“Scrappy” Pumpkin Fall Decor

Use scraps of wood and fabric to make this adorable “scrappy” DIY pumpkin decor!

You wanna know what I love? I love it when I can take old and forgotten things I have on hand and make them something functional or cute for my home! And don’t we all? That’s what DIY is all about: redeeming what is ugly, plain or forgotten.

That’s where the “scrappy” comes in! I took a piece of wood from my scrap pile and some scraps of fabric and made this adorable little pumpkin to go with the rest of my fall decor. I only used things I already had on hand for this project. Nothing like free!

And making this little pumpkin got me into the fall decorating spirit. I finally put away most of my summer decor and started playing around with the mantel.

What you’ll need to make Scrappy Pumpkin:

1. Wood scraps – oh, you don’t have a garage full of them? You should! They come in handy quite often.
2. Fall-ish fabric … or whatever fabric you want to use.
3. A cutout shape
4. Paint
5. Mod Podge

How to Make a Scrappy DIY Pumpkin Decor

Here’s how I pulled this cute little project together … and in an hour, nonetheless! {Minus paint drying times.}

1. Find a Pumpkin Shape and Print it Out

I found a pumpkin shape online that I thought would work for this project. You can get it HERE. Really, you could do any kind of shape you want to! The only limit is your own creativity.

2. Cut a Block of Wood to Fit the Pumpkin

I printed it out at 100% scale, and found a piece of wood that would fit my shape. I had to cut it down with my miter saw.

3. Sand the Rough Edges of the Block

Then, I sanded down the rough corners.

4. Paint the Block

I painted it with Sherwin Williams antique white, leftover from this project. I painted both the front and the back of the board since I knew this was going to stand up and might be seen from behind. If I were going to hang it on the wall, I wouldn’t have bothered with the back side.

5. Sand the Edges for a Rustic Look (Optional)

Once the paint was dry, I sanded the corners a bit to give it a slightly rustic look. Sorry, I don’t have a picture of the sanding, but you know what that looks like.

6. Cut Out Your Fabric using the Pumpkin Shape

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I cut out my fabric using my printed shape. I decided to make the stem of the pumpkin a different fabric, so I cut it out separately.

I know the picture shows the shape on top of the fabric, but I turned both of them over and traced the shape on the back of the fabric with a pen.

If I were high-tech and had a fabric blade, I would have used my Silhouette. So, if you have the Silhouette and a fabric blade, I’m sure you’d probably use that instead. Oh, and make sure you iron your fabric if it has wrinkles.

7. Glue the Pumpkin on the Wood Block

Then I just “glued” down the pumpkin and stem to the board with Mod Podge. And then I “painted” Mod Podge all over the front and the fabric to help seal it on the block of wood. It’s not going anywhere!

And that’s how I made my free-to-me scrappy pumpkin fall decor.

I couldn’t figure out for the life of me what this should be called. I was like, is this a plaque? A wood and fabric craft board? What to call it? I asked a few friends last night and came up with the title. But what would you call this thing?

If you were around here a year ago, you may recognize this fabric. I used it to decorate my fall mantel last year. So, since I’m going to do something totally different this year, I was happy to find a way to use the fabric. I may even make some of these to sell at my upcoming yard sale. Might as well make some money on my old decor items, right?

I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Fall Mantel Reveal

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