Fall DIY Decor: Painted Wood Slice Pumpkins
Fall DIY crafts are some of our favorite projects of the year, and these painted wood slice pumpkins are easy, and so much fun to make. Paint a set in fall colors for your mantel or shelf, or make a family of jack-o’-lanterns for the front steps. Same wood slices, same method, two looks.
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Skill level: Beginner Active time: 2 to 3 hours, plus drying time between coats Cost: $20 to $50 per pack of wood slices, plus paint Best for: Shelves, mantels, hearths, entryways, kitchen counters, front steps, garden beds
How to Prep Wood Slices for DIY Pumpkin Decor
You can cut your own rings or buy them on Amazon. If you cut your own from a log, you need a chainsaw or a large miter saw, and the slices have to dry for several months before you paint them, or they’ll crack as they shrink. Buying them is faster, and the slices come sanded and dried.
For sizes, anything works from 4 to 5 inch mini pumpkins up to the 11 to 12 inch slices we used for the “parent” jack-o’-lanterns. For indoor sets on a shelf or mantel, smaller slices fit better. See more on sizes in each version below.
Rustic Wood Slices Inc. 11 to 12 inch
Pine bark can come loose in shipping. Plan to glue a few pieces back on.
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Classic Fall Decor: Painted Wood Slice Pumpkins in Fall Colors
You can leave the slices natural, but we’d paint them. Orange, white, and black are the classic set. For something different, try fall colors like dark crimson and sage or forest green. Add curved lines down the face of each one for pumpkin ribs if you like. Then group them together in mixed sizes.
A few ways to paint them:
Solid colors. Two coats, bark left natural. The quickest version.
Curved rib lines. After the base coat, paint thin curved lines from the stem to the bottom, like parentheses, two or three on each side of center. Use a darker shade of the base color or brown.
Whitewashed. The grain and rings stay visible through a thin layer of white. It gives the set a lighter piece, so the colors don’t all look the same weight.
Plaid. Crossed bands of orange and brown on a cream base. Put plaid on one of your bigger slices, since the pattern needs room to show.
Natural. No paint at all, just a clear sealer. Pine turns a warm orange-tan.
For a shelf or mantel, a set of five or six in two or three sizes looks full without crowding. Big ones in back, small ones in front, overlapping by a few inches.
Fun Halloween DIY Decor: Jack-o’-Lantern Family Wood Slices
Same concept, with faces. We made two parents at 11 to 12 inches and two kids at 7 to 8 inches.
Paint the slices orange, or leave one or two natural, and paint the faces in black or dark brown. Give each one a different face: triangle eyes on one, happy arched eyes on another, a gap-toothed grin.
We made ours for outdoors, so they have a stake on the back and sit in the garden bed by the front steps. You could also lean them indoors on a hearth, in an entryway, or against the backsplash on the kitchen counter.
Stems, Tendrils, and Accents
Stems. Branch pieces from the yard or a bundle of craft twigs, about 2 inches long for minis and up to 5 inches for the big ones. Pieces with a slight bend or a knot look more like real stems.
Tendrils. 18 or 20 gauge craft wire in brown, black, or a rusted finish, coiled around a pencil.
Accents (optional). A faux leaf, a sprig of eucalyptus, or a mini pinecone at the base of the stem.
Indoors or Outdoors
Indoors, lean them against a wall, the backsplash, or each other. The flat bottom (step 2) keeps them from rolling sideways. A matte sealer is enough.
Outdoors, lean them in a sheltered spot, like against the front steps or the porch wall. In an open spot, wind will knock them over, so stake them (step 9). Seal every surface with exterior spar urethane. Wood slices soak up water through the back and edges, then crack as they dry out again. Sealed, they’ll get through the season.
Materials for Painted Wood Slice Pumpkins
- Wood slices with bark, in two or three sizes
- Hand saw or miter saw, plus a clamp
- Sandpaper, 120 and 220 grit
- Acrylic or chalk paint in your colors, plus black or dark brown for faces and rib lines
- Flat brush and a small detail brush
- Painter’s tape (for plaid)
- Pencil, or a printed jack-o’-lantern template
- Branch pieces for stems
- 18 or 20 gauge craft wire
- Glue: hot glue indoors; exterior construction adhesive outdoors
- Sealer: matte spray sealer indoors; exterior spar urethane outdoors
For staking (outdoor):
- Back stake: 1×2 furring strip, cut to 18 inches for big pumpkins and 10 to 12 inches for small; drill; 1 inch wood screws
- Skinny stake: drill with a 1/4 inch bit; 1/4 inch dowel or steel rod, 12 to 14 inches long
Instructions to make painted wood slice pumpkins
1. Sand and prep
Sand the front face with 120 grit, then 220. Wipe off the dust. Press around the bark with your thumb and glue down any loose pieces with wood glue.
2. Cut a flat bottom
Choose which side is the bottom. If your slice has a predrilled hanging hole, turn it to the top. Mark a straight line about 1/2 inch up from the lowest point of the bark. Clamp the slice and saw along the line. On a 12 inch slice this leaves a flat about 4 1/2 inches wide. On minis, you can skip the saw: lay sandpaper flat on the table and rub the bottom edge across it until you have a flat spot about an inch long.
3. Paint the base
Two coats on the front face, letting the first dry before the second. Use the detail brush along the bark edge so paint stops at the bark. For outdoor pumpkins, give the back one coat too.
You can also whitewash: mix white paint and water about 1 to 1, brush it on, and wipe it back with a rag after a minute so the grain shows.
For plaid, paint a cream base and let it dry for a couple of hours. Tape off vertical bands with 1 inch painter’s tape, paint the gaps with orange thinned with a little water, and peel the tape while the paint is still slightly wet. When it’s dry, repeat horizontally. The squares where the bands cross come out darker. Add thin brown lines with narrow tape or the detail brush.
4. Add rib lines or faces
Let the base dry completely.
Classic: paint the curved rib lines with the detail brush, starting at the top and curving out and back in to the bottom.
Jack-o’-lanterns: sketch or trace the face in pencil. Fill it in with the detail brush, outlines first, then the centers. Two coats of black or dark brown.
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5. Attach the stems
Glue the stem to the back of the slice at the top, centered, so it sticks up above the bark. Use hot glue indoors. For outdoors, use exterior construction adhesive and let it cure overnight.
6. Make and attach the tendrils
Cut 8 to 12 inches of wire. Wrap it tightly around a pencil, slide it off, and pull the ends to loosen the coil. Wrap one end twice around the base of the stem and glue it. If your slice has a predrilled hole, thread the end through it from the back instead. Bend the loose end so it curls out over the face.
7. Add accents
Glue a leaf, a sprig of eucalyptus, or a pinecone at the base of the stem.
8. Seal
Indoors: matte spray sealer on the front and bark.
Outdoors: two to three coats of exterior spar urethane on the front, back, every edge, and the bark. Let each coat dry per the can.
9. Stake (outdoor, optional)
Back stake: Hold the 1×2 against the back of the slice, centered, with the top of the stake a few inches below the stem. Glue it with exterior construction adhesive, then drive two 1 inch screws from the back through the stake into the slice. Don’t use longer screws, or the tips can come through the front. Let it cure overnight. Push the stake 6 to 8 inches into the soil.
Skinny stake (slices 1/2 inch or thicker): Mark the center of the thickness on the flat bottom. Drill a 1/4 inch hole straight up, about 1 1/2 inches deep, slowly and keeping the bit centered. Glue in the dowel or rod with exterior construction adhesive and let it cure overnight. Push it into the soil until the bottom of the slice sits just above the mulch.
10. Set them up
Big ones in back, small ones in front and a little to the side, overlapping so they lean on each other.
Troubleshooting when making painted wood slice pumpkins
- Pumpkin rolls sideways when leaning: the bottom isn’t flat. Rub it across sandpaper laid flat on a table until it sits level.
- Rib lines look stiff: paint them in one stroke each, pulling the brush from top to bottom. Stopping and starting leaves blobs.
- Faces look uneven: trace a printed template instead of drawing freehand.
- Paint bled under the tape: paint the tape edges with the base color first, then the stripe color.
- Knocked over outside: the spot is too windy for leaning. Stake it.
- Stem fell off outside: hot glue doesn’t hold in heat or cold. Reattach with exterior construction adhesive.
- Wood split when drilling the bottom edge: the slice is too thin or the bit drifted off center. Use a back stake on that one.
- Bark flaking off: glue loose pieces with wood glue, then seal over it.
FAQs About Painted Wood Slice Pumpkins
What size wood slices do I need for wood slice pumpkins? Anything from 4 to 5 inch minis up to 11 to 12 inches. For a shelf or mantel set, mix two or three sizes. For a jack-o’-lantern family, we used two at 11 to 12 inches and two at 7 to 8 inches.
Can I cut my own wood slices? Yes, with a chainsaw or large miter saw, but freshly cut slices need to dry for several months before painting or they’ll crack.
How do you make wood slice pumpkins stand up? Cut a flat on the bottom and lean them against a wall, the backsplash, or each other. Outdoors, stake them.
How do you attach a stem to a wood slice? Glue a branch piece to the back of the slice at the top so it sticks up above the bark.
What colors should I paint wood slice pumpkins? Orange, white, and black for a classic set, or fall colors like dark crimson and green. Leave one or two natural to mix in.
Can wood slice pumpkins go outside? Yes, if you seal the front, back, and every edge with exterior spar urethane and use exterior construction adhesive instead of hot glue.
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