The Great Pumpkin, Gourds and Fall Party Decorations

Fall decorating supplies are very expensive these days so I decided to see if I could make my own decorations and keep the price low, low, low. I went to the farmer's market and found everything I needed for fall party decorations. I hope I can use these through Thanksgiving. Pumpkins and gourds of all shapes, sizes and colors were everywhere--- it's the season. The colors were so vibrant--- yellows, oranges, rich reds, dark copper and brown. And they were cheap, too. We brought home our haul and started hollowing out gourds to use for party decorations. The large gourds are perfect for vases and the small gourds are ideal containers for votives and tea lights.

To make the candle holder: Use a paring knife to cut the top off of the gourd then scoop out the inside. You can put the tea light into the bottom of the gourd, which accomplishes two things. It keeps the wind from blowing out the flame and it results in a softer glow. You can also fit the tea light into the top of the gourd. Use a toothpick to keep the candle from falling in like I did in the picture below.

For our flower arrangements, I was lucky enough to find a farmer selling bittersweet. I love bittersweet-- these yellow and orange berrylike branches. They are perfect for centerpieces and look great in the yard as an accent to mums and other fall flowers. The mums were so vibrant and full-- we loaded up the car with them. Here's a sneak peak at some of the goodies we picked up.

And this was all very affordable, too! I looked at pumpkins at the grocery and even at  the "big box" store and I paid less at the farmer's market for all of these gourds and 3 big pumpkins  than I would for one large pumpkin at the other places. I was even able to pick up a few large yellow mums , too. I spent less than $40 for all of it.  You can find decorative pumpkins and gourds almost anywhere  and at every price. I made these for less than $1 each and it was a fun project, too. Just make sure to give the kids a spoon to hollow out the gourds. The Band-Aid around my right thumb is proof that you need to leave the knife work to the skilled adults.

Party on, ya'll.