Wreath of Pumpkins

Here's a great use for those miniature pumpkins that you see in grocery stores and at produce stands this time of year. For a Halloween decoration that will bring seasonal color to your front door, attach some miniature pumpkins to a plastic foam wreath. It's easy to do: Just wire the tiny pumpkins to the wreath form, and use sheet moss to fill in the spaces between them. Then cap the wreath with a big black bow, and hang it on the front door.

Get out a bowl of goodies, put on your witch hat, and you're all set to welcome a bevy of eager trick-or-treaters.

Step 1: Use the end of heavy-gauge florist wire to make a hole near the bottom of a miniature pumpkin. Run wire through pumpkin and out the opposite side. You could also use a nail or ice pick to make a hole on either side of the pumpkin, and then insert florist wire.

Step 2: Place the miniature pumpkin on the form; on underside of wreath, twist wire ends together to hold the pumpkin in place. Continue threading and attaching pumpkins with wire until wreath form is completely covered.

Step 3: Cover exposed areas of wreath form with pieces of sheet moss, securing with florist pins.

Step 4: Twist a piece of florist wire around the top of the wreath to make a loop for hanging. Make a large bow from wide black ribbon, and attach it near the wire loop. Hang the wreath by the wire loop from a nail or hook inserted in the front door.

• heavy-gauge florist wire
• nail or ice pick (optional)
• miniature pumpkins
• plastic foam wreath form
• sheet moss
• florist pins
• wide black ribbon

"Wreath of Pumpkins" is from the October 2004 issue of Southern Living.