No Ghouls Allowed Two ideas for no-gore Halloween decor | BY REBEKAH SANDERLIN
So you want your house to look festive for Halloween night but you're not into tombstones and zombies? Never fear, we've got two easy ideas that will make your house very trick-or-treatable — and still leave enough money in your wallet for an extra bag of candy.
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Pumpkin Topiaries Cost: About $45 Difficulty: Easy Time to complete: One to two hours
F
or this project you'll need three pumpkins of varying sizes for each topiary you want to make. You'll be stack- ing the pumpkins, so be sure to pick a large one for the
bottom, medium-sized one for the middle and small one for the top. Note: If you plan to place the topiary where it's likely to get bumped, you should consider drilling or cutting holes in the center of the pumpkins and inserting a dowel rod or PVC pipe through them. Otherwise, you can stabilize the pumpkins — and prolong their freshness — by hot gluing them together. Either way, you will also want to cut the stems off the two lower level pumpkins so they can be stacked.
Step 1: Place the largest pumpkin in your container. If there's already dirt in your container you can make an indention in the center and this will help keep your pumpkin from wobbling.
Step 2: Add a decorative element between the pumpkins, we used inexpensive grapevine wreaths and artificial fall color leaves. A few beads of hot glue will hold the decorative elements in place and will help keep the pumpkins from wobbling. Stack the next pumpkin on top of the lower one. Add more glue to stabilize.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 for the next level.
Step 4: Add more decorations as desired and — voila! — a welcoming porch decoration that might even last until Thanksgiving.
18 | Anniversary Issue • 2011
