DIY Rustic Pumpkin Stand

Decorate your mantel or porch with this easy DIY Rustic Pumpkin Stand and fill the box with colorful decor or bags of candy for trick-or-treaters!

Last week I saw this adorable Rustic Pumpkin Stand project in my news feed on Facebook. Home Depot was hosting a monthly “Do-It-Herself” demonstration and it was on a night I was free, so I decided to go. I have never been to one of those DIH nights so I didn’t know what to expect. There wasn’t much information online so I just registered and showed up at my local Home Depot. When I got there, the lumber aisle was packed with 50 women standing around plywood tables and ready to work!

DIY Rustic Pumpkin Stand Supplies

• fence pickets-roughly cut to (4) 18″ slats and shaped on top and bottom to resemble a pumpkin
• fence picket-cut for the box into (1) 17″ piece, (2) 5 1/2″ pieces and (1) 16″ piece
• 1×2 cut into (2) 20″ pieces for braces and (1) 8″ piece for the stem.
• wood glue, hammer and nails, drill and screws, 1″ staples….whatever tool you choose!
• paints

We were given four fence posts cut in a general “pumpkiny” shape. 🙂 You could easily do this at home with fence pickets and a jigsaw. There was also another fence picket cut into 1 – 17” long piece, 2 – 5 1/2” long pieces, and 1 – 16” long piece. These were for the box on the front of the pumpkin. I lined up the fence pieces and used a 1×2 cut into 2 – 20” pieces for the braces and 1 – 8” long piece for the stem. The group was so large that we were a bit short on tools, so I simply used a drill to screw the braces in place.

The poor guy cutting the pieces was not quite prepared for the mass of women descending upon him. 🙂 He cut as fast as he could, but several of us ended up with some unevenly cut pieces. I lined my box up as well as I could and then drilled it together. It wasn’t pretty finish work, but hey, it’s supposed to be rustic, right? 😉

Here it is before painting. The box is attached by (yes, you guessed it…) more screws drilled in from the back. The stem in this picture split when I was screwing it in, but I was able to get another one and it went on without splitting. At first it isn’t much to look at, but the best part is when you get to color! 🙂

I mixed orange and yellow and then brushed it on unevenly on purpose. I wanted to keep up the rustic theme and the fence posts don’t paint smoothly anyway. Then I brushed on some brown and creme along the edges to give it a little depth and shape. The black paint on the front of the box is chalkboard paint.

When I got the pumpkin stand home I put together a pretty little vignette to fill the box. I added a scarecrow, some pine cones, leaves and other touches of orange and red.

I used some chalk pens to add “Welcome Fall” to the chalkboard front and put it up on my mantel for now. When we are out trick-or-treating with the kids on Halloween, I’ll put it out on the porch and fill the box with candy for the kids who come by when we are gone.

I have to say, this was a very easy DIY project. Of course, it was probably easy because Home Depot did all the heavy lifting for me. I love making a mess and then leaving it for someone else to clean up. 🙂 Just a word of warning- I know several other locations that only had a “demonstration” of this project and the attendees didn’t get to make anything there in the store. If you attend a demo, you have to buy your own supplies and go home to do it yourself. Just be sure to call your local store before you go so you aren’t disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked out the door an hour later with a finished project that didn’t cost me a dime! Here’s hoping for a fun Christmas DIY next time!

Like my  Rustic Pumpkin Stand? Check out these other great ideas for fall!