How to Decorate with Mini Pumpkins
Don't let big carved pumpkins have all the fall decor fun. Create easy, inexpensive autumn displays with miniature varieties.
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Setting the season
Vibrant dahlias in carved-out mini pumpkins delight at place settings. We used a candle carver-a small tool that removes candle-size chunks from fruits and veggies. Insert a votive holder as the "vase" for water and blooms.
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Fall in a jar
Create a pretty fall scene with a terrarium, bell jar or glass cake cover. Here, a bell jar on top of a shallow terra-cotta bulb dish spotlights mini pumpkins and a sprig of oak leaves on a bed of moss.
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Simple does it
Grab a few serving pieces from the kitchen to create a coffee table arrangement. Layer dishes; then top with gourds in different hues. A single candle and bittersweet tie it all together.
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Lots of pots
Place a few pumpkins in small terra-cotta pots for a casual fall arrangement. Burgundy dahlias bring rich color.
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Circle of gourds
Fashion a fall wreath using mini pumpkins, gourds and faux leaves. Start with a straw wreath form. Tap a nail into each pumpkin and gourd to create a small hole. Remove the nail and insert a toothpick into each hole; coat other end of the toothpick with hot glue and insert it into the wreath form. Fill empty spaces with hot-glued silk leaves.
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Bountiful bowl
A mix of small pumpkins, gourds and fall leaves turns a basic wooden bowl into a colorful autumnal display on these wire shelves.
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Raise your pumpkins
Elevate mini pumpkins on candleholders of different heights for an elegant tabletop arrangement. These candleholders were spray-painted black to unify the display.
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Touch of fall
Stack small gourds inside an apothecary jar for a touch-of-fall tabletop display. Add color and texture with red or green leaves. Pair with a jar of dried hydrangea blooms.
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Two's company
For a small tabletop accent, pair two pumpkins but elevate one of them in a bowl or footed compote. A sprig of bittersweet and big leaf finish the minimalistic arrangement.
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Fall filler
A few pumpkins at the bottom of a clear vase give an arrangement of branches seasonal style. (And they'll help anchor the branches.)
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Tiny pumpkin torcheres
With a handful of garden stakes and some simple hardware, you can transform palm-size pumpkins into a bouquet of magical torcheres in minutes. See our short video on how to make tiny pumpkin torcheres
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Festive place card
Instead of using traditional place cards, scrawl names on cute mini pumpkins for a festive fall dinner party. Pumpkins look rustic and chic on top of orange cloth napkins and accented with a few fall leaves.
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Fruit salad
For a nature-theme centerpiece that celebrates fall's bounty, mix pumpkins, pears and other seasonal fruits on a tray elevated by a birch log.
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Terrarium topper
Use a large or medium pumpkin, like the Cinderella variety shown here, as a terrarium container. Slice off the top of the pumpkin and scoop out seeds. Fill with soil; plant small terrarium plants. Cover exposed soil with moss. Finally, add mini pumpkins, acorns and other gathered accents.
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Light weights
Though little pumpkins don't weigh much, they will help keep an outdoor tablecloth in place. Add grommets to tablecloth corners and tie on pumpkins with string or twine.
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Container color
Add minis at the base of a fall container garden. They instantly bring seasonal color to a tall arrangement highlighted with purple fountain grass.
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Window dressing
An assortment of mini pumpkins and fresh fall leaves creates a pretty fall window swag.
Knot your fall bounty on a length of rustic twine, and swag across your panes to frame a pretty fall view.
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Nesting time
A single mini white pumpkin nestled in a faux birds' nest and surrounded by viburnum leaves and berries makes a pretty seasonal centerpiece. Accent with a tiny bird from a crafts store to complete the look.
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Light up the night
For fall ambience in the evening, make mini pumpkin lanterns. Carve out pumpkin tops so votive holders fit inside. Display each in a wire jar holder.
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Flower power
Turn a mini pumpkin into a vase. Carve a hole in the pumpkin's top to fit a votive holder. Fill with water. A tight bunch of mums looks seasonally sweet.
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Hanging around
To make a tabletop tree, place three or four sturdy sticks inside a cylinder vase. Fill the vase with birdseed to secure the sticks. To tie petite pumpkins to the tree, drill a little hole in each stem and tie on fishing line or string.
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Wire basket display
For a seasonal outdoor display, line the lower half of a wire basket with moss sheets and fill with soil. Add plants, like the clematis vine shown, for a pop of green. Top with a group of small orange pumpkins.
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Table runner trio
Creating a fall dinner table display can be quick and easy. Just weave a satin ribbon between three mini gourds and top with bittersweet. Presto, you're done!