Dual-Sided Pumpkin/Snowman Decoration

A decoration that you can keep out for half the year!

One side is fall - pumpkin inspired and the reverse side is winter - snow man. I saw something like this at a holiday craft fair last year and thought I would give it a go myself as it is such a cute idea.

Note: This was not made for outdoor use because of the paints I used, but you can use sealer or outdoor paints for yours if that is what you choose.

2 10-Inch Flat Round Log Slices

1 8-Inch Flat Round Log Slice

1 6-Inch Flat Round Log Slice

Black Paint

Orange Paint

Brown Paint

White Paint

Fake Fall Leaves

1 Felt Doll Top Hat

Small Piece of Ribbon or Fabric ( This is for the snowman scarf, so if you have extra fabric laying around or ribbon, good chance to use it on this project)

Wood Glue

Small Wooden Dowels

Paint Brushes

Drill to make holes for the dowels.

Note: This project in total cost me $26. I got stuff on sale or with coupons at craft stores and we have a place in town that I could get the log slices pretty cheap. Amazon has them at a decent price as well.

I started with the snowman side. It's nice and easy, no mixing paint colors required. Just grabbed the white paint, the smallest 6-Inch log, a plastic cup to put the paint in (Easy to rinse out and reuse and I had some left over from a get BBQ.) and a brush and paint your first layer. I left a little space between the bark and the paint because I like the rustic log look too, but you can paint all the way up to the bark if you would like.

The great thing about this project is not all snowman and pumpkins are shaped the same or perfectly round so you don't have to be a pro!

I continued this step with the 8-Inch and 10-Inch log next, getting that first coat of white paint on.

With the snowman side, one coat of white paint doesn't quite cut it. You could still see some tan showing through so I added a second coat to all 3 logs. You will have to play this by ear and go with as many coats as you like with the types of wood you are working with. Mine only needed the two coats.

Once my second coat dried, I lined up the logs to how I thought they fit best so that I could make sure the detail was facing the right directions.

Grab you black paint, a small brush, and plastic cup and start detailing the snowman logs.

The 10-Inch log base snowball stayed plain white. I then added three buttons to the middle 8-Inch log.

Moving up to the smallest 6-Inch top log, I added the eyes next, leaving a smidge of white uncovered for a gleaming look.

Next was the mouth, smaller little dots to form the smile.

Lastly, his carrot nose.

After painting the base orange carrot, I then added a tad bit of white to the orange for a lighter color. I used that to add some striping and highlighted the top of his nose just to help it pop a bit. Hard to see in the photos, but it looks good in person!

Now your snowman painting is complete!

For the pumpkin color I used the orange paint with a few drops of the brown so that it has that burnt orange natural pumpkin color. Not super bright.

After the snowman side has dried and your color is mixed, flip the logs over for painting the pumpkins!

Try to be careful when flipping and keep them lined up with how you want your snowman set up so that you don't have anything wonky. Although, having the pumpkins facing different directions really isn't bad. It ends up looking just as cute.

Use the burnt orange and paint the pumpkins on each log. Leaving a little indent/curve of where you want the stem to be painted.

Because pumpkins come in all sorts of shapes, you can't go wrong with this step either, you could also play around with different shades.

Note: This color was much darker and only took me one coat unlike the snowman base side. You will again have to play this by ear. The colors and wood you choose may need more coats.

With the left over orange I had, I added a little more brown paint to make a slightly deeper/darker color for the detailing.

Use this darker orange to add in some curved striping (See Photos) so it looks like there is some texture to your pumpkins.

Time for the stems!

I used the brown paint to outline the stem over the indent/curve I left when I first painted the pumpkin

I then went back in and filled it with random length brush strokes to make it look natural. See photos.

Once the stem has dried, mix a darker brown coloring by added a drop or two of the black.

I used this color to paint little random lines throughout the stem and across the top of the stem to create definition and have the top of the stem pop out from the color of the bark.

With that the painting portion of this project is complete! Let it dry - next step, building!

Grab a drill, the dowels - matching the bit to the size of the dowel. (Mine were 1/4 Inch.) You will also need a tape measurers, something to mark your board with and wood glue.

Grab the 2nd, unpainted 10-Inch log. This will be the base of your stand.

Start by marking the places you want your dowels. I put mine 1-Inch apart.

Once you have marked where you want your holes/dowels and everything looks good, grab your drill and make your holes.

Careful not to goo too deep. You want to go half the length of your dowels. If you need to just drill a little at a time and fit the dowel until it looks good.

After you have the correct sized holes drilled, put some wood glue in and then place the dowels.

Next, grab the painted 10 Inch bottom log and measure the same space apart as the dowels you set in the base. I set mine 1 Inch apart. Drill matching holes for the dowels to insert. Put some wood glue into these holes as well.

Place onto the dowels on the base log and gently press down to fit it. See photos. First layer built!

Next, find the center of the top of the first log and mark where you want to drill the hole for the dowel.

Drill hole and put wood glue in before inserting dowel.

For the middle 8-Inch log you will need to drill a hole on both the top and bottom. Find the center of each, mark with a pen to see. Drill and wood glue.

After completed, gently press into the dowel from the first log until bark sides meet.

Place a dowel in the top on the middle log for the last 6-Inch log to be placed on.

See photos for reference.

After you have finished your build, see first photo - it is time to add the last little details that give this decoration personality.

First up is the snowman scarf. I was able to find some cute cheap scrap to use. I cute a little length of fabric and cut some frays to the end, then fitted it around the snowman's head to check that I liked the length. You can also use ribbon as well, wouldn't take as many steps. Whatever you have on hand!

I fit the scarf, then pulled it as tight as I could around the base of his head so that on the pumpkin side, there was barely any scarf showing. (See last photo for reference). I then tied a little knot and done!

Flip to the pumpkin side.

For the pumpkin side, I was able to grab some fall leaf bunches (BOGO Free) at hobby lobby on sale. It was nice, I was able to get two different color schemes. I cut all the leaves off the larger stem. I then used them to cover up the back of the snowman scarf and scattered them around to where I thought looked best.

I used the wood glue and some clamps to keep them in place as they dried.

See photos.

The last step was the snowman's hat. You don't want to make this permanent since it doesn't go with the pumpkins. I was lucky enough to have a bump of bark that stuck out I could set it on, but you may need something more secure for yours, especially with kids and pets.

I suggest either another dowel that you don't glue, so you can remove it with the hat. Or a bit of Velcro that you put on the top of the log and the hat. And potentially one of the fall leaves to switch out between the hat and leaf and hide the Velcro.

After that, the project is completed. Enjoy a fun decoration for half the year that you can flip around and change depending on the season.

Thank you for checking out this Instructable. I hope you liked it and be sure to share if you build one of your own!