Use Pool Noodles To Craft The Most Adorable Fall Decor On A Dollar Tree Budget

For many, the first inkling of autumn means a rush into the spooky season and Halloween decor. However, not everyone is in love with the idea of dedicating the entire season to the year's creepiest holiday. If you happen to be someone who appreciates fall for the glorious, chilly, pumpkin-spiced color show that it is, you can decorate for the season without necessarily incorporating the macabre. Those who aren't yet ready to get inspired for Halloween can consider exhibit A: cutesy little DIY pumpkin decorations made out of Dollar Tree pool noodles.

All you need to make several of these decorative, festive foam gourds is an orange pool noodle, a green pool noodle, strong glue, and a sharp utility or craft knife. Each pumpkin requires only small sections of the pool noodle, making this an incredibly cost-effective craft for creating fall decor on a budget. A hot glue gun can be used as your adhesive, but only on its low setting. Gather your supplies, and get ready for the cuteness to begin. 

Creating decorative mini pumpkins using pool noodles is remarkably easy. Start by cutting three 2-to-3-inch slices of orange pool noodle. Then, cut a slit through two of those slices. Open each slit piece, creating C shapes, and place one C shape on each side of the uncut slice, resulting in a pumpkin with two sides and one center. Next, cut a small piece of green pool noodle to serve as a stem. Glue all the pieces in place, and your first pumpkin is complete. Repeat the process until you've used up all of the orange pool noodle.

Can't find pool noodles in orange or green? Feel free to get creative. Any color pool noodle can work; you can even use the ones you have sitting in your garage. Just grab some acrylic paint, and create any color you desire for your pumpkins and stems. Or paint your finished pumpkins with metallic or glitter spray paint for a more sophisticated fall vibe (put your can of spray paint in hot water before you paint, and thank us later). You can grab a warm, autumnal metallic-gold spray paint by Krylon on Amazon for $6.98.