Pumpkin Doorway Arch

Happy Halloween! Hello. I was feeling ambitious this year, so I decided to build an arch around my front door using foam craft pumpkins. It took me about eight hours to make by myself. I would highly recommend having someone to help. It was a fun project to build and I was very pleased with the outcome.

Supply List

• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• 3/4 inch Pvc tubing (depending on door height you will need about 62 feet of tubing)
• 4 3/4 inch Pvc 3 way elbow
• 16 3/4 inch Pvc S x S x S Tee fitting (T shaped Pvc)
• 1 inch Screws
• 36 feet Garland
• 26 foam Pumpkins
• Pumpkin cutter tool or knife
• 2 bags Cement
• 4 concrete blocks
• Saw
• Drill
• Hole Saw Drill bit
• 3 boxes 100 Purple to Orange LED lights
• Zip ties

Get out the measuring tape. First, I had to decide where I wanted the sides of the arch to go. My front porch has a light fixture on the left side of the door, so I had to build around it. The other side had to go around the handrail so there is a foot and a half size difference between the sides of my arch. For a normal door, you would measure from the ground to two inches above the door. Then I would add an additional height for the top row of pumpkins which is about 3/4 the height of the top row of pumpkins. For the pumpkins I used, I had to add eight inches. You might have to add short pieces of PVC to the side sections to adjust for the height for the top section later.

1.First, I took the PVC pipe and cut 4 pieces to be 3 feet long. Then, I cut 2 pieces to be eight inches long and I connected them together using the T shaped PVC pieces. I also added T shaped pieces to the bottom of the PVC poles. I placed the PVC pieces into the concrete blocks. I mixed concrete in a bucket and poured it into the blocks. I made my concrete more on the thick side. Be sure to wear proper safety equipment when working with cement. I wear gloves and a face mask. Follow instructions on cement for dry times.

So now you are basically making a ladder shape out of PVC. You should have three ladder shapes. About every three feet I would add a cross piece. For the top piece I would use 4 three way elbow pieces at the corners. I predrilled screw holes through joints because it is easier to do before the pumpkins are added.

Using a drill with the hole saw drill bit, cut holes from the bottom to the top of the pumpkin. I wore a face mask while doing this. The holes you drill don't have to be straight up and down. It looks better if there are some pumpkins that are leaning a bit. You will have to take your PVC pipes apart to do this. Then I started to insert the PVC through the pumpkins. I had to work in sections starting from the bottom. Do this for the two sides of the arch.

For the pumpkins going on the top PVC ladder piece, you are going to want to cut holes 3/4 up from the bottom of the pumpkin. These holes will be on the sides of the pumpkin. If you cut holes to low, your pumpkin won't hang right. They will start to spin downward.

I also drilled a small hole in the bottom of each pumpkin so if it is outside and it rains, the water will run out the bottom.

Using a knife or cutting tool start to cut faces into the pumpkins. I would recommend cutting different faces.

Using the drill with hole saw drill bit, cut two holes in the back of each pumpkin. These holes are used to run a string of lights through each pumpkin. Be sure to plug in the lights first to make sure they work before continuing. I used a clothes hanger to help pull the string of lights through each pumpkin. I used one strand per side and one strand for the top section.

This part may take two or more people. I used a dolly to move the two side pumpkin sections into position. Then using two people attach the top section to the bottom two side sections. If everything aligns alright and no adjustments are needed screw the top PVC tube to the bottom sections. Then go ahead and put screws through all the PVC joints using the predrilled holes from earlier.

I took garland and weaved it around the pumpkins mainly to hide the PVC tubing. I attached it to the PVC by using zip ties.

Plug it in and you are all set. Hope you had fun and thanks for watching! Be sure to like and subscribe!