pumpkins made from garden clippings!?!

you've heard 'Necessity is the mother of invention' before...

it couldn't be more true of this week's pumpkin creation!

we've had a HOT summer and early fall here...

once the temps dipped *just* below triple digits,

i finally braved the heat outside and took care of some garden tasks,

including trimming the vining branches of our jasmine plants

that were reaching menacingly toward our windows!

that led to a whole new way to embrace my 'trash to treasure' ethos:

i turned my garden clippings into pumpkins!

continue reading for the details...

this is a three-part project:
make the stem, make the pumpkin, then assemble!

materials:
scissors . garden clippers . thin green floral wire . wire cutters
straight pins with flat heads . dollar store styrofoam pumpkins

cuttings from a vining plant for the stem (honeysuckle, jasmine, etc)
leaves to cover the pumpkin (i used sage leaves, but tree leaves will work)

the stem:

cutting the jasmine vines for this was a challenge,

not only because of their propensity to wander allll over the place

but because i am allergic to the sap inside of them!

by gathering a bunch in my left hand before cutting them,

i twisted the bunch tightly with both hands

THEN i cut the stems and separated them from the plant.

LEFT CENTER: i took the twisted stems and bent them (gently!) in half,
creating a thicker look on one end - with the thinnest ends of the vine at the other.
RIGHT CENTER: a length of thin green floral wire twists around the stem,

keeping it held together and allowing the stem to be bent and curved!

now all i had to do was figure out what pumpkin to put it on -

and as i turned around in the yard, i saw the perfect solution!

the pumpkin:

my sage plant is a monster. it grows all year long here,

but in summer and fall it explodes.

this 4' round plethora of beautiful and fragrant leaves

were a perfect material to cover a plain old styro pumpkin form!

LEFT: after cutting some stems from the plant, i cut the stems off of the leaves

and attached them to the styro pumpkin form with straight pins:
RIGHT CENTER: i covered the pumpkin bottom first,
wrapping the leaves from beneath up the side of the pumpkin,
then pinning both the stem end of each leaf
and the pointed end of each leaf to hold it in position.

once i had flipped the pumpkin over,
i continued adding leaves above the points of those 'bottom level' leaves,
and pinning just the stem end of each - 
working upward in rows, with all of the leaves pointing downward.
(add as many leaves as it takes to cover the styro pumpkin form completely)

LEFT: the leaves laid relatively flat as i pinned them on,
LEFT CENTER: though they flopped around a bit.
RIGHT CENTER: at the very top, the pins went right at the edge of the opening,
and i used the smallest leaves as a finishing touch.

NOTE: another option would be to GLUE each leaf on.
this would make the leaves lay flat from the start,
and also keep them from curling as they dry naturally. 
(or dry the leaves before you attach them to the pumpkin)

once the pumpkin was covered completely with leaves, 

i covered it with an inverted bowl! why?

to press the leaves downward against the pumpkin shape.

(it only took ten minutes for the soft leaves to mold to the pumpkin.)

next, i grabbed the vine stem

and popped it into the hole on the top of the pumpkin...
the thickness of the vine stem holds it in place, no adhesive needed:

i love the very natural look and fragrance of the leaves...

they'll dry in place and lighten up, but still smell wonderful.

it's a pumpkin that i can use all the way through November...

speaking of which, i have some other plans for these wood bowls
that will be showing up on the blog next month!

related content:

raid the garden shed for natural fall decor

pumpkins made with wire garden baskets

shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #749

thank you for featuring my project, Donna!


creatively beth | creatively crafty link party 

my wee abode | tuesday turn about link party

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