A Simple, Non-Traditional Pumpkin DIY In Natural Tones

Long gone is the time when you could only buy or grow pumpkins in orange. These days they come in dark to light orange, white, green, blue-grey, peach, yellow, brown with smooth skin, warts, ribbed, and in all shapes and sizes. This brown one caught my eye because I’d never seen one before. It was destined to be – I just had to do a pumpkin DIY in natural tones with this beauty.

My client had bought an SUV full of pumpkins and other squashes at Farmer John’s in Half Moon Bay, CA. I was working on a Halloween decorating job at her house and they were all to be part of the display. I took 3 of them home for a little fall decor and later decorated them. This is a really easy DIY which doesn’t take a lot of materials (some I collected) and only involves a few steps. My kind of project!

A pumpkin DIY in natural tones:

Ingredients:

– brown pumpkin. They’re really hard to find so you could paint or sponge a white pumpkin. I bet acrylic or chalk paint in brown would work just fine.

– lichen

– spanish moss

– walnuts

– acorns (collected)

– red eucalyptus pods (collected)

– king palm seeds (collected)

– seeded eucalyptus foliage (collected)

– hot melt glue

– skillet – I use a large electric skillet which I’ve had for years because I do a lot of crafting. This small one might work for you. If you have a glue gun, then that’ll work just fine too.

a brown pumpkin sits on a table with dried leaves, spanish moss, nuts & pods

Step One:

Glue the moss on top of the pumpkin.

The 1st thing I do when I decorate pumpkins, squashes or gourds is glue moss on at the top. This gives the ingredients I’m decorating with something to attach to.

Tip: If your moss has gotten old & dry like mine here, simply soak it in water to revive it. This makes it much easier to work with.

spanish moss is being glued onto the top of a brown pumpkin

Step 2:

Add the walnuts on top of the moss.

Tip: Walnuts are a bit on the heavy side so I held them in place for about 10 seconds while the glue dried.

2 walnuts are glued onto spanish moss which is glued onto the top of a brown pumpkin

Step 3:

Add the lichen & eucalyptus pods.

walnuts are being glued onto spanish moss which is glued on top of a brown pumpkin

Step 4:

Add eucalyptus leaves (I had already dried mine for another project) under the moss.

Tip: If you cut the stems off it’s much easier to glue the leaves in under the moss.

close up of pods, walnuts, dried leaves & spanish moss on top of a brown pumpkin

Step 5:

Add in the acorns nestling them at different angles amongst the nuts and pods.

walnuts, pods, acorns & dried leaves are glued onto spanish moss on top of a brown pumpkin

The collected materials were foraged in the Santa Barbara, CA area. Use whatever nuts, seeds, pods and leaves you can get your hands on to create a similar look. As much as I dig bright colors, I just love this natural/neutral look. How about you?

Happy creating, Happy fall!

looking down on walnuts, pods, acorns, dried leaves glued onto spanish moss on top of a brown pumpkin

You May Also Enjoy:

Autumn Decorating Ideas For A Festive Fall Season

The Best Plants That Will Make Your Home Festive For Fall

5 Porches That’ll Welcome Fall To Your Home

Fall Readymade Natural Wreaths

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas With Natural Elements

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About the Author
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Nell Foster

Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.