Succulent DIY Pumpkin Topiary

Dress up paper mache pumpkins by turning them into a succulent DIY pumpkin topiary! I have a slight major obsession with succulents… I love the texture, the colors, the shapes… pretty much everything about them! Amazingly, as much as I love succulents I don’t have any fall decor that has succulents in it so you know I had to change that! This succulent DIY pumpkin topiary combines several of my favorite elements… succulents (duh), pumpkins, the color coral and topiaries. All of those elements may not necessarily seem like they make sense together for fall but I love how it turned out! Follow along to see how easy it is to make your own succulent pumpkin topiary.

Succulent DIY Pumpkin Topiary Supplies:

• Darice Paper Mache Pumpkins in 6.5″ and 8″
• Darice Craft Knife
• Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in Whisper (ivory)
• Americana Acrylic Paint in Coral
• Paint Brush
• Darice Floral Foam
• Darice Spanish Moss
• Assorted Darice Faux Succulents
• Darice ¾” Dowel Rod
• Darice Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
• Parchment Paper and Plastic Cup (not shown)

Step 1. Using a craft knife, cut off the tops of both pumpkins.

Step 2. Dispense coral and ivory chalk paint onto a small plate or palette. Paint pumpkins with one coat of coral paint and while still wet, dip paint brush in ivory chalky paint and lightly brush over coral paint only on the high planes of the pumpkins. I painted one pumpkin “column” at a time to make sure the paint was still wet. The ivory paint over the still-wet coral paint creates a really pretty dimensional highlight.

Step 3. Once the pumpkins have completely dried, cut a small hole in the bottom of each pumpkin, just large enough for the rod to fit through.

Step 4. Place the rod up through the hole in the bottom of the large (bottom) pumpkin, leaving out enough of the rod at the bottom to make it level with the bottom of the pumpkin when sitting.

Step 5. Sit the pumpkin upright on a piece of wax or parchment paper (the rod should be resting directly on the surface). Hot glue around the entire base of the rod inside of the pumpkin. Don’t worry about it being messy, really glob it on there! This is the foundation of the pumpkin topiary so we want to make sure everything is secure in there.

Step 6. While the glue is still hot, slide floral foam through the rod and push into the base of the pumpkin.

Step 7. Once the glue is set (about 20 minutes to be safe), flip the pumpkin over and apply more hot glue all around where the bottom of the pumpkin meets the bottom of the rod. Again, coat it well and don’t worry about it being messy, no one will see the bottom.

Step 8. Once the glue is set, fill the remainder of the bottom pumpkin with floral foam. Cut a plastic cup (or something of similar size) down the side and a hole in the top. Slide the cup over the rod and position it where you want the top pumpkin to sit. The cup will hold the top pumpkin in place where you want it while you glue it.

Step 9. Slide the small pumpkin over the rod from the bottom and make sure it is sitting level on the cup. Repeat the same process of gluing the inside and outside of the base of the pumpkin around the rod as in step 5 and 6 (except you don’t want to be as messy with the bottom of this one since it might be visible).

Step 10. Once the top has fully dried and is set onto the base of the DIY pumpkin topiary, you can slide the cup out from under the small pumpkin. Stuff the pumpkin topiary with floral foam and Spanish moss. Arrange succulents as desired. Toss a mum or two in to keep with the fall theme if you’d like.

What do you think… will you be making a succulent DIY pumpkin topiary this year? Please let me know in the comments below if you have any questions and if you do make one, we’d love to see it!

If you’re loving the elegant autumnal look of this project, you’ll want to check out our succulent pumpkin centerpiece idea!