As I was making these little pumpkin treat boxes, a James Whitcomb Riley poem kept streaming through my head: When the Frost is on the Punpkin'. I loved it when our teacher read it to us in primary school. It's homespun dialect describes everything I love about the Hoosier Autumn and inspired this little project.



I swear you're going to see this Greengrocer's Brown Bag cardstock in every project I make. I'm crazy nuts about it. It looks and feels just like a grocery bag - so perfect for my little berry basket.

With just a dab of crackling medium, some ink along the edges and a stapler, I modeled the berry basket off the baskets the orchards gave us to fill with their gorgeous fruits and vegetables. You can find the cut file (or template) here.


I filled the basket with teeny little pumpkins made from a bit of patterned paper and the Basis Dark Orange cardstock.



The cut file doesn't have instructions, but, even it if did, I modified the construction a bit to incorporate a twine and button pumpkin stem. So, here are some construction instructions. (Like my alliteration there?)

To make these pumpkin treat boxes you'll need:

• Silhouette SVG cut file for the pumpkin box (here),
• orange and green paper,
• brown twine,
• soft brown or kraft colored ink and sponge,
• two buttons,
• glue, and
• a yummy treat, like Rolos.

1. After you cut out the leaves and pumpkin shapes from the cut files, ink the edges of the pumpkin with a soft brown ink. Add a little frost (glitter) to the leaves of the pumpkin. I also ran my orange paper through a Dotted Swiss embossing folder for a nice warty gourd look.
2. Bend the creases of the pumpkin and gently push the bottom up, so the pumpkin can sit flat. Use Tombow Mono Liquid Glue on the tab to secure.
3. Lace some brown twine (at least 12" long) through the button. This will just keep the twine secure for the next step.
4. Thread both ends of the twine through the first pumpkin hole so the button is inside the pumpkin. Continue to thread the the twine through the button holes in a clockwise order. Before you finish threading through the last hole, don't forget to add your treat. Push the pumpkin top down, arrange and tie a knot in the twine to secure. 
5. Add the green top. Push down and tie a bow to the top. 
6. Thread the twine through the button, tie a couple of knots to secure, and trim the twine.

The basket of pumpkins will be a fun centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table. And, these little pumpkins will be perfect to put at the top of everyone's plate. Mom McClain started that tradition of putting little decorations at everyone's place setting.  She'd be tickled.

Don't forget that all Flavours Gourmet card is on sale.



That's all for me. Come holler at me at Catered Crop where there are just a few more details on this little project and the poem that inspired them. I'll see you later, punkins.