Fall Pumpkin Decorations Made from Recycled Books

It’s the first day of fall guys! I know, where did summer go?! I love this time of year. It’s still warm out but the leaves are all changing and the air is cooling down. It’s such a great season. Not to mention Halloween is coming which is one of my favorite holidays ever. Now that summer is officially over it’s time to pull out your Fall decorations. Or if you need some new ones make them, like these cute pumpkin decorations made from recycled books. 

If you are holding on to every ounce of summer, you can do what my uber creative grandma did and use your pumpkins as apples until the season progresses. Isn’t that the cutest?! Put them on a red table cloth or tie red ribbon around the top to emphasis that they are apples. Maybe stack them up as a snowman for the winter? Turn them into beach balls for the summer? Okay, I’ll stop. They are pumpkins. 

I picked up some books at the thrift store for $1 a piece. I looked for the thick, off-white paperback books. If they are think enough you can make two pumpkins out of each book. Check the coloring on them if you are doing multiple. You don’t want one to be bright white while the others are slightly brown. Split the book in half if you want to make two. If you want to make an extra think pumpkin you can use the whole book. I would still suggest cutting it in half. It will be easier to cut and the spines won’t have to wrap as far around when you put it back together. 

Draw half the pumpkin on the top page. Don’t worry about making it perfect, pumpkins aren’t perfect. The top should dip down where the stalk will go. Keep the bottom flat so it sits well. I drew mine about 4 inches wide (from the spine) and 5 inches tall. Using a box cutter or x-acto knife, cut threw a few pages at a time working through the book. It’s easiest if you tear the pages off as you go. 

You may need to clean up the pages with scissors after you you finish. Soften the spine by bending the pages backwards. This will help separate the pages and keep the spine rounded. 

Use hot glue along the spine to attach both edges. Use hot glue on the pages to keep the book extra secure. To make the stem, I used a small twig and hot glued it in place. Tie twine and string in a bow around the stem to add color. 

The pumpkins look great as a center piece for tables. You can make multiple and group them together or just make one and group it with other holiday decorations. 

This lovely table runner was made my mom last year. Isn’t it cute?! She is so talented! 

They look great on a book shelf as well. And if I had a fireplace mantle, I bet they would look good there too.