So what do you get when you combine a carved faux pumpkin, a cat plus other goodies? Come along and find out at this end-of-summer Pumpkin Craft Pinterest Challenge!… 😉
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If you are new to a Pinterest Challenge, our host Cindy from County Road 407 picks a theme or a photograph for us to use as inspiration in creating something uniquely our own based upon that idea. If you are coming over from Lynne at My Family Thyme, welcome! Aren’t Lynne’s pressed pumpkin flowers gorgeous?!! So original… Just previous to this post, Lynne created some pressed flower jars. I think you will enjoy that post, too.
Getting back to our challenge, this month we were tasked with creating something for fall using a pumpkin or pumpkins, some kind of craft…
That got me to thinking…
I thought, Well… I have plenty of faux pumpkins and some years I have real pumpkins all grown and ready to go out in the garden. This isn’t one of those years, but, I had a fun idea!
Why not take a larger pumpkin and make a Pumpkin Diorama?
Okay, a little easier said than done, but after much carving, it’s a go!
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How to make a Pumpkin Diorama
Gather together your supplies together:
- dollhouse furnishings like a table, chair, some mini foods or china to put on your table
- animals to cozy up your diorama space
- rugs, curtains or anything for more coziness
- print out backgrounds or bushes and trees to have “outside” your windows, if you make windows
- wallpaper to decorate the inside “walls”
- doilies of varying sizes to make “rugs”
- scissors
- Gorilla glue, or something like Loc-Tite which will stick to styrofoam but not cause it to melt
- skewer for applying Loc-Tite to back of wallpaper pieces
Carve away!
Then carve your faux pumpkin. I began by slicing through the outer shell of this fuzzy styrofoam pumpkin with a serrated bread knife, plus I also used a steak knife. The steak knife ended up being perfect for rounding the corners around the edges of the pumpkin diorama. The bread knife worked well for getting deeper into the styrofoam.
An ice cream scoop worked for digging out the styrofoam and creating thinner “walls,” “ceiling,” and “floor.”
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The old Mother Hubbard nursery rhyme came to mind as well as Peter Pumpkin Eater (which my son Peter absolutely hates, btw!)
I thought of a little shop or cozy family room for fall as my theme. I checked Walmart first for little furniture, but they didn’t have anything right now, only online. Target doesn’t have their Christmas things out yet, or I might have found some goodies there.
Then I went to Hobby Lobby looking for supplies in their dollhouse section ~ I had seen some fun pieces a couple of months ago, and yes!
Perfect!!!
I found a little white bistro table, some tiny pumpkins, a sweet curled up kitty and some dainty china all meant for a dollhouse. This diorama idea is based upon a greeting card I have, some dollhouse furniture I have from when I was a teenager, and just because I thought it might turn out cute. The prices for these little things were really good ~ $1.49 – $4.99 each.
I also went through my stash of dollhouse furniture and toys I have collected since I was 14 or 15 years old, when my father bought me a Swiss Chalet dollhouse. He thought I would enjoy decorating it.
He was right, I did! (Wish I still had it…)
The pumpkin, though larger, still is pretty small, so I found that most of what I thought might fit just doesn’t. Part of my brain thought, “I could go get several more pumpkins and create a whole pumpkin village with “rooms” in each one…
The rest of me said, “Are you’re nuts?”
One is enough. 😉
or “door” but it didn’t work.
Decorating our pumpkin diorama
Once the wallpaper “paste” of Loc-tite was dry (overnight), I began trying out more furniture pieces. Also, as I was photographing this pumpkin diorama, I realized that I should have draped something pretty around the cut-out opening…
But, I didn’t think about that when I was picking up items for this project. I will go back and add orange or gilded soutache braid as I find some which works.
C’est la vie! It happens… 😉
I wanted a homey feel to this little pumpkin room and even had fun creating a little garden outside the pumpkin itself. Soooo much fun!
The little kid in me has had more fun making this for you!!! The long tobacco basket has worked perfectly as a garden fence to contain everything. the succulents make for great “trees.”
Swinging back up to Cindy from County Road 409, I know you will love the pumpkin bowl Cindy has created!
Adorable…
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Enjoy visiting everyone on this month’s pumpkin craft tour, y’all! So many fun pumpkin ideas…
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Happy almost fall,
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This is so cute! I love it!!!
Thank you, Susan! Dollhouses aren’t for everyone but I like little home decor just as much as full-size. Glad you enjoyed this post. 🙂
Such a unique and creative idea, Barb. It’s all so cozy and inviting! I love the bistro table and how you added a little pumpkin patch too. It’s super cute! Big hugs and hope your fall season is filled with all good things, CoCo
Hi CoCo! I’m glad you enjoyed this little pumpkin diorama. It was fun putting it all together. Happy Labor Day weekend! Big hugs back… 🙂
This had to take such a long while but it looks fantastic and what a fun idea!
Thank you, Jeanie! It was a bit of a chore getting the carving done but I am really pleased with how this pumpkin turned out. The overall idea turned out better than I had hoped. 🙂
Happy almost fall and enjoy your Labor Day weekend,
Barb 🙂
This is so charming Barb, I love a cute diorama and creating one inside a pumpkin was such a creative idea!
Thank you, Cindy! I’m glad you liked it. ☺️ Something different.
Good golly Miss Molly that was a lot of work (at least for me) but I’m glad you did it and thought it was therapeutic! It turned out so cute. It invites you in for a closer look. What a fun idea. Thanks for joining in. pinned
Thank you, Cindy! Even though the carving took like an hour+, it was the perfect stress relief after kids making loud noises in our class all day. Thanks for always pinning. <3 I do pin several photos from everyone's posts each month. Trying to spread the love!
Happy Labor Day weekend and almost fall,
Barb 🙂
What a fabulous idea to create a pumpkin diorama! Your miniature pieces are just adorable, and I love the vignette you created as well!
Thank you, Michelle! I’m glad you enjoyed this little pumpkin diorama. I had a fun time creating it for y’all.
Happy Labor Day to you,
Barb 🙂
Barb
What a unique idea. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Rachel! I’m glad you enjoyed my pumpkin diorama creation. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!!
So adorable! But ohmygosh, Styrofoam is right up there with glitter for me and my phobia of each! I couldn’t have done that, even outside! I’m too OCD about both.
Oh, that’s funny, Rita!! I was going nuts trying to get the little styrofoam pellets off of my hands and arms (not to mention vacuuming about six times). It does make the worst mess but sure turned out cutely. Glad you enjoyed this post otherwise!
Happy almost fall,
Barb 🙂
This is totally beyond amazing. I love it all. Wow.
Thank you so much, Marty! I’m glad you enjoyed this little pumpkin diorama. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!!!
Oh my goodness, that pumpkin diorama is adorable! The whole arrangement of it all is just precious!
Thank you, Pam. This pumpkin diorama was fun to put together. Enjoy the rest of your week!
I love this fun and unique idea, Barbara! I had a dollhouse when I was growing up, and I loved decorating it too! Your diorama is a perfect display for fall!
Thank you, Lynne! It was fun to put together. Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!!
Barb,
I love this! I wish I had saved some of my doll house supplies from the day! This is adorable! Now, you need to come up with an idea for Christmas with it! I can see a whole series of this for the holidays/seasons!!!