How to Make A Natural Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas from HGTV

How to Make A Natural Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas from HGTV

Halloween ideas natural Pumpkin Topiary

To make this fall porch decoration, we stacked three pumpkins in a planter then adorned the pumpkins in vines, greenery, baby's breath and a few feathers.

Tools and Materials

serrated knife
scissors
hot-glue gun
3 pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins by Funkin)
painter's tarp
greenery (U-shaped) pins
grapevine (twigs)
1 to 2 long bows of artificial greenery (boxwood looking)
2 packages of dried flowers (baby's breath)
5 bunches of feathers
2 to 3 bunches of artificial flowers or grass-like (pom-pom) stems
1 large urn planter

Paint and Prep

In order to be able to stack the pumpkins, break off the stem of the bottom two pumpkins. or cut holes in the bottom of the top two pumpkins. Paint the pumpkins if desired.

Wrap in Vine

On a painter's tarp, layout all the pumpkins and greenery. Start with the bottom pumpkin, unwind the grapevine and cut a piece to go around the bottom of the pumpkin, let some come up from the bottom a little. Use u-shaped pins to hold it in place.

Wrap in Greenery

Cut a piece of the boxwood greenery and place it under the grapevine twigs, use pins to hold it in place.

Add Feathers

Place three of the five bunches of feathers around the grapevine. You may want to use the scissors and cut off most of the stem and then tuck in the rest in between the pumpkin and the grapevine. Use a hot-glue gun (medium heat) to keep in place.

Add Flowers

Cut pieces of the flowers and its greenery then tuck them into the grapevine around the base and glue into place.

Fill in With Baby's Breath

Use dried flowers to fill in the rest, make sure some pieces will hang over the edge of the urn.

Continue onto the Other Pumpkins

Repeat the steps on the upper two pumpkins, but don't use as much decoration as you did on the base pumpkin.

Use the Tarp to Stuff the Urn

We used our tarp not only as a work surface, but we put it in the bottom of the urn to bring the height of the pumpkins up close to the top of the urn. If a tarp doesn't work, try rocks, packing peanuts or old towels. Place the pumpkins in the urn on top of the tarp, allowing it to sink slightly into the middle of the tarp. Make sure none of the tarp shows or the inside edges of the urn.

Fill in Where Necessary

When everything is in place, fill in any blank spaces with more flowers, feathers or even birds.

How to Make a Chevron Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas

How to Make a Chevron Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas

Chevron Halloween ideas Pumpkin Topiary

This Halloween, light up your porch with a zigzag-patterned jack-o'-lantern.

By : Joanne Palmisano,

We painted and carved chevrons patterns onto three pumpkins, inserted tea-lights then stacked the pumpkins together to create a retro-style topiary. Moss-covered stones were laid around the base of the topiary to give it a little earthy yet eerie feel.

Tools and Materials

serrated knife
jigsaw (optional)
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins by Funkin)
painter's tarp
6 to 9 battery-operated tea lights
4 colors of craft paint (we used green, blue, black, white)
small artist paintbrush
dry-erase marker

Clean Out the Pumpkins

Cut a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin and clean out the innards.

Dry-Fit the Stack and Create Pattern

Place the pumpkins on top of each other. Use a dry-erase marker (washable marker) to draw a chevron pattern across the middle of each pumpkin a little more than halfway around the pumpkin. Do not draw your pattern all the way around whole thing. Disassemble the stack and mark which is the top, middle and bottom.

Carve Part of the Pattern

Use a serrated knife or jigsaw to cut the patterns. If using a jigsaw, drill a hole first, then insert the jigsaw blade before turning it on. On each pattern, leave two stabilizers to help handle the weight of the other pumpkins (so it doesn't fold down on itself).

Paint the Rest of the Pattern

Paint two zigzag patterns above and two below the cut-out pattern, using four different paint colors. Repeat on the other two pumpkins. We put each color in the same exact location on each pumpkin. Let the paint dry completely.

Halloween 2012 Traditional Pumpkin Carving Ideas from HGTV

Halloween 2012 Traditional Pumpkin Carving Ideas from HGTV

Carving Halloween ideas Pumpkin Traditional

A simple, smiling jack-o'-lantern is a traditional element of Halloween decor. Check out these classic pumpkin carving ideas with a humorous twist.

Classic Jack

With a happy four-tooth smile and a triangle nose, this traditional jack-o-'lantern pattern has been around for decades. The simple, minimal carvings are easy to create for beginners, and the classic expression will never get old

Pumpkin Family

Dress up your porch by letting everyone in the family carve their own pumpkin. This set of jack-o'-lanterns evokes spooky elements of Halloween, except for the smiling, stalk-nosed pumpkin in front.

Scream-Worthy Carvings

Carving a face is fun, but words can deliver even more expression and drama. This startled jack-o'-lantern lets his mate do all the screaming. Eek!

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Scary Sights

Halloween is the scariest holiday of the year, and these terrified pumpkins can certainly attest to this from their frightful expressions

Creepy Crawlers

Don't worry; this eight-legged creature is going nowhere. Spook your trick-or-treaters, neighbors and guests with a creepy spider carving sure to send shivers down their spines.

Troubled Teeth

If you want to bring an extra scary element to your simple jack-o'-lantern, use an array of scattered toothpicks as sharp and scraggly teeth.

Fright Night

Are you easily frightened during Halloween festivities? You're not alone. This terrified jack-o'-lantern has been scared stiff.

Spooked Illumination

Light up your late night porch with illuminated jack-o'-lanterns. After carving scary patterns, add candles inside your pumpkins to shine a yellow-orange hue through the carvings. 

Evil Eyes

Give your pumpkin a menacing expression to add a spooky feel to your porch or garden. Small, demonic horns and an extra-wide smile make this jack-o'-lantern even creepier.

Attention-Grabber

Perfect for children or those with minimal pumpkin-carving experience, this shouting pumpkin looks like he's ready to make a blaring statement.

Ghastly Expression

If you're hoping to really scare off Halloween intruders, this jack-o'-lantern can do the trick. The frightful ghost pumpkin uses his menacing eyes and angry grin to safeguard the garden during ghostly times

Shrinking Scarcity

This small pumpkin was originally carved to show an angry face, but the mouth has dried and shrunken to create a grimaced expression. 

Halloween Pumpkin Topiary With Spiders 2012 Ideas from HGTV

Halloween Pumpkin Topiary With Spiders 2012 Ideas from HGTV

Halloween ideas Pumpkin Spiders Topiary

We stacked three plain pumpkins together then adorned them in spiders to make a spooky Halloween decoration.

By : Joanne Palmisano

To make this adorable pumpkin topiary, we pinned on spiders and wrapped the pumpkins with black yarn.

Tools and Supplies

serrated knife
scissors
hot-glue gun
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins from Funkin)
30 to 40 straight pins with a black tops
flashlight
black yarn
small plastic toy spiders
one large spider

Carve and Stack

Carve the top and bottom of the top pumpkin in the stack. Carve the bottom of the middle pumpkin in the stack. This way stack on top of each other and the top one will have an opening for the flashlight.

Insert Pins

Push the black sewing pins into the pumpkins in a random pattern. Leave half of the pin sticking out. Use about 15 pins per pumpkin.

Create the Spider's Web

Starting at the bottom, wrap the yarn around one of the pins then bring it to the next pin, wrap it around and repeat. Keep weaving the yarn back and forth around the pins until you have one big web. If necessary, use the glue gun on the yarn to keep it from moving.

Add Spiders

Tie or glue small strands of yarn to several of the spiders. Tie the strands to the webbing so the spiders will hang down. Then glue some spiders directly to the webbing. Add several to the top to make it look like they are escaping. Place a few on the floor and make them look like they are about to scatter.

Include Mama Spider

Insert a flashlight into the top pumpkin to illuminate the large spider. Then place the spider as if she's escaping, too (again, be careful of the pins).