You know that feeling of ennui that steals over you when you’ve gone too long without breaking out the craft scissors? While I don’t actually own craft scissors, I do enjoy projects, especially around the holidays. This weekend, I was inspired to get my inner craft diva on by creating some of the stunning, succulent-topped pumpkins I learned about from Laura Eubanks of Design for Serenity.
The process is simple: Glue moss to the top of a bowl-shaped pumpkin to act as a base for your masterpiece, then glue on a variety of succulents, nuts, berries or seed pods.
This is the largest one I made and at 12 inches wide, easily has enough presence to act as the centerpiece of a holiday table. It’s intended as a prize for a charity auction this weekend.
The orange color makes this cutie the most traditional. I’ll be bringing her (him??) along as a hostess gift for Thanksgiving this year.
My favorite. I love how elegant the succulents look with the charcoal gray color of the pumpkin. I’m keeping this one for myself. As a bonus, this pumpcullent looks gorgeous in the evening when a few candles placed nearby highlight its contrasting textures.
You know how it is once you have a tube of glue in your hands – it’s impossible to stop! I decided to make 3 mini pumpcullents that I’ll mix with votives for a fall-to-Christmas centerpiece on my coffee table.
Everything came from my own garden, except the Magnolia seed pods, which I swiped from a neighbor’s tree. As you can see, my succulent collection is not particularly exotic, and my pumpcullent creations feature plenty of ordinary Hens and Chicks and Jade Plant. I also tucked in berries from a Paul’s Scarlet Hawthorn tree that grows in my front yard, as well as some straw flowers I recently dried for contrast. In this particular application, it’s more about the overall effect, and less about the individual succulent ingredients.
The glue hardens off their stems, and the pumpkins should last at least through the holiday season and potentially for several months with a weekly spritz of water and regular doses of sunlight. I may move mine outside on a few sunny days next month to keep them happy.
If you decide to try this project yourself, it’s better to start earlier than I did, as it was difficult finding pumpkins this late in the season. Local readers, Orchard Nursery in Lafayette still has a wonderful selection.
For step-by-step instructions, go here. Or easier still, see Laura’s how-to video from the class she held at Roger’s nursery here. And if you like the idea of a succulent Christmas but aren't in a crafting frame of mind, Laura offers a fabulous set of succulent ornaments in her online shop.
Happy holidays!
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