You guys all ran out after Halloween and bought fake pumpkins on clearance, right? (Right?!?) Well, here’s what to do with ’em.

The elsie marley blog has this super-simple idea for poking holes in foam pumpkins with a skewer and then cross-stitching through the holes. This is a wonderfully rustic look, and with the right colors and design they’d be lovely decor year-round.

Obviously, there are loads of different ways to riff on the basic idea. Spray-paint the pumpkins in a variety of colors, or use “special effects” paint kits to make them look like marble or wood grain. Do a search on “free halloween cross stitch patterns” to find lots of ideas for the stitching (you’ll want to make sure they’re fairly simple designs). Do complementary designs on opposite sides, or stitch a different letter on several pumpkins to spell out a short message.

This idea is easy enough that even kids should be able to give it a try (although smaller fry might need help poking the holes), and fixing any mistakes is as easy as pulling out the yarn.

If you weren’t so lucky as to score any clearance-sale pumpkins last Halloween, mark your calendar now to pick up a couple this year.