by Jessi Wohlwend
Are you carving pumpkins this year for Halloween? One of my readers sent me a simple-looking idea for making scented pumpkins, so we tried it out last weekend. Turns out it totally works and makes your house smell amazing!
This was the first pumpkin JM has ever carved. WHAT?! How did he get to be 24 without ever carving a pumpkin?! Anyway, it was a very fun experience teaching my husband how to carve a pumpkin. 🙂
Fall Scented Pumpkins:
You only need a few things to make your house smell wonderful:
- a carved pumpkin
- a votive candle
- cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice (or any spices whose scent you love)
Step 1 is to carve your pumpkin. JM just wanted a regular jack-o-lantern face, and I chose a fun little house.
NOTE: This trick still works even if you cut a hole in the bottom of your pumpkin to scoop out the insides rather than cutting the lid off.
Once your pumpkin is carved, take about 1 tsp of spices and rub them on the lid of your pumpkin. I used about ½ t of cinnamon and ½ t of nutmeg for each of these pumpkins.
Light your candle, put the lid back on, and you’re done. The heat of the candle warms the spices and the delicious scents permeate your house! As Marylou said “Your home and entryway will soon begin to have that warm scent of fall and everyone will think you have been baking all day.” Perfect!
Another simple way to make your house smell delicious is with a simmer pot. I shared a simmer pot recipe last week, but this is just as easy and you get a fun carved pumpkin out of the deal as well!
We put the pumpkins up on top of a bookshelf to try to keep them out of the cats’ reach. Seems to work so far!
So what about you, are you carving pumpkins this year? Have you ever used spices to make your home smell fabulous? If you’re looking for some other great fall crafts, recipes, and decor ideas, you can check out the rest of my fall posts here!
I link up at these awesome parties!
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime says
This is a GREAT idea!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Thanks for linking up at Romance on a dime!
Tauni says
What a clever trick. I LOVE this idea. Thanks for sharing on Show & Tell at SNAP! xoxo.
Michelle says
I carve pumpkins every year, but you know – I never thought to put spices inside them! I MUST do that this year!
I would love to invite you to post this over at my link party on The Purple Pumpkin Blog! Hope to see you there 🙂
Michelle xoxo
Lisa/Fresh Eggs Daily Farm Girl says
Oooh I love this ! How creative! I am a new fan. I found you through DIY Dreamer and hope you’ll come link up to my weekly blog fest. Lisa/Fresh Eggs Daily http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/10/farm-girl-blog-fest-5.html
K @ Claiming Our Space says
Your pumpkins looks great! We can’t carve ours since the ones outside would be eaten by the chipmunks and squirrels and the ones inside would be eaten by Willow. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on Tout It Tuesday! Hope to see you next week.
Emily says
Both pumpkins look great! I will have to try this tip – I love a strong fall scent.
Audrey says
The pumpkins look great! Nice job with the carving (especially for a rookie, JM).
Jessi says
Thanks Mom! And yeah, I think his little pumpkin looks great!
katherine says
awesome idea! I saw this on Adventures of a DIY mom
http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/
Katie says
WHAT. What the WHAT. That is absolutely GENIUS!!!! We’ll have to do this with the pumpkin this year. ^_^
And the DDH had never carved a pumpkin until college. So maybe he was younger than JM, but still.
Jessi says
Yeah, totally genius! She left that comment back in July and I was like “Oh man, I probably can’t even find a pumpkin until like September at the earliest…” 🙂
PJ says
Im almost 30 and I dont think Ive ever carved a pumpkin
Jessi says
What, crazy! Growing up, my dad helped my brother and I carve pumpkins every year, so I guess I just sort of assumed everyone did it. 🙂