Turn small pumpkins into vases for your floral centerpieces

We hosted a party at our house, and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to test out the cost and time effectiveness of my DIY centerpiece idea: flowers in a real pumpkin vase. Here's how I pulled it off…

Materials:

• Floral block
• Small pumpkins
• Pumpkin cutting materials
• I used one store-bought bouquet per pumpkin

Step 1: Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin — don't worry about being pretty — and scoop out the entrails. I've done this a few time in my life at this point, but every time I do it, I still get mad at how easy Lucy makes it look in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" compared to how labor intensive this is in real life.

Step 2: When the pumpkin in hollowed out, take the blade and cut carefully and slowly to remove the top 1/5 of the pumpkin, leaving a horizontal edge on the cut lip of the pumpkin. If you want to get fancy, you could probably carve a pattern into it. A wipe down of lemon juice will help the edges stay fresh.

Step 3: Cut a chunk of wet floral block to stick in the pumpkin. (Side note: I noticed while I was doing this that the stuff was labeled "known to cause reproductive issues in the state of California." Since actually being in New York isn't likely to protect me from this, I am looking for safer alternatives, and will take any suggestions.) Get the floral block all wet, and place it in the pumpkin shell.

Step 4: Arrange the flowers as you like. I didn't really have a plan, just went with what kind of made sense to me based on the flowers that were cheap, pretty, and the right colors when I went shopping. This was the most fun part!

Total time: 15 minutes per pumpkin. I have five bridesmaids, and at least four of them will probably be able to help with a DIY project like this the day before the actual wedding. The DIY flower pumpkin allows me to have real flowers, and it allows me to spend some time being crafty, which I love to do!