Don't like ghoulish designs? Celebrate Halloween with stylish fabric pumpkins instead!

What you need...

• Fabric: cotton, orange; aida, 14-count, white
  
• Threads: machine, co-ordinating; stranded, DMC
  
• Stamp, Whimsy Vintage Seed Packet
  
• Felt, green
  
• Stuffing, polyester
  
• Tapestry needle, size 26
  
• Blank, cream, 10cm x 12.5cm
  
• Papers, patterned
  
• Ribbon: adhesive, striped, green; raffia
  
• Ink-pad, brown
  
• Paper roses, orange
  
• Brad, square
  
• Eyelets, brown
  
• Adhesives

instructions

1. Pumpkin Pincushion - 1 Place two pieces of orange cotton together with right sides facing, then draw a circle onto one using a plate, mug or bowl, depending on the desired size. Stitch the disc twice, leaving a small gap.
   
   2 Trim the seam and turn out, then stuff with polyester filling and sew the gap closed using matching thread. Make six long stitches around the pumpkin, starting and finishing at the centre, using two strands of orange sewing cotton, then fasten at the bottom.
   
   3 Trim a green felt stalk, 3cm x 6cm, then firmly roll and sew along the side to secure. Attach this to the centre-top of the pumpkin with stitches or glue.

2. Matching Card - 1 Follow the chart for the tall rectangular pumpkin motif to stitch over one block of aida, using two strands of cotton for the cross-stitch and the backstitch.
   
   2 When complete, cut the motif out one hole away from the stitched border, then back with white card. Cover the front of a card blank with green spotty paper. With the fold at the top, punch two holes 3cm in from each side edge and 1cm down from the top, then thread them with raffia.
   
   3 Attach striped adhesive ribbon along the left of the card and tie raffia around the front, 5cm from the top. Stamp a toadstool onto cream card, then cut out and fix to the left-hand side, at an angle.
   
   4 Matt the cross-stitch panel onto card, then brown patterned paper and set a brown eyelet in the top corners. Fix the motif to the card. Glue a paper word embellishment to a small patterned tag and add an orange square brad to the top, then secure to the bottom-right of the card using 3-D pads. Finally, add two orange paper flowers to the top-left.

3. Tag - Cross-stitch a large pumpkin over one block of aida, using the template as a guide and two strands of cotton. When finished, back the motif with white card and cut the pumpkin out, leaving a small white border. Pierce a hole in the top of the stalk and thread with a piece of raffia.