DIY: Mod Podge Pumpkin Craft

So, I found this almost-full container of Mod Podge, and I can’t let things like this go to waste. We actually used this cool stuff on another pumpkin craft last year, using fake leaves that we got along with a bunch of other fall-decor stuff at an auction. It didn’t take long to put together this Mod Podge pumpkin craft.

Materials for Mod Podge Pumpkin Craft

Mod Podge Punkin materials

Here’s what you’ll need to make this craft:

  • Container of Mod Podge
  • Pumpkins
  • Paintbrushes — foam or brush
  • Bowls for the Mod Podge
  • Dried leaves or flowers (artificial or real)
  • Well-ventilated work space

My sister, from Minnesota, came to visit and after we spent a morning over at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, we decided to do a rainy day craft together. (You’ve probably seen crafts from my sister on this site, since she also has the “crafty gene” from our mom.) I happened to have chosen a few white pumpkins and they made the perfect canvas. I also happened to have dried a bunch of flowers from our kitchen garden in my handy-dandy microwave flower press kit. In addition to all that, I dried leaves from herbs in the garden, and they retained their shapes really well.

Laura ingalls Wilder rock house
Here’s my sister standing in front of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s rock house, located in Mansfield, Missouri. This is where Laura penned (and she actually wrote the stories in notebooks with a pencil) her first four books.

How to Make Mod Podge Pumpkins

Wash and dry the pumpkins. Just use dish soap, nothing chemical or special.

Then, we spread out a birdseed feed sack on a work table in the basement, and commenced to placing pieces of dried foliage and flowers to the pumpkins.

Application of mod podge
It’s oh-so-easy to apply Mod Podge.

First, apply Mod Podge to the part of the pumpkin where you want to place the piece, then stick it and follow through with a generous, and I mean generous, application of Mod Podge. I went for a splash of dried flowers from top to bottom, running in a diagonal line, and my sister went for a springtime garden look.

wet mod podge
It’s not attractive at all, frankly.

It took about a day to fully dry. I wouldn’t put these out in the sun to dry. Just let them work on their own, in their own time, in the environment where you worked — unless that was outdoors, of course. Then, I’d bring them into the garage, at least.

before mod podge dries
You can see the various real and artificial leaves and flowers that I incorporated into this spray of design on a pumpkin.

You might decide to incorporate these little beauties into your Thanksgiving decor. I had a few leftover dried fake leaves from this project using Mod Podge, the “DIY Falling Leaf Pumpkins,” last year, so I whipped up an extra just-leafy pumpkin.

You could do this craft on funky gourds, or any large vegetable in the squash family.

wet mod podge pumpkins in craft
finished project
My sister’s finished pumpkin.
ModPodge pumpkins on hearth
I combined two of the pumpkins with a sprig of bittersweet and a ceramic orange pumpkin on our hearth.

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  • About Barbara Baird

    Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com.