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DIY Decor, Holidays

Autumn Pumpkins!

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Happy Fall Y’all!   My favorite season is fall. The color, sights, and smells make the season extra special. Fall is fun for kids because Halloween is coming and a whole bunch of holidays are just around the corner. Children love a good project (and moms love the help).  This year give your kids a project that is fun and useful — Autumn Pumpkins!  Pumpkins are great for many reasons, both culinary and decorative. These pumpkins make beautiful autumn and Thanksgiving decorations for the home and table, and are a great way to involve the entire family in the seasonal preparations. My “pumpkins” cost about $1.50 and take 20 minutes or so to make. It really is so easy!

Materials:

One roll of toilet tissue
One roll of jute twine 
Scissors
Glue
The rolls of twine that I purchased make roughly two pumpkins per roll. The rolls of twine are just under $2 and the tissue paper is 50 cents per roll. So the cost is about $1.50 per pumpkin. Colored yard is also a nice touch.  It allows for custom colors like orange, brown, rust, or yellows that blend with fall decorations (or whatever color scheme is on your Thanksgiving table).

How-To:

Begin by threading the end of the twine through the roll and tying a tight knot. After you tie the knot, shimmy the knot into the middle of the roll so it is hidden. Pull plenty of twine from the roll. Make a mental note to pull only the amount that you can force through the center of the paper roll. You should pull only half of what you need at first.  It is easy to tie another knot as you go along for more twine. Cut the end of the pulled twine from the roll.

Wrap the twine four or five times around one section of the roll. Then turn the roll 1/4 around and repeat. This process will repeat until the entire roll is covered in twine. By doing it in quarter turns, the twine inside the roll stays firmly against the side so as you push and pull the excess in and out of the roll it doesn’t tangle the extra twine. It also keeps the paper evenly mashed down so that one side doesn’t bulge to the point you can’t evenly cover it. No misshapen pumpkins here!

You may run out of twine from the wrapping process. Don’t worry. Repeat the first step. Tie the end of the old twine to the new and conceal the knot inside the roll.  Pull extra twine from the roll at this point and clip the end from the roll when you have plenty.
Continue wrapping the roll in twine in quarter turns until it is fully covered. Once the roll is completely covered, take the end of the twine and tuck it under a strand that is already on the roll.  Dab a bit of glue over the entire edge of the twine and allow to dry. This will seal the end to keep the twine from unraveling. If you don’t have glue, just tuck the end into the twine, it’s not a problem. Go outside and look for a small stick that is roughly the width of the hole in the top of the roll for the pumpkin stem. Gently push the stick into the hole on the top of the pumpkin to finish the project.
The entire project takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. I let my glue dry overnight before I place the stick in the top. It is great to use different rolls of toilet tissue also because the thicknesses vary and the pumpkins will be varied in shapes. For taller pumpkins, use a cut paper towel roll. You can cut the roll in half or 3/4 of the way up the roll for giant pumpkins. Happy fall!