Mason Jar Pumpkin Tutorial

These little wide-mouth half-pint mason jars are irresistible as pumpkins. Great for gift-giving throughout the Fall and especially at Thanksgiving, you can fill them with your favorite Fall mix.
{*Click here* for the Pay Day version.} 

Right now, you asked for the Mason Jar Pumpkin Tutorial, and here it is!

You'll need these basic supplies: a little bit of orange fabric, batting or stuffing, a twig, a small 1/2-inch screw, silk leaf, raffia, and a wide-mouth half-pint mason jar.  For tools, you need to know how to use a drill, screwdriver, hot glue gun, and safety glasses.

Here's a mason jar lid, and jar band.

Mark the center of your mason jar lid, because that is where we will be inserting the twig that will become the pumpkin stem.

Set aside the jar band for now. 

It's up to you to know how to use a drill along with the precautions that go with power tools. I'd just like to make the plug that you wear safety glasses. 

Drill a hole in the center of your mason jar lid just big enough to accommodate the size of screw you're using. Mine was a small 1/2" wood screw we had lying around (see photo below).

The Pumpkin:

3. Cut your fabric in a 4.5-inch circle. Ball your batting or stuffing up, making a hole in the center for the stem.
4. Tack the batting to the lid with hot glue.
5. Pull the fabric around the lid, creating some gathering and puckering as you go...
6. and glue it to the underside of the lid with the hot glue gun. You may have to tuck bits more of stuffing in as you go to get the shape you want. 
Tip: Keep from bulking up excess batting and fabric along the very edge of the lid so that your jar band will screw on securely.

The Stem and Leaf

7. Grab a twig from your yard, and cut it down to size to make the pumpkin stem.

8. Drill a very small pilot hole in the twig so that it is easier for the screw to go in.

9. I used a very small 1/2" wood screw that we happened to have on hand.

10. Screw from the underside of the lid up through the twig to secure your pumpkin stem. It should be quite sturdy. Then glue a silk leaf to the stem.

I purchased my silk leaves from the dollar store.

Now wrap a bit of raffia around the jar band for that extra little Fall touch.

and

Voila!

That's how you make a pumpkin from a mason jar!

{*Click here* for more photos and the candy corn payday mix.} 

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