Pumpkins! You cannot have fall decor without pumpkins, just the way it is. Add in a leaf or two and you have what I call fall decorating perfection. I made this DIY pumpkin craft, simple project for fall and the cutout leaves make this really stand out. It is like carving pumpkins, but with craft ones… which means these will work year after year without having to do the work again. Also, no icky and gooey pumpkin guts to deal with for this one!
I have some big time DIY and home improvement projects coming up soon around here. I will be sharing the basement plans as well as discuss other room plans, but we can’t all do renovations 24/7 no matter how antsy I am! When I have the need to create something, I get to crafting. With fall officially here pumpkins are the number one choice for crafting.
This project needs two craft pumpkins, I chose gray as a little variation on the traditional pumpkin. I also printed out a leaf.
Cut the leaf out.
Add some tape to the back.
Stick the leaf in the center of the pumpkin, then trace around the paper leaf. I was able to trace it completely without having the leaf be fully attached to the pumpkin. Which will help in removing the leaf.
I have two large leaves on the pumpkins!
I used a wood carving tool for this portion, but a knife will work the same. Run the blade along the leaf line. The pumpkins I have are hollow which makes this be a pretty easy process.
Once all was cut out.
I just had to push in certain spots to begin having the leaf come out of the pumpkin.
Loving how this looks!
This DIY pumpkin craft was done in just a few minutes! Talk about quick and easy crafting! I had planned to spray paint the interior of the pumpkins white, but I was happily surprised to see the interior already had a white finish on it. Saved me one tiny step.
I added a few fake leaves purchased from the dollar store, and a small flame less candle.
These glow so pretty at night!
Seriously, I am loving all of the DIY pumpkin craft, simple projects for fall. With the leaf in the center it really adds such a nice touch.
I could not decide where I wanted this to go, I put them on my fall front porch and loved them there.
These would be great to have lining a walk way for Halloween, or even glowing for a magical fall tablescape.
With my fall front porch I went with a traditionally fall feel, with lots of orange and pumpkins. These are traditional but still feel fresh because of the gray exterior and white interior.
Ok, which place do they work better? On my front porch or inside my fall decorated home?
With this DIY pumpkin craft, simple project for fall I feel weird calling it a tutorial because it was so easy. But, that is what crafting is all about. Sometimes I share detailed tile how to’s, room makeover or simple ways to decorate a pumpkin with a leaf cutout. Just how it works around here!
I do have hopes that with school back in session, us finally having our new normal down for the school year I can get to making some progress on my wish list of spaces to finish up. On the list is the basement, laundry room, dining room, a few new additions to the living room, and talk of some big time renovations for the kitchen. So many ideas, so little time, skill, money… I could go on… For now these simple and easy crafts like this DIY pumpkin craft, simple project for fall is what keeps me feeling creative and productive in between the big-time projects. Also, the holiday season is the best time to make crafts, I am always making a ton of new smaller decor items for this time of year!
Have you done any pumpkin crafts lately? If so leave me a link in the comments to check it out or tag me on social media, I would love to see them!
Paint ’em red and you’ve got a Canadian emblem!
Very true!
This is such a cute idea and easy too. I think they would look perfect on my entry way table.
Thank you! This is really easy to make!
Oh wow! Those look awesome! I just picked up a few of the craft pumpkins from Michael’s the other day. Now I know what to do with them!
Awesome! I got these ones from Michaels as well, they are great to work with!
These are cute Emily. I just saw on Pinterest a craft pumpkin that was carved using a large cookie cutter. This reminds me of that a little. I love how easy it is, but how great it looks. Those extra leaves really set off the lantern
Thanks so much! I am really happy with how they turned out!
I absolutely love this diy craft! Chosing gray really gives it a grown up modern look.
I love adding some different colors to the traditional fall ones.
Holy cute!! Ok I like that way more than the regular jack-o-lanterns. I haven’t tried painting an entire pumpkin before but I love the way that turned out.
Thanks so much!
How modern looking! I love the grey. At first I thought you had desaturated the outside of the pumpkin in the picture. haha. Nope! Paint!
I actually did not even paint these, they came gray from the store. So easy to work with this way!
I love the grey and what a simple project for a big impact!
It was a very simple project, the best kind of craft 🙂
SUCH a cute idea! Would be great in a centerpiece set up or general styling on shelves, too! Pinned.
These would work well for a centerpiece!
That’s such a great idea! We can let kids paint what color they love. This is a nice way to decorate our houses. Thank you very much for your pumpking craft! Please, keep up with this. We all need some DIY crafts to renew our houses!
Thanks so much Carol!
What a great idea! Love the maple leaf!
Thank you Sarah!
These turned out so beautiful. I love the real cut out and it works for all of fall! Pinned.
Thank you!
They are absolutely lovely Emily!! I think this is such a unique and simple idea!
Thank you so much April!
So many interesting ideas for the decor. Pumpkin is my favorite all the time. Thank you for sharing.
How light-fingered you are! It is an interesting activity for Halloween, even every weekend. I would spend time with my kids. They love DIY things. They’ll enjoy it so much. Pinned!!
What is a “craft pumpkin???” I have been looking all over for inexpensive, easy to carve fake pumpkins for my daughters birthday party. We always buy a blue pumpkin to carve into a Cinderella coach. This year they have been very hard to find. We finally found one at a Health Food store. They are pale blue, very close to the color of your gray ones. But they are all gone now. I wanted to do a party craft of making Cinderella coaches. Kids are not that great at pumpkin carving, multiple pumpkins would be a very messy ordeal. I couldn’t find any fake ones that weren’t wood, ceramic, or hard plastic. Didn’t look like they would take to carving too well. We settled on a collaborative project where the girls will figure out what to do with our pumkpin, and each girl will go home with a kit of stickers and decorations to make their own at home. I looked at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, etc. Decor stores too. Zip.
Me again. Forgot to cast my vote. Definitely indoors (your gray leaf pumkpins). It’s hard to find a fake candle with a bright enough light to really show up outdoors. It looks great inside. And the brighter fall colors pop outside.