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This is two simple builds stacked into one: a shallow open box, and a flat pumpkin silhouette that stands up behind it like a fence. Both are cedar fence pickets — cheap, already the right thickness, and pre-finished-looking enough that you can leave them raw.
The pumpkin shape is freehand, and the source instructions are right to note that pumpkins read as "bottom heavy" — a smaller curve at the top and a bigger, rounder bulge at the bottom looks more like a real pumpkin than a symmetrical circle does. Clamp the assembly securely with the cutout area hanging off the edge of your bench before you cut; a jigsaw blade needs clearance underneath or it'll bind or tear out. Cut the two halves of the shape in separate clamped passes if the piece is too big to hang entirely clear in one go.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" wide, 6 ft |
| 2 each |
| Pine, 1x2, 4 ft | 1 each |
| Brad nails or staples, 1" | 1 box |
| Wood glue | 2 oz |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin face boardsCedar fence picket | 4 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 18" |
| Pumpkin backer stripsPine | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 20" |
| Stem backerPine | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 8" |
| Box frontCedar fence picket | 1 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 17" |
| Box sidesCedar fence picket | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 5 1/2" |
| Box bottomCedar fence picket | 1 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 16" |
Buy 3 boards at 8 ft.
2 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Lay the four fence picket boards side by side so the overall width is about 23". Place the two 20" backer strips on top with roughly 1-1/2" of clearance on each end (the picket's stem shape is 1-1/2" wide, so it makes a handy spacing guide). Glue and staple the backers to the face boards — two staples per overlap.
Flip the assembly and add two more staples per overlap from the front side into the backers, staying at least 1" from the outer edges where there's no backer support underneath.
Starting about 3" up from the bottom edge, draw a pumpkin outline across the joined boards, keeping the shape clear of the backer strips underneath so the jigsaw has clean material to cut through. Keep it organic — a smaller curve up top and a bigger, rounder bulge at the bottom reads more like a real pumpkin than a symmetrical circle.
Clamp the panel securely with the area to be cut overhanging the bench edge, and confirm it's solid before cutting. Cut the outline with the jigsaw, unclamping and repositioning as needed to keep the cut area clear of the bench.
Cut and attach a stem shape to the back of the pumpkin cutout with glue and staples.
Glue and staple the front of the box to the sides. Apply glue along three edges of the bottom panel and set it inside the front/side assembly, then staple along the side and front edges to lock it in.
Set the box open-side up. Run glue along the top edges, then set the pumpkin cutout on top, aligning its bottom edge and the start of the pumpkin curve with the box's outside corners. Staple the pumpkin to the bottom of the box, then use a straight edge as a guide while stapling it to the sides.
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