Now that Halloween is officially over, what options do you have to repurpose your uncarved pumpkins? Well here is a perfect solution to that question…a DIY Floral Pumpkin Centerpiece. This centerpiece is ideal for any fall parties, Thanksgiving, or even gift giving during the next festive months. Leaving the pumpkin uncut also lends it to multiple purposes and floral recreations.
Just cut the pumpkin stem low and push foam on or if it doesn’t have a stem use some tape to hold the floral foam (I used a half circle ball version) to the top of the pumpkin. Start layering flowers, greenery, leaves, berries, feathers, or anything you like in your normal bouquets or to match a party theme. Cut the steams of the flowers (or any other additions) just long enough to be pushed into the foam to sturdy it. You can create dimension by leaving some stems longer then others or pushing some all the way flush with the foam. Note: for artificial flowers you may need wire cutters
You can use artificial flowers (like I did) or real, just depends on the look and use you are going for. I found these amazing fall flowers for 70% off at Jo-Ann just after Halloween, which is a complete steal! And the very large burgundy ones I found as a bunch at the thrift store for 99 cents. This pumpkin cost me under $10 to make!
This pumpkin really allows so many different variations. Different colored pumpkins and flowers can make endless possibilities. This white pumpkin was extra special to me since I picked it out with Hartley at the pumpkin patch. So finding a way to bring it in my home and extend it’s life was super exciting.
as my first coat (because I has bought it to re-paint my dining room, but that was going to wait after this huge paint project). Then I bought 4 quarts (yes…4) Valspar Chalky Finish Paint in Kid Gloves. So about $120 worth of paint! I also used this 
which seemed to make application easier around the detailed areas. I finished the piece off with amazing Champange Bronze handles from Wayfair that will match the hardware color I am putting in the kitchen. I still have to finish the painted areas with 
, but I just haven’t had the energy to tackle it.
. Then, I placed a 
from the top all the way until it hit the stand to measure where I needed to cut. You want the wooden dowel to be right level or a tad below the top of your cake (notice the below pic…this is too high, I needed to cut off more to be flush with top). I placed 4 wooden rods in my 9” base cake. I also decided to leave the base 
on the 6” to layer just for ease or transfer and it matched the gold theme we had going. But this is not necessary if you want to tier cake to cake. I did the same measuring for the 6” dowels and placed 3 to hold the 4” topper. Then, I carefully used a spatula and fingers to transfer the 4” from its cardboard base to the top of the 6” cake.
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To start, our friends completed this project successfully and were able to lend some tips…until we found out that our balusters were screwed in from the bottom, which was a HUGE complication that we couldn’t find any guidance on in our YouTube video or blog searches. So, unfortunately the only solution we found was to remove the entire stair sections to unscrew the wooden balusters from the bottom. To do this Willie used a variety of methods (saw, hammering a wedge in-between, nail cutters, etc.) but these little suckers were glued and had finishing nails in them, so this was a huge time sink. The one large piece took him, his dad, and me almost 3 hours to remove! However, if you are lucky like most of the bloggers and DIY videos, your balusters should be “peg-like” in the bottom and just be able to saw through and turn the top and bottom piece out of there holes. This also eliminates and issue of losing levelness, angle of stairway, oh and just the minor detail of securing these babies back on! I won’t get too much in the detail of removing and re-attaching because I pray you won’t have this issue and honestly it’s complete trail-and-error and patience to get these on and off. 
and a 
– also wear goggles and gloves)
like many bloggers recommended. This product does work well if you don’t want to sand much, but if I had thought about more AND because we ended up having to remove everything, I would have sanded and used a traditional stain for a more lasting wood grain textured look. The General Finishes paint required 3-4 coats so it is super dark, which once I get darker hardwoods probably won’t be as noticeable but right now it’s a little drastic. The top coat also requires sanding in-between, which honestly I did not do, so I will have to see how the wear is without sanding in-between the 3 coats of topcoat I did. After staining and topcoat, we had to touch up our baseboards from getting the staircases removed and re-chalk.
update with floors!
