As soon as the Halloween-themed Pottery Barn Kids catalog hit our mailbox, Zack got busy pointing out all of the things that he “wished he could have.” Yeah, you and me both, Kid.
One of the things that he kept going back to was the Pirate Build-A-Pumpkin kit.
After looking at the photo in the catalog and reading the description, I figured I could make my own version of the adorable pumpkin accessories. Pottery Barn wants $12 each for the Pirate, Cat, Skull, and Spider sets, but I knew I could make all four of them for half of that.
Wanna know how? Yeah, of course you do. 
1. I began by drawing out each of the pieces I wanted to add to each pumpkin.
Don’t fancy yourself an artist? No worries. I did the hard work for you and drew out everything you need for the four pumpkins. Click here to download the .pdf file of the artwork. The artwork is scaled for a medium sized pumpkin, so you will need to enlarge or reduce if you are using a large or small pumpkin.
2. Print out the .pdf and cut out the shapes for the pumpkin(s) you want to put together. For this tutorial, I am showing the Skull accessory kit.
Note: On the Cat set, you actually need to cut out 4 front and 4 back of the white rectangles, not 2 of each as noted on the artwork.
5. On the pieces that stick out of the pumpkin, I inserted a toothpick in between the front and back shapes to make a little toothpick sandwich. I just left a small portion of the toothpick sticking out to stick into the pumpkin. I had to break a few of the toothpicks in half so that they wouldn’t be too long. Once your little sandwich is put together, you will probably need to trim the edges so that the pieces match up nicely.
The pieces you will need to set up with a toothpick are:
- Pirate – Hat (I put one toothpick in the center and one on each side)
- Cat – Ears, whiskers
- Skull – Bones
- Spider – Legs
6. After assembling the rest of the pieces that layer on top of each other, draw in the faux stitching. On the white pieces, I used a thin black marker. On the black pieces, I used a silver metallic marker I found at the craft store for a few dollars.
7. Now, all you have left to do is to peel the backing off of the pieces and stick them directly to your fresh pumpkin or craft pumpkin. The pieces on toothpicks can be easily stuck directly into the pumpkin.
8. Display your new friends proudly!
I can’t believe how much my knock-offs look like the “real” ones!
You can create your own Pottery Barn-inspired pumpkin kits for under $5 for all four of them. The only difference between these knock-offs and the real thing is some polyester stuffing in some of the pieces and actual stitching instead of faux stitching. Oh, and $43.
Zack really wanted his picture taken with his new pumpkins. Here he is posing with his favorite, “Fat Cat.”
Will you create a set of your own?
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
These are adorable! What a fantastic idea.
Hey now, those are adorable!!!!!
Definitely going to try these! They are so cute!!
You did an amazing job on these. I did not even know they made felt like that. Thanks for the tutorial. This is one of the projects I will be doing with my younger guy. All the best, Lori
You're good! They turned out great.
Your pumpkins are adorable and your right! They look exactly like the PB pumpkins! Great job! ~Ashley
These look so GREAT!! They are just like the 'real thing'! Good idea!!
Very cute…your son looks adorable with his pumpkins!! Thanks for the tutorial and the patterns.
Jane
I can't believe how much they look like the real ones either! Great job Lindsey! They're adorable.
pk @ room remix
Nicely done!
Excellent! That will show them for asking such ridiculous prices. Job well done!
Just too cute! Love saving that 43$$! Your son and his pumpkin are precious!! Enjoy the day!
Hugs!
Susan
Adorable, Lindsay! I like yours better than PB!
omg! So cute! I love the "bones" one.
Awesome job!
I love this! Definitely going to be making these. Thanks!
Whoot whoot whoot – you rock!! LOVE THEM!!
Perfect! Couldn't have been done better!
Your pumpkins are adorable! I have a PB WSonoma Outlet near me, I can't afford the real sore, so I hunt down bargains at the outlet.
In Monday's post I showed something you would like…and orig 19.00 for .25!!
Thanks for sharing your works of art!
Happy Fall!
http://www.cuisinekathleen.com
You're amazing!! I don't have kids but my husband and I love to decorate pumpkins, so we'll definitely be making a few of these!
Great job. I'm definitely going to try this.
My kids want to come over to your house…
Janell
I'm totally going to do this! My three year old just wandered up and said "Hey! That pumpkin has BONES on it!" I asked him if we should make some, and his eyes lit up and he said "YEAH!"
You are the best! You just saved me a ton of time. I was wanting to do that with the kids at the Halloween party!
Oh this is just beautiful! Definitely a fantastic way to ring in fall! Oh, and if you're going to be doing any spooky Halloween decor, stop by my blog for a how-to and a giveaway! I hope you can!
Awesome! I saw these in PB and I too thought "I can do that". Thanks for sharing the template!
Freaking awesome!!
So adorable! I'd rather do it your way and keep the $43 in my pocket, thank you very much. And thank YOU very much for telling us how to do it!
That is fantastic! I love recreating higher priced items for less. Way to go!
cuuuuute! You always have such great ideas!
Those are adorable! And much less messy and dangerous than carving jack-o-lanterns.
What a lucky little boy who has a mamma that can give him all FOUR sets !!! Those are adorable, and he's pretty cute, too.
Suzanne
Hello!! Brilliant idea. They look as good as the originals. I love knocking off PB!
Lindsay, these look AH-MAZING! I shall perhaps have a pirate pumpkin this year!
So super cute!
Will definitely be some at our house this year–Thanks for the templates!
These look fantastic!
These are awesome. I love the multi colored and multi-dimensional aspect of the felt. I will feature this on somedaycrafts.blogspot.com Thanks!!!
Love it! And it lasts longer than carving. Very cute!
i had no idea that sticky felt existed. how cute!
kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com
Fantastico! My little guy will love this! I love things that are already done for me! Thanks!
Great job, Lindsay. I know you & Zack are both happy!! Take That PBK!!!
Happy Fall!!
xoxo
Jane
Wow, great job! I think yours actually look better!!
I think yours look even better! and I know that sweet boy is delighted. Jackie
Lindsay so cute…love it. If you son is like my Isaac I bet your son will change out the faces to make a pirate cat and a skull spider.
Love it! I'm so going to try this.
Thanks!
Those are adorable! I really can't tell the difference between yours and the PB ones. Very good job!!
fabulous lindsay! you rock!!! i'm on my way to hobby lobby!
I Loooooooooooovvvvvvveeee that idea! How cute, and how simple. Thanks for sharing the idea!
Very cute, Lindsay! You are definitely ready for Fall & I bet your cute little ones loves it all too.
Hello Lindsay – oh my, I'm lovin' your PB look-alikes! In fact, I really like yours better. Especially that sweet kitty! Great job and thank you for sharing the pattern. Emma would love to make one!
Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com
Yours are just as good… even better! (My favoite is also Fat Cat
)
Love them!
Very cute. I cannot believe how similar they look to the pb ones!
i just received my PB catalog yesterday and these caught my eye. i love that you put a tutorial together. yours rock!!!!!! thanks from all the folks on a budget and think PB prices are crazy stupid!!!!!!!! hey, how about you make a tutorial for one of those $69.00 costumes featured. we would love it!!!!!!!
those are some of the best pumpkins I have ever seen….great job!
Looks exactly like the pottery barn ones!!!!
I love the ideas of saving money on Halloween crafts. Especially ideas from the PB. I love that place. Keep up the good work. Keep the frugal ideas coming our way.
i recently started a blog for nursing home activity directors. I search the web for great ideas for them to use. I used this one the other day. It really came out great
Thanks so much for figureing this out..and then posting so the rest of us don't have to!
Just discovered your site and love so many of your ideas. I would love to feature your "Pottery Barn on a Budget" over on our site Steals and Deals (www.stealsdeals.blogspot.com)! We have a day where we share with our readers how to save some $ and this piece would be FAB! Of course I would direct all of our readers to your site.
Please let me know, thanks!
gasnb@msn.com
Congrats on a beautiful job! I LOVE THEM!!! God's blessings, Sarah
Love it – I almost bought one but now am going to make them instead.
Great site.
I totally adore this!
You are the Queen of all craftiness!!!!
Love, love, love it!
What a great idea! I have added you to my file box at thecraftersfilebox.blogspot.com.
Thanks for sharing!!
Lindsey,
I just discovered your blog through Gracious Southern Living…great project!
Lindsay, you are so ridiculously creative. LOVE the pirate! And your little man is adorable. p.s. You looked gorg in Leigh's wedding photos. : )
What a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. This pumpkins are so cute I can wait to do this.
Just wanted to write and tell you that we made them! My kids had a great time. I posted my blog link, so you could see the pictures. I also credited your site to friends, who wanted to make the pumpkins for themselves.
Thank you!
http://arrowjones.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-have-to-have-to-have-to-share-fun.html
omgosh….I am a first time visitor to your amazing blog. I don't know how I've missed it all this time but I just became a follower so I won't lose you….:)
Amazing pumpkins and they DO look just like PB.
Please come by sometime…
xo bj
I'll definitely be making these knock-offs too!
First time reader. Can I say I love you? This is such a cool tutorial. I think my son is going to love you too! THANKS so much!!! Will be doing this over the weekend!
I came across your blog yesterday and found this project. it is super awesome. I had to make the pirate pumpkin today! My boys each made their own pirate pumpkin and loved it. Thanks for the DIY
I just printed out your pdf file to make my own PB project! What a cute, clever, and bargain idea. This will be a DIY project this weekend.
Ive linked you to my blog! your site is great
http://myquarterlifecrisisjmu.blogspot.com/2009/10/halloween-round-up.html
You are soooo creative! Thanks for the great idea1 Me and my kids just made our own pumpkins following your instructions!
These are so cute! I can’t wait to try them this Halloween. We have been growing lots of pumpkins in our garden and will have lots to carve and decorate.
Su-weet! You are amazing… it’s funny, we get so used to buying stuff, that we don’t realize that buying imitations is just that (imitating), and making it ourselves is the way to make lasting memories. When you’re a kid, you actually want to DO stuff, create stuff… not just buy it. Great job!
awesome job! My kids will love it. Kinda like a large version of Mr. potato head. I think I’ll use foam sheets as that’s what I have on hand. Thanks again for sharing
We liked this so much over at Copycat Crafts that we have decided to feature it today! You can view it here
http://www.copycatcrafts.com/pb-kids-inspired-pumpkins/
We’d love it if you’d like to display a featured button! You can grab your button on the right hand side of your post. Thanks!
Thanks Lindsay for the ideas for creating a Pottery Barn Halloween on a budget.
I love pottern barn’s kids range but you are right they can be really expensive
Thanks again
Katie
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