Pumpkin Bouquets on a Dime... OK, on $4

 

 

The holidays are approaching and it brings out my inner dollar diva!  I have been eyeing all those gorgeous bouquets in pumpkins, and thinking that although they are a bit trendy right now... there is a reason why... they are scrumptious and clever... and I want some for my Thanksgiving tables!

 

I was at the $1 store when I saw carve - able mini Styrofoam pumpkins before Halloween... you see where this is going...

 

So $1 per little pumpkin and $2 for bunches of flowers, some paint and a glue gun, and Viola!  I have now re-usable low profile bouquets for my holiday tables.  Little things make me happy.  This makes me happy:)    It's SUPER easy, so if you want to do it, here is how:

 

Eyeball your flowers to see where you want to cut the stems for the height of your pumpkin.  Do that and set them aside.  You can adjust the stem length again if need be. 

 

Draw a line around the top of your pumpkin where you want to cut the top off.  Then use one of those little pumpkin carving gadgets or a steak knife (something with a serrated edge) to cut the top off the pumpkin.  Next, paint your pumpkin.  You can use all kinds of paint, if you don't have anything in particular on hand, pick up one of those little .99$ bottles of craft paint.  I pretty much always use CeCe Caldwell's because I love it.  For this, I used some Mesa Sunset (discontinued color) that I still had, and finished it with the new Flat Matte Finish.   

 

Then I used my hot glue gun to glue the top into the bottom of the pumpkin.  I did this to provide more of a base to push the flower stems into.  Apply your glue and let dry before the next step.

 

You are almost there!  Set your flowers in to see how you like them, if the stem length is good, etc.  When you are happy with this, gently insert the stem of each flower into the center bottom of the pumpkin.  To finish it off, I put hot glue in again in several spots, letting it reach down to the bottom so that the stems would be more secure.

 

And that is it!  I am doing multiples as I like to set things in twos or threes on my tables.  I LOVE low profile bouquets because you can leave them on the table and still make eye contact and visit with guests on the other side of the table.... and that it what it is really all about!