Decorative Pumpkins

Bet you can't guess what the top secret stuffing is that fills these adorable pumpkins. Give up? Its toilet paper! That's right, there's a roll of toilet paper inside each of these. So simple to make, cute as a button and perfect for households with energetic children, these pumpkins will be a favorite in your home every fall!

Materials needed:

1 Roll of toilet paper (use the cheap stuff)

Fall print or solid fabric (quilting quarters-sometimes called "fat quarters" work very well and they are pre-cut!)

Quilt batting or poly-fill stuffing

Paper grocery bag

Jute Twine

Fake floral greenery

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Tape

Step 1: Cut the grocery bag down each narrow side to open the bag up to one big sheet. Cut out a strip the length of the bag about 10 inches wide. Fold over about 3 inches down the length to give you a piece the length of the bag that's about 7 inches wide. Roll the strip into a 7 inch long stem and tape it to hold in place. Using your hot glue gun, begin wrapping the stem with twine, gluing it in place as you go.

Step 2: Cut a piece or two of greenery and, with hot glue, attach to the wrapped stem about 3 inches down from the top. Make sure the leaf end of the greenery is pointing toward the top of your stem. Set aside.

Step 3: Cut a piece of fabric to about 20X20 inches (or use your fat quarter) and lay it on the table with the printed side down. Stand your roll of toilet paper up in the center of the fabric.

Step 4: Add stuffing or batting around the roll until you reach the desired thickness (the two pictured above are stuffed to different thicknesses).

Step 5: Hold roll in place with one hand and begin pulling the fabric edges up and stuffing them inside the top of the roll with the other hand.

Step 6: Working quickly, apply hot glue to the stem below the greenery and push the stem into the top of the toilet paper roll (with the fabric still stuffed inside the hole). Hold in place until glue dries.

This is a great project for kids to help with, but be sure an adult does the hot gluing.