How To Decorate With Pumpkins (courtesy of Threadbanger.com)

Hello, and welcome to Décor It Yourself! It’s October, and Halloween is approaching, so it’s time to get our pumpkins for the season. This week we’re showing you 10 uses for a pumpkin.

#1 – As a table centerpiece. Take a few different sizes of white or orange pumpkins, and gather them on your table on top of a strip of black lace, for a classy, Halloween touch.

#2 – As votives. You will need a few mini-pumpkins for this. With a knife, and on newspaper, carefully cut the top of the pumpkin off. Hollow out the inside – saving the seeds for later – and scrape the excess goo with a spoon! Add tea lights to create autumnal votives for your fall décor!

#3 – As a vase! Hollow out a medium-sized pumpkin the same way you did with the minis. Save the seeds again, for later, and once it’s cleaned out, place freshly cut flowers inside and fill with water. I’m using the flowers Will gave me for our anniversary…thanks, babe!

#4 – As a soup bowl. A hollowed out, smallish pumpkin serves as a lovely soup bowl! To make your own soup, check out recipes on EverydayFood or OrganicValley.com.

#5 – Use other hollowed out pumpkins as a candy dish, dipping dish, or for little treats. When we return, I’ll show you 5 more uses for pumpkins!

So, we obviously love the art of DIY – especially in the kitchen! Well, our good friends over at Hungry Nation TV just launched a cool, new cooking show called Working Class Foodies. It’s all about making your own food, while keeping it cheap and sustainable! It’s pretty much like Threadbanger, but with food! So, when you start getting hungry with all that DIYing, check them out at HungryNation.tv!

Welcome back!

#6 – Martha Stewart shows us this cool use for a pumpkin. Drill small holes in the side, large enough to put the end of a lollipop into, and you have a lollipop holder to place outdoors!

#7 – I think my favorite use for a pumpkin is roasting the seeds as a snack! Clean them, and bake them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. Bake at 325 for about 20 to 25 minutes, turning every 10. Eat, or add to a salad, and enjoy!

#8 – Jack O’ Lanterns! Of course, one of the best and most common uses for a pumpkin is a homemade jack-o-lantern! Kick your design up a notch by drawing inspiration from these Better Homes and Gardens ideas. I personally love the illuminated, Haunted House design.

#9 – As art. Refer back to our graffiti lace episode, and use that technique on your pumpkin, to create and lively and unique design.

#10 – As dinner! For recipe ideas, check out Not Eating Out In New York’s Pumpkin Chili Recipe, and Martha’s Perfect Pumpkin Recipe.

Thanks so much for joining us! If you have any cool pumpkin ideas, leave them in a comment below. Before I leave, I just have to say, Happy Anniversary, Will – I Love You! And I will leave you all with this exclusive footage from our wedding a year ago…

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Around the House, Decorating, Entertaining