When you don't buy a pumpkin...

Today's project is a direct result of my not buying a pumpkin last week. Since I had all the supplies on hand to make these, I guess I ended up saving myself some money. I'll probably still pick up a real pumpkin in the near future, but now I have some pumpkins to use year after year. Here's how it happened...

On my last Aldi run, there was a large pallet of pumpkins for $3.99 each. At the time, I thought I wasn't ready for fall decor. But the next day, I was regretting not buying a pumpkin. I pulled out the few fall decorations I had.

The bittersweet isn't out around here yet - So I was glad my berries from last year were still holding on. I made a batch of chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. (Try the recipe for yourself here.) I set out my canning ring pumpkin from last year.  (Read about its creation here. )

But I was still dreaming of that big pile of orange pumpkins that I passed up.  So, I searched my pinterest boards for another fall decor idea. I came across these adorable fabric pumpkins by the Thompson Family-Life Blog. 

I quickly gathered my scraps of fabric and got to work. I have a love-hate relationship with sewing. I love the idea of it and the end result....but I had the process. I usually find myself frustrated and wanting to quit somewhere in the middle of my projects, but this tutorial was simple, easy to follow and full of pictures! 

My second pumpkin ended up being my favorite pumpkin...I just love the one made from the vintage pillowcase (orange and white flowers). I think I may hunt for some vintage sheets to make a few more. It seemed so cheerful and unique.

I didn't even have to spend money on stuffing. I simply cut open a pillow that had seen better days and reused the stuffing inside. I always hang on to flat, old pillows. I'd rather spend money on a nice pillow for my head rather than buy stuffing for craft projects. Once repurposed, the flat pillow gains new life as project stuffing! 

After I made a couple, I realized there was another plus to these pumpkins....they are kid friendly! I can stack them anywhere and don't have to worry about Hudson upsetting anything. 

He can play with them, slobber on them or throw them around. When he is finished, I just stack them back into place. 

He's pretty happy about it too. It seems his "favorite things" these days are the items he thinks I don't want him to have. 

I deviated form the tutorial a bit when it came to the stems. I had made 5 pumpkins but was dreading the intricate part of sewing and attaching the stem. The pumpkins sat on my kitchen table for two days while I dreaded the final step. My sister suggested rolling up a piece of felt for the perfect stem. 

And the best part was, I could simply hot glue the stem into place! Any time I can complete a project with a hot glue gun - I'm happy.  And a lot of my sewing projects have ended with hot glue.

I love that these are easily interchangeable. They may keep moving around all season. 

You can stack just your fabric pumpkins...

Or even add a different kind in the mix.  This white one is just a styrofoam pumpkin from the Dollar Store that I painted. 

There is something sort of warm and cozy about the look. 

I paid a few of my neighbor's children in M&M's to go out and get me some pine cones from the yard. 

Hudson loves that there are a couple of these pumpkins at his level. 

He ends up using them as a foot rest most of the time. 

We find him with his feet propped up all the time. Silly boy. 

I still plan to buy my real pumpkin. It will probably find it's home on my coffee table surrounded by a candle or two. But for now, I guess I'm glad I didn't buy one on my last grocery run. 

Otherwise, I might never have made my new favorite fall decor items! 

Have any of you made pumpkins out of random items? I'd love to get some more ideas...

I'm linking this project...