Pumpkins! Ugly (and Cute!) Pumpkins

You knew it was coming. Even if you didn't read Friday's post, you had to know I'd follow up my apple week with one on pumpkins. It's October, so how could I not? Little Page's pre-K is getting their pumpkins in this week, so I'll have plenty to pick from for our upcoming crafts. First things first, however...

The Book - The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz

Think The Ugly Duckling, pumpkin edition. A pumpkin wanders around being rejected by Halloween-themed creatures until he discovers he's not a pumpkin at all. The pictures are bright and cheerful (making some of the scarier creatures not so much) and the rhymes are well-written. To be honest, however, it was a single line that sold me on this book: "Oh my gosh! I'm a squash!" I laughed out loud when I read that for the first time. Pure genius and alone worth a LPT recommendation.

The Craft - A Not-So-Ugly Pumpkin


Isn't it adorable! I'm quite the proud mama. I think this would look so cute decorating your child's nightstand or bringing a touch of fall to their play table. Maybe it wants to sit quietly with the other stuffed animals on the bed. Regardless, I guarantee your little girl will love it and your little boy will probably love to toss it, jump on it, tackle it, or whatever destructive thing little boys like to do! ;)

I'm going to be totally honest with you and admit that I had planned on making 5 of these babies and matching them up with a different book. Unfortunately, I'm a sewing novice and even simple projects are time-consuming. I had the opportunity this afternoon to spend the day with my folks and sister's family on the beach. My dad has stage 4 cancer, so I figured enjoying the gorgeous fall weather with family was a better use of my time then wrestling with my sewing machine!

I was able to finish this adorable little pumpkin before the girls woke up from their naps. I've been seeing these make their way around the blogosphere, but as far as I know, they originate with Holly @ Sunshine in My Soul. She gives a detailed, picture tutorial on her site, so I'll let you go there for the details. If I may add... you'll really want to round out the corners at the top when you're sewing the pieces together, and you want to leave quite a bit of seam on the stem so it doesn't flop around. It's a great sewing project for those like me who hate patterns and prefer to dive into a project with little or no planning.

And of course, if it doesn't turn out quite right, you can always claim it's the "ugly pumpkin"!