~ how to ~
Make a pumpkin vase. This makes such a cute centerpiece or decoration. After the top is cut off and inside hollowed out, fill your pumpkin with water and add autumn florals like sunflowers or reeds.
Make your pumpkin seeds sweet or spicy: Take your roasted pumpkin seeds up a notch! Here are a couple easy recipes.
Sweet: pumpkin seeds, melted butter, cinnamon, sugar, a pinch of nutmeg and allspice. Coat seeds in butter and sprinkle with sugar and spices.
Spicy: pumpkins seeds, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt. Coat seeds in olive oil and sprinkle on cumin and cayenne pepper to taste.
For either recipe, bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Make a pumpkin face mask. Rich in vitamins A and C and zinc, pumpkins are great for your skin. Bella Sugar has a great DIY face mask.
Drink your pumpkin: Make your own pumpkin spice latte at home. Love this recipe from Fearless Homemaker.
Keep your drinks cool in a pumpkin. Turn your pumpkin into a festive party cooler. Leave it to Martha for the best instructions.
Use pumpkin to enrich your garden. After you're done with your jack-o-lantern or pumpkin vase, cut it into pieces and bury it in your garden. It makes wonderful fertilizer for your soil.
Serve your pumpkin like Harry Potter. Make pumpkin juice or pumpkin pasties. Even muggles can enjoy these recipes.
Use a pumpkin body scrub. Mix up this do it yourself body scrub recipe courtesy of Get Green Be Well.
Serve drinks in a pumpkin punch bowl. Cut it a very large pumpkin in half (usually wider is better) and insert a glass bowl that will fit inside it. Serve your favorite fall beverage.
and last but not least...
Whip up something pumpkin. Okay, this may sound like a pretty normal concept, but I had to share some of these amazing recipes because I love cooking with (and more importantly eating) pumpkin. This season's pumpkin recipes from ABC Design, Ina Garten's pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting, baked pumpkin from The Produce Lady, pumpkin soup in a pumpkin bowl from Make and Takes, and a wonderful array of pumpkin recipes listed at Blogher.