound there.

 

Creeping Mice

These strangely life-like little mice add a HUGE addition to your Halloween decorations and they are really easy to make!

 

Supplies:

- Pattern found at Martha Stewart’s Website

- Black construction paper or cardstock

- Scissors

- Masking tape

To Make:

- Print out the mice templates and cut them out.  Trace onto your black paper with a pencil. Cut the little friends out and tape them to your wall and/or stairs.

Price:

-$2-3 for black paper

Time:

-1-2 hours

*I keep mine with my Halloween decorations and pull them out every year.  They’re different and everyone that walks in the door is delighted to see little mice crawling around!  How many will you make!?

Autumn Charms

This project took a little longer, but was well worth the hours I sat in front of the TV working on it :).  Found the pattern at American Quilting in Orem, UT while on the Wasatch Front Shop Hop in the Spring.
 

Supplies:
- Lots of different colored wool, felted wool, or felt (Many quilting stores have “orphan” pieces of wool they sell at discount.  You can buy NEW wool felt by the yard at every fabric store – the ratio of felt and wool determines its price and quality. Regular craft felt is cheap and would probably do for all the little pieces, but I think it’s best to get some good wool for the circle part.  Phew…that was long!)
- Embroidery floss in coordinating colors.
- Pattern.  I couldn’t find on their website that you can buy it there, so you might have to go to the store.  If you’re really ambitious, you could draw your own shapes and cut them out!
- Poly-Fill. Just a small amount of any regular fiber fill to go in between the two pieces (on the back of each charm is a coordinating color.
What to do:
- Cut out all your pieces – use pins to keep them all together
- Blanket Stitch or Running Stitch all the pieces to each other
- Fill each charm with a small piece of poly-fill as you blanket stitch the edges. 
- Leave a little extra floss at the top for hanging.
- I ended up buying the metal frame they sold to display them on, but I think you could attach them to some cute ribbon for a banner across a window or opening in your home.
Price:
Metal Frame: $30
Wool & floss: $8-10
Time:
Timeless…I really don’t know how long it took, but it was a great thing to do while watching TV!:)