Thanksgiving Pumpkin Vase

You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy the fall colours and smells - you can bring them right into your home and display them beautifully for next to nothing.  Lately I’ve been admiring the cute autumn displays that a lot of the local flower and convenience stores have out on the sidewalks.  I noticed a pumpkin vase in particular that was quite cute, but of course I thought, “I could do that.”  And I did!  I made a pumpkin vase and enjoyed two potted mums for under $5.  You can follow my instructions below or see Martha Stewart’s example at marthastewart.com. Also see the home spun heart for great ideas about what to do with a pumpkin, including creating a vase!

A small pumpkin should run about 75 cents.  Choose one that will fit your ideal centrepiece. Lay your pumpkin out on the table on some newspapers.

Next, take a black marker and draw a line around the top of the pumpkin where you want to cut it.  Make sure that the pumpkin is wide and tall enough to fit the pot of flowers.  Keep in mind you may want to put your flowers or plant in a glass jar or other container, which can take up quite a bit of space.

Use a knife (I used a boning knife that worked quite well) to cut along the rim an open up the top of the pumpkin.  Then cut along the inside, scooping out the innards with an ice-cream-scoop and trimming down the inside as much as possible, also making sure the inside is flat.  Set the seeds aside for a tasty snack.

Next, place your flowers or plant in a container that fits the pumpkin and place it inside the pumpkin.  I actually split my mums in half, and put half of the plant into a small flower pot I had lying around.  I packed the soil down, and then took a ziploc bag and put the pot inside the bag, folding the top down and tying an elastic band around it securely - this will ensure that excess water gets caught in the bag.

Above is my final creation.  I left a little of the green paper inside.  The other half of the mums I repotted and placed outside on my front porch. In this photo you can see my kitten peering over the table.  (Note that the table, autumn-themed placemat, and doily all happen to be handmedowns!)

Butternut, my curious kitten, (who, incidentally, I frequently affectionately refer to as “pumpkin”)  is being naughty here and climbing onto the kitchen table.  I snapped a picture before shooing her down.