Party Planning Center: Free Printable Fall Decorations and Thanksgiving Place Cards

Please scroll down and click on the free printable fall pumpkin decorations templates further down on the page. That will allow you to see and download larger versions.

These easy-to-make printable fall table decorations also make terrific Thanksgiving place cards or even fall wedding decorations. The pumpkins are made of paisley circles in a deep persimmon color and a leaf template in shades of sage and mustard, the art for which is provided below. I've also written full instructions and given you a visual tutorial, even though I think you'll find these quite easy once you get the hang of it.

You can use blank leaves or write special messages on them.

Write someone's name on them and the 3D Thanksgiving place card will also make a cute party favor your guest can take home.

Click the image to see it larger

Instructions for Making Paper Pumpkins

You'll need:

2" circle cutter (optional, but the preferred method)
burnisher (optional)
regular scissors
manicure scissors (optional)
glue stick
standard toothpicks
twine, raffia or ribbon (optional)

1. Download the pumpkin decoration and leaf templates below and save them to your hard drive, by either right-clicking (PC) or control-clicking (Mac). Print one pumpkin template for each pumpkin you want to make. Unless you are making a lot of pumpkins, you should only need to print one leaf template. Use a 47-50 lb card stock or similar, or the heaviest card stock your printer will allow.

Cut out the circles using a stand-alone circle punch, or a Cricut or other type of cutting machine. You can also cut the circles with scissors, but they probably won't be quite as precise. Once the circles are ready, cut off the bottom white piece. This will allow your pumpkin to stand up and not roll around.

2. Fold the circle pieces in half, carefully matching the two corners at the bottom of the circles. If you have a burnisher or bone folder (I know that's a funny name, but that's what they're called), use it to press down the creases. You can also do this by pressing hard with your finger.

You'll need 12 circles (the contents of one template sheet) for each pumpkin. If you're making multiple pumpkins, be sure to keep the pieces for each in a separate pile. That will keep you from using the wrong number of circles.

3. When all the pieces are folded and sorted into groups of 12, place a small amount of glue stick adhesive on just one of the white folded sides. (The glue always goes on the white side, never on the printed side.) Then, carefully line up the bottom and sides of one folded side on the next piece and glue it to the first one, back to back. When all the pieces are glued together, all the folds should be facing the same direction,as shown in photo 3.

4. Glue the last two pieces together, to close the pumpkin structure.

5. If you want to write on the leaves, it's best to do it before cutting. (You also have the option of popping the .jpg pumpkin template into a graphics program and writing on them that way.) You can write each guest's name if you're going to be using them as Thanksgiving placecards, or write any other message you want. They also look great without any writing.

Cut out the leaves with manicure scissors (preferred), regular scissors or with a craft knife. Fold the stem in half, so it will fit over a toothpick. The bottoms of the stem should line up once folded. Then, open the folded piece up again and place glue along the stem. Refold the stem over the top of a toothpick and press hard for a few seconds until it holds in place. Photo 5 above shows both front and back of a finished leaf.

6. Insert the toothpick and leaf gently into the center of the pumpkin.

7. Add string, ribbon, twine, raffia or any other embellishment at the base of the stem. This is optional but it does a lot to make the pieces look finished.

You can also use the paper pumpkins as cake or cupcake toppers by using a longer toothpick and extending down it into the cake. The photo above shows the pumpkins on a mini carrot cake, and lemon and chocolate cupcakes, all of which I plan to eat soon! ;-)

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Download the printable paper pumpkin decoration templates here: