Recycling and upcycling are a fun and affordable way to add decor and little personal touches to your home. In the spirit of the holiday (Halloween) season, this week we took some mason jar lid bands left over from canning our summer garden goodies and transformed them into a pumpkin. When we find fun “Pinspiration”, we like to make tweaks to make it our own.
I love shabby, chic and the rustic look that is so popular right now. The original concept used spray paint for a well-coated and smooth finish (and you can too). I however, decided to use the acrylic paint I had on hand so that the brush strokes would stand out and the finished look would be more worn. The original idea also used more lid bands for a full ring, and I used less for a more open look.
Here’s what you need:
Once you have your supplies, lay down some old newspaper, because if you choose to paint the bands, it is going to get messy. Next just paint each band, inside and out and let it sit to dry over night. I got antsy and started stringing them together while they were barely dry and the paint started chipping. I embraced that look and left the bands as they were, but a handy tip to preserve the paint would be to buy a can of matte sealant and after your bands are completely dry give them a light coat.
Like I said, the painting each lid method did get a little messy, but I really liked the finished look. Once they were dry I took my piece of twine and loaded them all facing the same way onto the twine and tied it tight. Next I added the cinnamon sticks to complete the look. Since I only used 10 lids, I only needed two cinnamon sticks, but the more lids you use the more sticks it will take to make a proper pumpkin stem.
You can use this as a standalone piece, or add it to our last project for a falltastic look!
For more projects and DIYs click here.
