Sunday night + studs + spray paint + preserved stem = a pumpkin named Axl Rose.

Pretty studly, don’t you think? My mom spotted the idea somewhere and whispered it into my ear. My friend Lynne, the velvet pumpkingoddess, lent me this awesome preserved stem, straight from the patch.

I think this might be my highest achievement in pumpkin-torture yet.

How to make your own:

Purchase a faux pumpkin. You’re not going to all this trouble to throw it away.

Spray paint your pumpkin. I used the matte black paint that adheres to plastic.

When it’s dry, stud your squash. Start at the top and continue to the bottom of each section. I used a bag of 100 nailheads from Fabric Depot in Phoenix, $15. It took about 15 minutes.

Now if you want a really awesome stem like mine, you’ll need to do this next year, but plan now. First,  find a patch and pick a pumpkin, leaving the stem extra long. After your pumpkin has had its day as a jack o lantern, remove the stem and let it dry.

To attach it to the faux studded pumpkin, poke a hole in the bottom of the stem with an awl. Cut off the fake stem. A kitchenknife will be fine. The stems are made of foam. Insert a wooden skewer into the preserved stem. (Yes, like you use on the grill.) Stick the skewer into your studded pumpkin.

Can you tell my pumpkin isn’t real? Didn’t think so.

P.S. It’s Pumpkin Week over at Sweet Paul. Today: something for all you logo-vores.