Recycling Pumpkins {"green" gifts}

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere with not a spot to spare!  So Halloween is long gone but we are still into the Fall season and getting ready for Thanksgiving.  What to do now with all of those pumpkins you still have?  The ones that didn't get carved into jack-o-lanterns.  I have many ideas on how to display them, now you will have to be patient until next year to see more, because this year I have decided to be "green" and recycle them!

There are so many different pumpkin shapes, sizes and colors!  I was amazed when I went to the market and pumpkin patch this year.  When I was a child I only knew a pumpkin to be a round and orange thing!  Lucky children of today to have such creativity in knowing that a pumpkin can be almost any color and texture and size.  I guess I have been recycling pumpkins with my children forever.  When they were very young we would take our leftover jack-o-lanterns the day after Halloween and drive to the outskirts of town to the pig farm.  To pigs that is a tasty treat! Fun experience for your own little piggies, I mean kids, as well!

This year I have other things in mind when I decide to recycle my pumpkins.  If you don't have any still hanging around I noticed that they are selling at great prices now that Halloween is over.  I am sharing a fun tutorial today and focusing on two simple and inexpensive pumpkin recycling projects.

The first precious pumpkin project is this perfect planter!  Wow say that 10 times fast!  You can serve food in a pumpkin or fill it with cut flowers for an arrangement and you can also make your own little planter out of your pumpkin.

I lay down a plastic bag on the table so when you are finished it is easy to wrap up and throw away any mess.  You will need a pumpkin.  I used the small size that is good for baking but any size you have will do just fine.  Cut the top of the pumpkin off and discard the top.

Now pull the pumpkin guts out and be sure to save any seeds you might want to plant next Spring.  I also had the idea to leave a few seeds in side the pumpkin. I will tell you why later!

Put a small amount of potting soil into your pumpkin.

You can choose any seasonal flower.  I happened to find these precious little violas!  Love them!  I plant pansies in my garden every Fall because in the desert they last all Winter.  I always have a few sections of my garden saved for violas because I love them so much!  I just love the see their happy little faces.  They make me smile!

Place your flowers into the pumpkin.

Once you have all of the flowers placed into the pumpkin you fill it with a bit more topsoil {I purchased a miniature 6-pack of flowers for $1 and put in a couple needlepoint ivy sprigs with roots attached,  from my garden}  Then you wipe off any excess dirt.

Be sure to put a little bit of water in too!

Now for the fun part!  What to do with your perfectly precious pumpkin planter!  You can keep it for yourself or I was planning to give it away to a friend or as a hostess gift if invited over to eat at someones house for dinner.  {Fun Part} - Make sure to tell them that after they enjoy it on their table for this week of Thanksgiving, they can plant the whole arrangement in the garden.  The flowers will continue giving you joy for a long time and the biodegradable planter, the pumpkin, will blend in with soil soon enough!  Remember when I told you to leave some seeds in your pumpkin?  Well you might just surprise your friend with them growing their own pumpkin next year!  Also saving all of your seeds will help you to grow and have enough pumpkins next year to make a cute planter for all of your neighbors and friends!




                                                                Part 2

Now for the tiny Jack Be Little Pumpkins!  They are so cute and versatile and inexpensive that I have many of them and have found many creative ways to use them as well. 

Today I will share another tutorial on the perfect pumpkin candle holder!

You know the drill by now!  Cut the top off and use a tablespoon to clean it out.

This time though, you cut the wooden stem off and push the pumpkin top down into the pumpkin.  How simple is this?!

Then place a little tea light candle inside and there you have it!  The perfect recyclable candle holder.  So natural and beautiful too.

These are so easy to do that you can make one for each place setting this Thanksgiving and your guests will have something to take home.  What a great gift!  If you have a small crowd for dinner, or are very energetic, you could also make a pumpkin planter for each place setting as well!

I paired my new little perfect pumpkin recyclable creations with a simple but elegant place setting and it's a perfect match!  Sure to make everyone at my table excited!  Well my children and husband at least, since I have been invited over to my relatives for Thanksgiving!  Yay me!  No mess or stress!

My son turned 22 this week and he chose to eat his birthday dinner at the Bellagio Buffet!  So it was the perfect chance for me to visit the Bellagio Conservatory Gardens and see their famous Fall Pumpkin display one more time!  Wow the ideas I have for creating arrangements with this 913 pound beauty!  After my dinner I felt about that big!!

Do you love decorating with pumpkins for Fall and Thanksgiving too?  Will you recycle your fresh pumpkins somehow by creating a unique display or gift or planter?  Will you be using them to make your Perfectly Famous Pumpkin Pie?  Or will you be happy in seeing what everyone else is doing this year, make some notes on the subject for future use and let someone else do it for you?  Whatever you find yourself doing this Fall I hope you are as happy as I! {P.S. Come over to my house and I will set a place for you!}