Phone Book Pumpkins

by guest blogger, designer Mark Kintzel

Every year, I receive at least two or three phone books. Seriously, who uses those anymore? They magically appear on my doorstep and ultimately wind up littered throughout the neighborhood.

Despite my griping, I decided to hang on to a few for a special, inspired fall craft project. This project inspiration actually came from my friend Shelbi--thank you, Shelbi!

• Phone books

• Sharp scissors
• Pencil
• 1 piece of cardboard or heavy paper
• Twigs
• Glue--any craft glue will do.

1. Make a template of a pumpkin with cardboard or heavy paper.

1. Open the phone book to the center page.
2. Lay the template over the book pages, toward the bottom, and trace an outline around the template. Keep the center of the template on the binding edge of the phone book.
3. With scissors, cut a few pages at a time. I alternated cutting from pages on the left to cutting pages on the right of the book.
4. Continue step #4 until you're finished cutting all the pages, then unfurl the pumpkin and glue the cover pages together.
5. Glue a twig to the center top of the pumpkin and you're done!

I think they turned out super cool, and they were fun and easy to make. Thanks, Yellow Pages!

Happy crafting!

Mark Kintzel comes from a long line of crafters, artists, musicians and farm folk. He first came under the magic spell of flowers as a boy, while wandering through meadows near his grandparents' farm in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. His appreciation for creativity and flowers grew throughout the years, and he now specializes in event planning and styling, garden design, and organic floral arrangements for just about any occasion. See more at markkintzel.com.

For more from Maria Rodale, visit www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com