3 Pumpkin Projects That Will Outlast the Season

Fall in love with these perfect pumpkins made out of materials from your local hardware store.

Show: HGTV Happy

Nothing says fall like a bright orange pumpkin, but the real thing doesn't always last very long. This autumn, opt for an out-of-the-box pumpkin you can craft with one quick trip to the hardware store.

Long-Lasting Jack-O'-Lantern

Slide a galvanized bucket into a heavy-duty trash bag. Wearing protective gloves such as nitrile, spread toilet bowl cleaner across the entire surface of the bucket, close the bag, and allow it to sit overnight. This process should add an aged look to a steel bucket. Pull the bucket from the bag and place on a surface you don’t mind getting paint on. Using black paint, paint your preferred jack-o'-lantern face on the front of the bucket. Once dry, fill with your favorite fall flowers to enjoy all season long.

A Jack-O-Lantern Bucket With Plants Inside

A Galvanized Bucket Made Into a Pumpkin Planter

This pumpkin planter is made from an aged galvanized bucket. The face on the front is painted to look like a jack-o-lantern.

Photo by: Cassidy Garcia

Cassidy Garcia

Three Wooden Pumpkins

Have the hardware store precut a 4x4 into three pieces measuring 15, 11 and 7 inches. Paint the boards with orange paint and allow to dry. Once dry, lightly sand the boards to give the paint a weathered look.

Use a variety of materials to add texture and depth to the top of your pumpkins. For the stems, cut several pieces of jute rope to approximately 6 inches in length. Unravel the braided rope until all the strands are separated. For the leaves, use pinking shears to cut a patterned piece of ribbon into leaf shapes. For the tendrils, wrap wired twine around a pencil until curled and cut off using wire cutters.

Use hot glue to attach several of the rope pieces to the top of the boards. Twist the rope around itself and slide a short, straight piece of wired twine inside to hold the rope upright. Secure the rope to the twine using hot glue. Finish the perfect autumn look off by gluing a couple leaves and tendrils to the base of the stem.

Three Wooden Pumpkins Sitting on a Side Table Beside Lamp

Three Pumpkins Made Out of Wooden Posts

These three pumpkins are cut from pieces of a wooden post and then painted orange. Pumpkin accessories are placed on the top to add to the overall look.

Photo by: Cassidy Garcia

Cassidy Garcia

Perfectly Pumpkin-y Planters

Remove the chains and liners from two metal hanging planters. Place the frames on a drop cloth and spray paint orange. Once dry, slide the liner back into one of the frames and fill it with potting soil and your favorite fall foliage. Once planted, slide the other planter frame over the top and attach to the first frame using wire.

To finish off the pumpkin look, hot glue a small, broken-off stem-like stick to the top of the frame. Curl cloth stem wire around a pencil and glue around the base of the stick. Lastly, glue felt leaves around the cloth stem wire.

Plants Inside of Metal Pumpkin Planters On a Table

Pumpkin Table Planters Made of Hanging Metal Baskets

These decorative pumpkin planters are actually made of hanging basket planters that have been attached to one another.

Photo by: Cassidy Garcia

Cassidy Garcia

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