2x4 Wood Porch Pumpkins for Fall

These easy to make, large-scale 2x4 wood pumpkins will add beautiful presence to your porch this Fall! Read on and I'll show you how easy they are to make!
Fall porch with 2x4 wood pumpkins and plaid
 

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Did someone say pumpkins? 

I wanted something large scale to put on my front porch this fall and these 2x4 DIY pumpkins were just what my porch needed! Who can't use cute decor for their front porch, right? Like this new fall wreath I just made from dollar store supplies? 

I went online and found lots of reclaimed wood pumpkin ideas to inspire me. My wood pumpkins are far from perfect, but I love their quirks and uniqueness. They are the perfect finishing touch to any Fall porch and such an easy DIY! 😃

Fall is my favorite season! The changing leaves, crisp air and gimme me all the pumpkins!

If you've been following me for any length of time, you'll likely have seen my dollar store thrifty antiqued pumpkins, or my white-washed pumpkins, or my personal favorite, my adorable pumpkins made from sweater sleeves.

I can't forget about the time I painted my own pumpkin pillows, or painted grocery store pumpkins with copper paint. Or the easy and removable houndstooth pumpkin pillow design I made! But to date, I have never made any pumpkins from 2x4s! Or anything else from 2x4s for that matter.

Until today.

Today I made 2x4 porch pumpkins all by myself...Mr DIY usually does any chopping or cutting, but I handled this project myself. If I could do it, you can too! I'll walk you through it, step by step!

Let's go!

HOW TO MAKE 2x4 PUMPKINS

This project is not an exact science! There are no exact measurements included. But that's what makes this DIY 2x4 pumpkin project so much fun! You can't really mess this up! These 2x4 pumpkins will be beautiful even with quirks and imperfections!

My finished pumpkins measure 17.5" wide x 21" tall and 21" wide x 30" tall; that's including the bases and stems. But you can make them any size that works for your porch.

Mark pumpkin shape on 2x4s

I started by laying my 2x4s out side by side and lightly tracing a pumpkin-ish shape onto them. Can you see the pencil marks in the picture below?

mark a pumpkin shape onto wood

I say "pumpkin-ish" because this was my first time attempting to cut a shape out of wood. 2x4s are 2" thick, and I wasn't sure how the jigsaw would cut through that, so I decided to make the cuts with our chop saw. Obviously chop saws don't cut rounded edges...hahaha. Read on and I'll show you how I faked it.

Cut wood

Here are the 2 rough-looking pumpkin-ish shapes that I cut. To make it easiest, I adjusted my cut line based on the cut of the first piece. The pumpkin pieces are not attached at this point, simply cut out!

cut out pumpkin

Cut rough pumpkin shape from 2x4s

Sand and round edges

Don't skip this step! Sanding is where the magic happens! You get to soften and smooth all the rough edges and splintery things, and you can even round the edges somewhat with a sander.

Here's what I mean. Can you tell the difference between the first two boards and the last one?

sand and round edges smooth

I used a brand new piece of 80 grit sandpaper to make this job quick and easy!

80 grit sandpaper on a palm sander

Glue pumpkin pieces together

Once both my pumpkins had their edges nicely smoothed and shaped, I brought them inside (thank God for air conditioning!) to glue them together!

I discovered we didn't have any large clamps, but Mr DIY is a handy dandy hubby and he used rachet straps to hold the pumpkins together while the glue dried. 

By the way, this wood glue is a rock star! It is good for indoor and outdoor use, and it holds strong and dries very quickly! In 30 minutes I was moving my pumpkins back outside to stain them!

glue pieces together and strap or clamp together

Unleash your creativity - paint the wood pumpkins

The best part of making your own home decor is that you have full say as far as design and color! I knew I wanted my 2x4 pumpkins to have a layered, worn look, so I experimented with stain and paint. These are some of the items I considered using.

stain and paint choices

I started with a dark stain as a base coat, followed by dry brushing chalk paint over the top. Stain needs time to dry, so I had to wait until the next day to finish these.

dark stain on pumpkin cut out

The stain looked amazing, but I really wanted a layered look, so I kept going. I added a heavy coat of white chalk paint on the smaller of the two wood pumpkins, distressing the edges with my sander once the paint had fully dried. See how the brown stain is peeking through?

chalk paint layer over stain

Here's a close up look at the large pumpkin. You can see that I left more brown showing, and on top of the white paint I added just a touch of minty sea glass paint. A cheap chip brush with stiff bristles will help you achieve that cross hatch look. 

close up of stain and chalk paint layers

Just a note here for all the perfectionists - you don't want these pumpkins to look too perfect! They definitely have more character when you don't overthink it. Use the electric sander to remove paint, and if you take off too much, just add some back.

Be careful not to sand too heavily and get down to the bare wood!

Cut stems and bases for the porch pumpkins

Initially I planned on using branch pieces for my stems. I picked some from the backyard and even went so far as to cut them to size, but I wasn't loving how they looked.

So instead, I grabbed a small piece of scrap wood and hand drew some simple stem shapes and then Mr DIY cut them out with our jig saw. This is one tool that I really want to learn how to use this year! I have so many ideas in my head!

cut out a stem shape

Although the pumpkins stand up on their own, I wanted to give them a sturdy base so they'd stay upright in a strong wind. I simply cut some of the remaining 2x4 boards into pieces and they got a coat of dark stain, along with the stems. Once the stain dried, I glued all my pieces together with that awesome wood glue I mentioned earlier!

apply stain and let dry

And just like that, we have beautiful and large 2x4 porch pumpkins that really make a great statement for Fall on our front porch!

Fall porch with wood pumpkins, plaid throw and rocking chairs

I love the large scale of these pumpkins, they add such presence to the porch! Best of all, they cost less than $10 each to make! How's that for a thrifty DIY project?

wood pumpkins on fall porch

I am so happy to be finished with these wood pumpkins! It was a billion degrees outside while I was making them, so I have no plans for any more outdoor projects until our heat wave subsides!!!

2x4 large wood pumpkin

Fall porch with wood pumpkins,  plaid throw and rockers


white washed wood pumpkin
I'd love to know what you think of my 2x4 porch pumpkins and if you have any questions about this DIY, be sure to ask me in the comments! I am usually working on several DIY projects and crafts at a time, and have lots of favorite tools that I rely on. You can SHOP MY FAVES here for tools as well as beautiful decor and accessory ideas for your home!

Supplies to make 2x4 pumpkins

*always wear proper protection when working with power tools!

Don't forget to PIN THIS IMAGE for future reference!

wood porch pumpkins

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Comments

  1. I love this project and I would love to make these for my porch. These pumpkins make me want to decorate for fall very soon.

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    Replies
    1. Hope you try this project Sherry! And fingers crossed the weather cools down soon!!

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  2. Cindy these pumpkins are great! I love that you made them each a bit different. So many ways to paint them and add embellishments here or there if you want.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, yes they'd be so easy to personalize for your style!

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  3. I really LOVE the pumpkins!! They look wonderful on your porch!

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  4. WOW, I can't believe glue held those together! Your hubby was so creative with his use of ratchet straps... I finally had to break down and go buy a large clamp. Your pumpkins turned out so cute, I love how you cut them a organically so they're not perfectly symmetrical.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Betsy, they really turned out even better than I was hoping! And yes, that glue is the bomb!!! 😉

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  5. Love the pumpkins! Think I will try them but leave them stained and paint jack o lantern faces on them :}. I am a Halloween freak,lol! Thanks for the know how! And yayyyy for you taking a long desrved break!!!! The pics are amazzzinggg!!!

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    1. You are so sweet Sandra! Your ideas sound great, make sure to send me a pic of your finished Jack o lanterns! xx

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  6. Cindy I don't see my first comment so forgive me if I end up commenting twice here, but I love your 2x4 project! I don't have any outdoor fall decor anymore since my kids got older and I love this one - definitely have to make these! So fun and cute!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lisa, I was in the same boat! I can see these lasting many years!

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  7. Ooooh Cindy, these are gorgeous!! I can't believe it was your first time cutting. They look absolutely stunning :)

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  8. Absolutely stunning... I can't wait to try it this weekend.

    Many thanks for sharing!

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  9. These are so cute! Great idea!

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  10. I'm SOOO going to make some. I tried making really large cement pumpkins for outdoors but couldn't get them large enough. This will be perfect. Thanks for the great project idea and detailed instructions!��

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    Replies
    1. Awesome, I'm so glad you enjoyed this project! You can make your 2x4 pumpkins as large as you want!

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