See my latest two DIY pumpkin decor projects and a neutral, farmhouse style fall mantel. DIY scrap wood pumpkins and dollar store foam pumpkin topiaries.

Farmhouse style fall DIY pumpkin decor crafts from scrap wood and dollar store supplies.

I just whipped up two new pumpkin crafts for my fall mantel – one made from wood in my scrap pile, and one from Dollar Tree foam pumpkins.

I’ve really struggled with decorating our mantel, because I have to decorate around our TV. That’s where our cable and power outlets are located, and it’s really the only place in the living room where the TV works. But this fall, I decided to tray and tackle the mantel and decorate around the TV as best I could.

DIY Pumpkin Decor

Here’s a quick video tutorial showing how these two crafts came together:

And here’s a transcript of the DIY Pumpkin Decor video:

First, I made a set of scrap wood pumpkins. I had these cedar fence boards leftover from a raised garden bed project this summer, and I had been saving them for a fall pumpkin craft. For this craft, you will need scrap wood, chalk paint in 4 colors, small wood rounds, faux greenery, hot glue, and wood glue.

Start by painting your wood scrap pieces with chalk paint. Don’t worry about getting complete coverage. It’s ok to leave a bit of the wood showing – it makes for a more rustic look. I painted the three shorter wood scrap pieces in light gray, light green, and a vintage light blue. Then I painted the taller wood scrap pieces in dark green. I wasn’t completely happy with the look of this dark green. It seemed a bit too bright. So, before the paint dried, I layered in a bit of charcoal gray paint to darken it up a bit. I was much happier after I changed this paint color.

Once the chalk paint has completely dried, it’s time to make pumpkin stems. For this, I used mini wood rounds and some faux greenery, just because that’s what I had on hand in my craft stash. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand – wine corks, twigs from your yard, craft moss, whatever you like. Just hot glue the wood round and greenery piece in place. I really liked the look if the oddly shaped wood rounds, so I decided to use those as well.

Next, it’s time to assemble the scrap wood pumpkins together so that they stand upright on their own. I arranged the pumpkins the way that I wanted them, and then I flipped them over to secure everything together. For this, I grabbed a couple pieces of 1x2s from my scrap wood pile. I used a combination of hot glue and wood glue, simply because I’m impatient. The hot glue secures the wood right away, but won’t create a permanent hold. That’s where the wood glue comes in. It takes longer to dry, but creates a stronger hold. You could also use wood glue and small nails.

Once everything was glued together, I carefully picked up my pumpkin set and set it up on my mantel.

DIY Pumpkin Decor – a Pumpkin topiary:

Next up: a dollar store pumpkin topiary. This craft was inspired by The Latina Next Door. I was so inspired by her foam pumpkin topiary, that I decided to make my own version.

For this craft, you will need 2 small foam pumpkins, 4 large foam pumpkins, and 2 clay pots. You will also need: chalk paint, ribbon, rope, faux greenery, drop cloth fabric, and a twig.

Start with the 4 large foam pumpkins and give them a coat of white chalk paint. I used Decoart chalk paint in Lace. Set those aside to dry. I used my hairdryer on cool to help speed up the process. Give two of the pumpkins a second coat of white paint and set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, with the other two foam pumpkins that only have one coat of white paint, you will want to give a second coat of chalk paint, this time in light green. I used Decoart chalk paint in Revive. Be sure to get complete coverage on the sides. It’s not as important to paint the top and bottom of the pumpkin completely, since they will be covered when you stack the pumpkins in the topiary.

Ribbon-wrapped foam pumpkin:

Now grab you two white foam pumpkins and some ribbon. I used this burlap ribbon with white polka dots that I picked up at Dollar Tree as well as this gray ribbon that I actually saved from a Target purchase. I bought a knit throw last winter, and it came tied in this pretty gray ribbon. Being the upcycler that I am, I saved it in my craft stash for just the perfect project! Cut four small lengths of each ribbon per pumpkin. Then secure the ribbon to the pumpkin using hot glue. Glue the ribbon at both the top and the bottom of the pumpkin. You’ll end up wanting to use four pieces of each type of ribbon per pumpkin.

Painted clay pots:

The last thing you’ll paint is the clay pots. I used one good coat of gray paint for this, and that was plenty. My paint color is Decoart chalk paint in Relic – it’s probably my favorite dark gray paint color for crafts. It’s a warm gray, so it works really well with things like burlap and drop cloth fabric – like in this craft project.

I also painted about half of the inside of the clay pot. This way everything is covered in case I want to re-use these pots for a different project this winter or spring. When seasonal décor pieces serve double duty for multiple holidays, you don’t need as much storage space during the rest of the year.

Once the gray paint dried, wrap the pot with some Dollar Tree rope. Before I cut the ends of my rope, I like to wrap it in a bit of clear tape. This helps keep the rope from fraying. So tape the end of the rope, then cut it. After that, secure both ends of the rope to the clay pot with hot glue. You’ll also want to secure the rope in a few other spots. This will keep the rope from falling down.

Dropcloth covered pumpkins:

Now that we’ve painted four pumpkins and the clay pot, it’s time to transform the two mini foam pumpkins. I’ve actually done this before in my Fall 2019 Dollar Tree Farmhouse-Style Centerpiece a few weeks back. Start with some faux greenery, a twig from your yard, a foam pumpkin, and a square of drop cloth fabric.

Remove the stem from the pumpkin. Then use scissors to cut a hole in the top of the foam pumpkin. Since drop cloth fabric is pretty thick, I made my hole a bit bigger than I would have if I were using regular quilting fabric. Throw away the foam from the hole you just cut. Then wrap the pumpkin with fabric. For this pumpkin, I ended up cutting the corners off the fabric square, just to make stuffing the fabric into the center of the pumpkin a bit easier. Working around the pumpkin, fold the fabric up, making sure the folds in the fabric are evenly spaced. Stuff the edges of the fabric into the center of the pumpkin. Then grab a twig and a sprig of faux greenery to replace the stem. It’s so easy, and seriously my favorite dollar store pumpkin transformation I’ve ever made.

Assemble the topiary:

Once you have all of your pumpkins and clay pots ready to go, it’s time to assemble the topiary. Start with your clay pot. Then set the ribbon pumpkin on top of the clay pot. Next is the light green painted pumpkin. Use hot glue to attach the two pumpkins to each other. I just applied a ring of glue on the top of the ribbon pumpkin and then placed the painted pumpkin on top. Repeat the gluing process with the drop cloth pumpkin as well. Finally, add a little bit of faux greenery. I hot glued some leaves between the two larger foam pumpkins. Just glue them on each end, so that they don’t stick out funny. Then tuck a few pieces in around the bottom pumpkin. It takes a bit of finessing, so that the sprigs lay flat horizontally, and not straight out.

My finished mantel and DIY Pumpkin Decor:

That’s it. I placed one topiary on either side of my mantel for fall. I think both projects look so nice together – especially since I used the same light green paint in both projects. I’ll just be sad when fall is over, and I have to put my pretty projects away!

More Fall Crafting and Decor Inspiration:

• Grab a few pumpkin signs from Dollar Tree, and let’s get crafting. Transform these dollar store pumpkin door hangers into completely custom fall decor.
• 12 inspiring Dollar Store Pumpkin craft projects for fall. Try out one of these great DIY decorated pumpkin ideas to get into the fall spirit.
• Fabric tape comes in a variety of colors and patterns, so why not spice up your fall decor with these mini fabric tape pumpkins? This simple fall craft will add a little fun and variety to your fall decor!