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Nailhead Pumpkin Craft

HALLOWEEN· PERSONAL

Happy Halloween! 

We’ve been up to our bloodshot eyeballs in tons of family stuff/holiday stuff/baby-gettin-ready stuff/kitchen stuff/friends stuff lately…squeezing every moment like it’s our last.  And because I love smothering you with unrequested Will photos (just you wait till there’s TWO of them boys!), I thought a whole post dedicated to his Halloween pumpkin was in order.  In short, he nailed this project. 

Enter the victim.

We gave Will the priviledge of picking out his own pumpkin.  He went for this mini guy and toted him around the store proudly.  Looking back, I probably made too big of a deal out of the experience and how we take care of special things like ‘our very own big boy pumpkin’ because later during a playdate, one of his friends decided to pick it up and Will almost had a nuclear meltdown.  We had to have a talk about how people are more important to us than pumpkins.  Ahh parenthood.

So back to the project. 

I gave Will the option of either painting his pumpkin or hammering nails into it.  I should have guessed he would choose tools every.single.time.  Now his little pumpkin looks a little like this: 

We first donned our construction hats.  of course.

Mine was ridiculous on my giant head.  of course.

I would push the nails into the pumpkin just to get them started…then Will got to use a ‘daddy-hammah’ to knock em in the rest of the way.   And yes, I called him MC Hammer the entire time.   

It was a tedious job but Will loved it.  I was kinda surprised that he stayed focused on a singular task that long.  Good for future DIY projects.  Or maybe he was just trying to impress his baby girlfriend with his tool-wielding skills.  It’s Hammertime Clara 🙂  

While we were out there Jer also cut the bottom of our actual pumpkin….you know, the one we are carving for a candle. 

Will and I scooped out the guts.

I roasted the seeds this morning during another playdate.  The boys actually ate them too.  I was actually quite proud that they came out tasting half-decent considering in years past, I’ve always botched em.  Ruining pumpkin seeds was sortof a sad pathetic tradition.  I was a professional.  And now that tradition is over.  Dang you pinterest.

I asked Will if he wanted to take a picture with his pumpkin….the answer surprisingly was a very emphatic yes.  These are going in the family yearbook 🙂

Don’t his hands look huge here?  Freaky big.  Like little man hands. 

So that’s our 2012 toddler pumpkin…what did you do to yours?  Anything fun?  Anything glowy or painty or sticky or scary?  I need some ideas for next year because I just don’t think a man-dazzled kin will cut it two years in a row 🙂

p.s.  later today I’m hoping to get our Halloween decor posts up!  Hopefully our server doesn’t act crazy like it has lately 🙂  If it doesn’t go up  – I hope you guys all have a very fun, very plentiful, very very safe Halloween!  And to those families still stuck or stranded or completely devastated from Sandy – please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers!

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  1. You look great! I love that sweater you have on 🙂 I am 5 months pregnant and on the lookout for cute fall/winter sweaters. And Will is adorable as always! G

  4. Just wait until the new baby gets here! Will is going to look even more grown up to you! In case I don’t get to tell you before you go in to have him…Congratulations again and I’m praying for a safe and speedy delivery!

  6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! I let my little guy (approaching 3) paint his and it turned out to be a bit of a fabulous disaster. I will SO have to do this next year! Tons of fun and it and actually looks cute in the end. PS. My first time on your site, your son is adorbs!

  7. Hi Katie –

    I’m a regular viewer but irregular ‘commenter’. 🙂 I love seeing pictures of your son and your great ideas.

    Question (and an important one for me because I never comment): I love those tall planters with the beautiful fern plants. Are those real?

    I’ve been wanting to get some ferns for my front porch but wasn’t sure how well they do in the shade. Granted I live in Chicago so their ‘outdoor time’ will be short lived but it was a thought.

    Thank you so much and keep doing what you do! I love it!

  8. Katie you are freakin glowing! You look so beautiful in these pictures! Cutest belly bump ever award fo sho!

    Also, where did baby Will go?? He looks like a mini Jeremy with Katie eyes. 🙂

    Happy Halloween to the Bower clan 🙂

  11. Such a cute idea! My 3 year old thought the outside of the pumpkin was very cool, but the inside was deemed “too wet”! He’s also tool obsessed, so this would have been perfect.

    And as a side note, you think Will’s hands look like freaky big man hands now, just wait til you feel that new little munchkin’s hands from the outside. Not only will they be far more pleasant than “inside snuggle punches” as I called them, but that tiny person will make Will seem HUGE. My oldest was 22 months old when my twins were born and I swear he grew 2 feet while I was in the hospital. Complete insanity. It’s sad, but also so special to see your “baby” in the big brother role. 🙂

  15. If you think his hands look big now, wait until the new baby comes along 🙂 I can remember when my second baby came along I looked at my first born and was stunned that she seemed so unbelievably BIG and grown up to me. It was really quite shocking that in 24 hours I went from perceiving her as my “little baby girl” to suddenly seeing how big she was in comparison to her baby sister. Happy Halloween!!

  16. you need to get a pumpkin gutter, it’s like a whisk, but the “beater” parts are blades that carve out the inside of the pumpkin. It’s made for a drill. So much fun to use and so quick.

  18. What an awesome idea! The nails almost look like brads. Maybe I’ll grab a last minute pumpkin and do something similar. Thanks for the idea! 🙂

    P.S. – Love that last picture too! The lines of the fabric are such a cool background for the fall-y goodness 🙂

  19. My older kids are 4 and 3, obviously still not old enough for the knife. We had them gut their pumpkin brains and draw faces which their dad then cut out. The faces were so small in comparison to the large pumpkin, but they loved seeing their creation all lit up. The nail idea was great, I will file that away for next year 😉

  21. i wanted to tell you, i know you’re counting the days until baby #2 arrives and (based on what you’ve said) feeling huge…but you look GREAT!!
    have a great halloween 🙂

  22. what a great idea to hammer nails into the pumpkin! we got 5 pumpkins this year. i have a little obsession with carving pumpkins. our 3 year old painted one and i carved the others. so now we have darth vader, a unicorn, jack jack from the incredibles, and a cyclops monster gracing our front porch.

  26. It was really easy…1 cup seeds dried overnight…2 Tbls butter melted and some salt (called for a pinch but I used more!) and then mix and roast @ 300 degrees for 30 minutes.
    xo kb

  27. They are real and the ferns probably need to be brought inside now that it’s getting cold. Mine do fine in the shade (they were Boston ferns) and hopefully I can repot them next year here 🙂
    xo kb

  29. Great idea for boys!
    My lill boy has similar hair length…and i prolong giving him a haircut …they look good with their heads full than trimmed away. 🙂

  31. Wow Katie you look fabtastic!!! I actually forgot you were even pregnant when I first saw the first picture. I just had my baby in September and my belly was about twice that size. Seriously, you look wonderful. I certainly was not capable of sitting on the floor and bending over like you’re doing in these pictures. I hope you have a wonderful delivery!! From everything I’ve heard it’s usually much quicker and easier the second time around 🙂

  32. Love the pumpkin!
    This might be weird, but you cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin? We always made “lid” with the top…but the lids always end up not fitting well, so the bottom is probably a better idea. I wonder if this is a “regional” thing?

  33. Is 27 too old for this project? I love the look and the happy memories that you made. I agree that you are the pretty/cutest pregnant lady ever.

  34. Oooooh, love that idea! I may just have to do that as a last minute project. Also, you look amazing! Definitely not like your days away from your due date, that is for sure!

    Good luck with your VBAC- can’t wait to see Will’s Halloween costume and Will + Baby Bower photos!

  38. Katie-

    You seriously look wonderful! So beautiful!

    And Will – such a charmer. He is so adorable! Model toddler!!

  41. KB – I read your reply before reading the actual comment. Out of context you sound like dirrrty girl!

  43. Is anyone else dying of baby bump cuteness? Katie, you look great! You’ll have to be sure to notify your followers when baby #2 is coming!!

  45. I did the same thing when my 2nd son came along….I couldn’t believe how much bigger and older my 1st son looked!

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