Cluttered CorkBoard

I wanted to see if I could make a stacked pumpkin pick that I could use outdoors
to add to my decor for fall.
So how about another diy project today using inexpensive foam pumpkins. 😉

(I picked mine up at dollar tree)






I will be using 3 of the styrofoam pumpkins for this project, ($1.00 each)
as well as hot glue, acrylic paint, and a dowel rod to use as my pick.








I started by removing the stems and price tags,
then I painted a light coat of paint on each pumpkin.
I chose to paint them each a different color with acrylic paint.
Black, Orange, and White.
I didn't necessarily need to paint the one pumpkin orange, but
I chose to anyway so the look would be a little more cohesive.


After I had them all painted I used a dry rag to wipe them all down to remove a little more paint.
I wanted the original orange to show through, just because I liked the look.

The next step was to place them in a stack and glue them together.

I learned a little lesson on this part of the project.
I tried using e6000 because I thought it might help it last longer since I knew I was going
to be placing it outdoors and it actually sort of melted the foam. 😬 (lesson learned!) lol. 

So I used my hot glue gun and that worked perfectly. 👍




Next I placed my dowel rod beside the pumpkin stack to see where I would need to cut it to
work for what I wanted.   I wanted around 8 inches or so to stick out under the pumpkin stack
to be able to use as the pick portion to place into a flower pot so hopefully it will keep them from blowing away in the wind. (thats the plan anyway) lol 
So I just made a mark on the dowel rod and then took it outside and used a jigsaw to cut
it to size.

After I had it cut to size, I flipped my pumpkin stack upside down and pushed the dowel rod
through the center of each pumpkin being careful to not push it through the top pumpkin.
Then I used hot glue around it to help secure it in place.




I chose to use a cinnamon stick as the stem,  because I like it so much on my farmhouse pumpkins I recently made.    So I placed a cinnamon stick in the top pumpkin being mindful of
where my dowel rod was so not to interfere with it, and then I hot glued it in place
as well.



I wasn't quite sure about the look so I went ahead and dry brushed a little white paint over the entire thing, then I added a buffalo check bow to the top around the cinnamon stick stem to give it a more
finished look.

Then I decided to take it outside and see what I thought of it.




Overall I am happy with the stacked pumpkin design and how it turned out.
However, I am not really anticipating this to be a long lasting item since it will be out
in the elements.
(I think it would probably fair better in a covered area.)

If I made another one I think I would use spray paint on it to see how that
looks.
In fact I have thought about going ahead and changing this one and spray painting
it all one color, but for now I am going to go ahead and leave it.




I certainly think it looks pretty cute hanging out beside our back deck nestled in with real pumpkins, flowers, and a metal owl pick!

(Quick Tip: when placing my pumpkin pick in a flowerpot or the ground, I will 
hold on to the dowel rod to push it in place as I don't want to put too much pressure 
where it could break through the top of foam pumpkins.)


And the more I have thought about this project while editing the video and getting my blog
post ready, I think to get the most use out of it I am going to go ahead and leave it for now,
and then spray paint it white and turn it into a snowman towards the end of the fall season
so that I can get more use out of it and use it this winter as well.
I think that could be cute!  What do you think?
Buttons, a Scarf, and a fun nose? ⛄


Blessings,
 - Tina