Upcycled Pumpkins

up·cy·cle

ˈəpˌsīkəl/

verb

1. reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.
2. 
   

I saw some pumpkins at the store the other day that were covered in burlap.  I thought, "I can do that!"  I found these pumpkins at the Dollar Tree and came home and got to work.

First, I cut the stem off one of the pumpkins.

I then cut some burlap (a thrift store purchase) into strips and got to work hot gluing them to the pumpkin.  (Hot glue is HOT!  Ouch!)

Once the pumpkin was covered in in burlap, I glued twine down along the ridges of the pumpkin.  I used a stem I'd saved from a pumpkin we grew in our garden last year.

I love how it turned out, but if I were to do it again I would paint the pumpkin first.  I don't like how the orange shows through.

For my second pumpkin, I decided to go with our spider Halloween theme.  This is something I saw on Pinterest.

I cut the stem off this one as well.

Like the SPIDER canvas from a couple weeks ago, I covered this pumpkin in layers of newspaper.

I wasn't happy with the print showing so much, so I covered that in a light coat of Gesso, then a quick coat of Gloss Mod Podge and a little glitter.

I decided to use the stem that came with this pumpkin.  I painted it black, then covered it in gloss Mod Podge and glitter just like the pumpkin.

I found some black ribbon in my stash, so I glued that around the pumpkin.

Next up, spiders.  I had to cut the rings off, then I just glued them all over.

This one took a lot longer than I thought it would (I didn't think about drying time), but I love how it turned out.

Since I already had all the materials at home, these pumpkins only cost me the dollar I spent at the store!

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