repurposed bundt pan pumpkin

The idea of taking unexpected like a bundt pan….and turning it into a pumpkin just puts a smile on my face! It’s really a pretty simple thing to do since the bundt pan has such a pumpkin shape haha!

When I go thift shopping, I’m always on the lookout for stuff like old bundt pans & spindles. I absolutely LOVE seeing things made out of unexpected items, especially those that may have no future purpose anyway!! Trash to treasure ya know!!

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Here are the SUPPLIES I used to make this one:

• Bundt Pan
• Chalk Paint (various orange colors+brown)
• Paper Plate
• 2-3 paint brushes
• Slick Slick metal primer
• White Lightning Cleaner/degreaser
• Lint-free cloth/rag
• Sanding Block
• Spray Sealer
• Spindle for the stem
• Greenery
• Wire Cutters
• Scissors
• Ripped Fabric
• Drill, Mason Jar Lid, Screw, E6000 Glue, Hot Glue (if you choose to attach spindle like I did)

Once you do find a bundt pan you want to turn into your pumpkin, the very first step is to give it a good degreasing. I mean our moms and grandmas did use these to make some delish cakes lol.

Dixie Belle makes this product called White Lightning & it’s perfect for degreasing surfaces! You just mix the granules with warm water and use a rag to wash the pans. Then use a clean rag with water to rinse any residue. Once it’s dry, it’s time to paint on the slick stick bonding primer!

Now, you could probably opt to skip this step if you’re making for yourself, but I did at one point make many of these to sell in my store and I always wanted to take extra steps to ensure the paint would never flake off.

If you do decide to prime them, here’s how the Dixie Belle Slick Stick works. Paint on one coat, let dry 1-2 hours, then paint another coat, leaving overnight or at least 6-8 hours of dry time. Once it cures, your paint will adhere even better!

The Dixie Belle chalk paint colors I chose were “Terracotta”, “Florida Orange”, & “Rusty Nail”. I put most terracotta on my paper plate, and then a smidge of Florida Orange & Rusty Nail to wet blend in the Terracotta while it’s still wet. Paint on desired number of coats, but one coat worked great for me on this project!! If you opt out of priming, you may need 2 coats of paint! I also like to brush on a little “coffee bean” paint color to give it an extra rustic touch!

After your paint is all dry, you’ll need to deside if you want to distress with a sanding block. I love a distressed look, so I did distress mine and love the white of the slick stick peeking through!

Dust off the powder created from distressing, then give it extra protection by spraying on a clear coat. I just use the satin or gloss sheen finish, Krylon or Rustoleum brand. Sealing is again an extra step I take to protect the paint. If you like the matte look of the chalk paint, it should be just fine to skip this step.

Now that your pumpkin is all painted, I’ll explain to you how I created and attached my spindle stem. I always have a stash of spindles in my studio for projects just like these!

Find or cut a spindle that will fit just right down into the center of the bundt pan, but also sticking out so you could add your greenery & embellishments.

Before you permanently attach to budnt pan, if it’s not already brown, use a little brown chalk paint to paint the stem. I used the color “Chocolate” by Dixie Belle. Next step is attaching it! Now I also want to point out that you can use lots of things as a stem, a thick branch would be cute too!

The tricky part about using the something that will go through the hole of the budnt pan, is finding a way to secure it……that’s where the mason jar lid comes in.

I simply drilled a tiny hold in the bottom of spindle and drilled a hole in the center of the mason jar lid (you may want to use a wood block underneath the mason lid while drilling hole).

Next step would be to use a screw to attach the mason lid to the spindle. For extra measure, you can use a little E6000+hot glue to attach the mason lid to the bundt pan. (E6000 on hand is crafting must-have!!) It’s so cool how that works to perfect attach the stem to the pumpkin! This is yet another step I personally take to ensure it’s made well, but you might could find an easier way to keep the stem in place.

Now the super fun & easy part is dressing it up by using a little ripped fabric & greenery! Use wire cutters to snip your favorite parts off your greenery stalk and then scissors to cut your ripped fabric! Tie it all on & attach and your work is done!!!

Now while this tutorial shows you how to use one bundt pan, a fun variation could be attaching 2 pumpkins together to make an even more realistic looking pumpkin! Just attach the 2 pumpkins with some industrial glue! You could also use those cutie mini bundt pans too!

This project adds such a unique fall charm to your decorating! Let me know if you give it a whirl!!