Hearth and Vine

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Pumpkin Topiary – Large Heirloom Pumpkins Made Easy with Paper Mache

by 36 Comments

Learn how to make a large heirloom pumpkin topiary with simple inexpensive materials, to create a festive fall look.

Decorated pumpkin topiary

I’m so excited to be part of the Fall Ideas Tour hosted by Angie of Postcards From The Ridge. She has organized 26 talented bloggers for this entire week to share their fall decor, projects, and recipes. You can find the entire list at the bottom of this post.

If you’re stopping over from one of the other fallalicious posts, Welcome! I’m glad you are here.

Fall ideas blog hop

I love the look of heirloom pumpkins or Cinderella pumpkins with their squatty shapes and muted colors. I thought a stack on both sides of my front door would look really great, but they are so pricey and much too heavy to achieve the look I wanted.

So I decided to create some using old-fashioned paper mache.

Pumpkin TopiaryBeach ball taped into pumpkin shape

The largest pumpkins were made with beach balls I picked up at Target for $1 each. 

Just blow them up a little and then use some masking tape to help create the shape you want.

Balloon with rubber bands

You can use a balloon for the top pumpkin and place rubber bands around it to create folds and ridges.

Paper mache on beach ball

Cover the base pumpkins with strips of newspaper ala paper mache. I used white glue and water instead of the traditional flour and water paper mache method. Why? Well, the pumpkin topiary will be sitting on my front porch, so I thought there would be less likelihood of mold issues. Also, I think they will hold up better with white glue.

Three paper mache pumpkin topiary

Once the newspaper dried I painted the paper mache pumpkins with chalk-like and craft paints in heirloom pumpkin colors. 

I thought about spraying them with polyurethane to protect them from rain, but since that area is covered I decided against it.

Top pumpkin on topiary with stem

Oh yeah, the stem on the little pumpkin is simply made with some newspaper rolled up and taped on top before painting. You can also add a little tendril by wrapping a green grapevine wire around a pencil and pinching it onto the stem.

Pumpkin topiary on dowel rod

Use a dowel rod through the middle of each pumpkin to hold them all together.

Pumpkin topiary on left side of porch

The dowel rods were placed into the same pots that my flower pot trellises were in all summer. If you don’t already have a pot filled with soil you could use styrofoam to hold the dowel rod in place.

But first I placed a grapevine wreath with some dried hydrangea for a little texture and height. 

The whole look was complete with a little faux vine and some pots of pretty fall plants at the base.

Front porch fall decor with pumpkin topiary

My front entrance is almost ready for fall. The fabric flower wreath from a few weeks ago looks great with the pumpkin topiary and fall Mums. However, I really feel like the door frame needs a garland. Maybe I can go out and forage some bittersweet vine. What do you think?

 

Fall Ideas Tour

Monday – Fall Mantel Decor Ideas

fall mantel decorating ideas

 

Tuesday – Fall Tablescape Ideas

fall table decorating ideas

Wednesday – Fall DIY Projects

fall diy decor projects

 

Thursday – Fall Recipes

fall recipes
 

Friday – Fall Porch Decor Ideas

Saw Nail & Paint / Dukes & Duchesses / Sand Dollar Lane / Cottage at the Crossroads / Vin’Yet Etc

 

 
 

About Patti Estep

Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

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Comments

  2. Laurie @ Vinyet Etc says

    September 17, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    How cool, what a clever idea! I love that you can create a symmetrical look without going crazy trying to hunt for the perfect pumpkins! and no worries about getting rid of all the pumpkins after Fall is long gone AND so pretty, well done!

    Reply

  7. Lynn B Spencer says

    September 13, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    Patti…I knew that whatever project you did I would LOVE! And you didn’t disappoint. Those paper mache pumpkins are gorgeous…truly prettier than the real thing. Very ‘artsy’ and fun….espeically that turquoise/blue one!

    Thanks for another brilliant idea my friend.

    Hugs, Lynn

    Reply

    • Patti Estep says

      September 12, 2018 at 2:17 pm

      Thanks Kim. Yeah, I just couldn’t justify spending a ton of money on pumpkins that would eventually rot. Besides, I would have to figure a way to keep them from toppling over which would be a challenge.

      Reply

  16. Patti says

    September 12, 2018 at 9:36 am

    Very nice! I have been thinking about making paper mache pumpkins, thanks for posting your tutorial. And yes, absolutely do a bittersweet garland!

    Reply

  17. Janie says

    September 12, 2018 at 9:19 am

    Patti, what a great craft idea for your front porch. I love the large heirloom pumpkins but the cost always stops me. This is an economical way to make them and they look awesome.

    Reply

    • Patti Estep says

      September 12, 2018 at 9:22 am

      Thank you Janie. I agree the cost is always so high and if you want large ones even higher. Also, large pumpkins are so heavy and I have no idea if I could stack them and keep them stable, so this worked out well for me.

      Reply

  18. Paula says

    September 12, 2018 at 7:45 am

    What a clever project, Patti! I never would have thought to make a paper mache pumpkin. I absolutely love this idea and the colors that you used to paint them are fall perfection!

    Reply

  19. Carole West says

    September 12, 2018 at 7:42 am

    Patti this is brilliant! Every little detail is perfect and love how you presented such an inviting space for fall. It’s moments like this when I miss space. Love everything about this and the color pallet is perfect.

    Reply

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