DIY Faux Succulent Pumpkin

I have been drooling over all the gorgeous succulent pumpkin arrangements I’ve seen the last few years, but I also have the blackest thumb ever. Yep, that’s right, I can’t even keep succulents alive. So I decided to DIY a faux succulent pumpkin instead.

Luckily, I have tons of succulents left over from the bridal shower I threw over the summer. They have been sitting on my desk ever since and I just couldn’t bring myself to throw them away because, one, I am a closet hoarder, and two, I knew I’d think of the perfect thing to use them for.

Buying individual faux succulents adds up quickly. Your best bet is to buy something with faux succulents on it, then disassemble it and repurpose them. The majority of the succulents I used were from a wreath. It had about 20 succulents on it and after using a coupon at the craft store, it was actually way cheaper than buying that many succulents individually.

To give you an idea of how many faux plants you will need, I used about five succulents of varying size, about four small sprays of lamb’s ear (I’ve also heard this called ice plant or dusty miller. I’m talking about the little fuzzy leaves.) and about ten long fern type plants.

To make a DIY faux succulent pumpkin, you will need:

• a styrofoam pumpkin
• serrated knife
• wooden skewer
• faux succulents of your choice

Steps to make a DIY faux succulent pumpkin:

1. Using a serrated knife, cut the top off of your faux pumpkin (like you would if carving a real pumpkin) so that the styrofoam is exposed.
2. Starting with the longer pieces and working up to the smaller ones, begin arranging the plants. You may find it easier to make a hole for the stem by using a wooden skewer. I had my glue gun ready to glue the ends in place before sticking them in the styrofoam, but I found that for the most part they were secure enough without glue.
3. The skewer is also handy to hold the plant in place. Even with a low temp glue gun it can be a little hot. Plus no glue-y hands this way!
4. Arrange until you are satisfied with how your pumpkin looks. 

This diy faux succulent pumpkin makes a perfect centerpiece on the dining table, a mantle or shelf. I recommend high out of the reach of toddler fingers. The best part about these diy faux succulent pumpkins is that they can be used outside as well. We still have a few weeks of hot afternoons in Northern California and this will survive the heat. Minus a little fading.