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Every Fall, the same thing happens...

I think that I couldn't possibly come up with any more Fall decor ideas than I have in the past - certainly not more DIY pumpkins...and then I'm inspired and before you know it I've made crochet chain pumpkins and glossy porcelain pumpkins and white waxed pumpkins with gold stems and farmhouse pumpkins with realistic stems made from clay!

Click here to see all my Fall DIYs and pumpkins

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I didn't set out to make these farmhouse heirloom pumpkins but I was inspired when I found some large paper mache pumpkins at Hobby Lobby. They were just crying out for a farmhouse makeover, and I needed to add some larger pumpkins to my Fall decor. If you've priced the larger size pumpkins this year, they are expensive!

$20 is way more than I wanted to spend on one pumpkin, so I found a budget-friendly way to make 3 pumpkins for around $20. Because I had all the supplies on hand besides the pumpkins, this craft was really affordable. I'm sure if you enjoy crafting and DIYing, you have many if not all of these supplies already too!

Watch me make these farmhouse pumpkins in this video

• paper mache pumpkins (I bought these for $5.99 each)
• paint - a darker and lighter shade of the same color (I used this and this for the green pumpkin and this and this for the orange one) *
• white chalk paint (I used this)
• brushes
• dark furniture paste
• lint-free rags

* Paint tip - you don't need to buy huge quantities of paint! Use what you have or even buy the small bottles of chalk paint at Walmart for less than 2$ each. You could also use acrylic craft paints.

Watch the video here for step by step painting tips

Use a sturdy blade to gently remove the stem from the pumpkin. I'll be showing you how to make easy air dry clay stems that are so realistic! Watch the video to see how I filled the hole that's left behind.

Paint the entire pumpkin with the lighter shade. Then use a small craft brush to apply the darker shade in the grooves of the segments. Use a damp rag to blend the paints together. To lighten the overall look of the pumpkin, there are a couple things you can do:

1. dry brush white chalk paint over parts of the pumpkin
2. use this Vintage color wash paint and a damp rag to soften the overall color

Finally, add some dimension to the DIY pumpkin with dark wax. This step is optional but highly recommended if you want a realistic looking heirloom pumpkin! I added it to the low spots (the grooves between the segments) and used clear wax to help blend it. You can watch me do this step in the video.

The last step is to make the air dry clay stems. You can watch exactly how I made the stems in this short video. You might go ahead and get your clay so you're ready to make stems with me! I buy only this clay from Amazon, and it goes a long way! You'll have enough for pumpkin stems, as well as Christmas ornaments!!

I love my inexpensive Cinderella pumpkins that look so realistic!

They have so much depth and dimension, just like real pumpkins!