Old Lady Fun with Mod Podge and a Pumpkin

Our house is in no way ready to be accessorized, but this year, I thought I’d have some fun with a few fall crafts. (Okay, I thought I’d have fun with one fall craft. I won’t get ahead of myself.) Inspired by these pumpkin projects in Country Living’s October issue, I broke out the Mod Podge, some old books, and a fake pumpkin that I bought after Halloween last year for 90% off, and spent the next two hours of my life wondering when this “easy craft project” would be finished.


Turns out that decoupaging a pumpkin is neither speedy nor brainless, two qualities of craft projects that I tend to enjoy. Oh well.


It’s covered in bits of paper from two art books that the art teacher was throwing away at the end of last school year. The pages are definitely a heavier weight than a normal book, which may be why my images refused to cling perfectly to the pumpkin’s contours. Live and learn.


My imperfect pumpkin definitely whispers “This was handmade by someone who has only a partial clue about how to decoupage.” Someone with more patience and skill and/or the name Martha and/or a career at Country Living could probably make these look absolutely stunning.


This poor reindeer missed the memo that Christmas is still three months away. Someday it will wonder why it is plastered to a pumpkin.


Rick says my pumpkin looks like something a granny would put in her house. I tend to agree a little bit. I can totally picture it snuggled up with some knitting needles and a tube of Poligrip.


Yep, it totally works.


However, when something takes me two hours to complete, I can overlook these things. Sort of like when someone brings muffins to a department meeting. I can overlook a lot for a muffin.

Here’s my pumpkin before it aged:


And after a tumultuous but exhilarating life in which it learned all sorts of fascinating things like what it feels like to be called insubordinate and stubborn by an ignorant Mod Podge-wielding youngster:


So that’s my First Official Cheap Fall Craft Project and my First Official Granny Pumpkin. (No joke: the folder with the pictures of it is labeled Granny Pumpkin, so as not to be confused with Hip, Cool Pumpkin and Mid-Life Crisis Pumpkin.) And speaking of grannies, one year for Halloween, Rick participated in pharmacy school festivities and dressed up like a stereotypical granny, complete with wig, slouchy knee highs, and saggy boobs.


That’s the kind of outfit I’d wear if I became a cat lady.

The best part, though, is that he then proceeded to lock his keys in his car and AAA had to come rescue him. No, he didn’t have a change of clothes. I’m not sure he learned his lesson, because the next year, he went as a nun.

Boys these days.

What fall crafts have you been up to? Do you have any tips for decoupaging a non-flat object, in the event that someone feeds me muffins and I become submissive to their every crafting whim? What are you willing to overlook for a muffin?

I'm linking this up to the fall crafts party at Centsational Girl!