Pom Pom Pumpkins!

Although I was the last to admit to the end of summer, I am starting to get excited about pumpkin season. After years of living in the area, my husband and I FINALLY visited Hale’s Apple Farm to pick out a pumpkin! AAAH!

There was a rainbow of pumpkins, gourds, and strange squash! We were so inspired, that we picked out some for ourselves and even forced others on family members! IT’S PUMPKIN SEASON, PEOPLE!!

This fortuitous season has provided many excuses for fall projects! (Just visit Pinterest for a huge waft of pumpkin-spiced crafting inspiration! No complaints from me!) These pom pom pumpkins were a fun and super satisfying afternoon project. (I will take any excuse to bust out the fuzzy yarn and pom pom makers!)  There is a possibility that many people I know will soon be receiving some pom-pom-pumpkin-goodness in their lives…

Pumpkin creation was pretty simple: gather supplies, make pom poms following the instructions, fire up the glue gun, insert stems, and then squeal in glee while taking too many pom pom pumpkin pictures! You can find similar pom pom makers on Amazon (here).

Supplies gathered- check! I used one thin yarn and one fluffier one to create different pom pom textures. I also experimented with pipe cleaners, using the thicker, fluffy ones for the large pumpkin stems and thinner pipe cleaners for the small to medium pumpkins. Next, wrap those pom pom makers with as much yarn as you can! (I am just following the instructions included with the pom pom makers for these next few steps.)

Next, trim it the yarn and tie the pieces at the middle using a short piece of yarn and half of a double knot.

Check your pom pom maker’s instructions to see how it disassembles to free that pom pom. Pull that half knotted yarn tight before completing the knot around the pom pom.

Next, cut off the long pieces of yarn (unless you want to tie the pom pom to something later. If so, keep those!) I also trimmed some of the yarn from the bottom and top of the pumpkin to give it a less round shape.

Now it’s pipe cleaner time! I cut off a small piece of pipe cleaner, a little longer than twice the length I wanted for the stem. I folded it in half, twisted it around itself, and left the ends poking outward slightly.

Once I had appropriately sized stems, I put a small dab of hot glue as close to the middle of the pom pom as i could. I inserted the stem into the glue and pushed the yarn up around the stem to cover the glue.

Yay! Now it’s time to add these cute little guys to your fall decor! Yay for pumpkin season!!