THIS PROJECT IS NOT FOR MOST PEOPLE!!!

OK, I have made my disclaimer....most people will not want to make this....but maybe you've always wanted to make a giant Santa hat, or paint a propane tank!  Maybe it will just give you some ideas regarding thinking outside the box!! 
Keeping in mind that I grow pumpkins and I have a seasonal business running a pumpkin patch, this is the what I made for our local city's Christmas Lighting Display.

I hope at the very least it made you smile!  When my friend Judy was here and my husband asked us to do this project....we really wrestled with how to do it.  Sam primed the tank with an oil based primer, then painted it 2 coats of orange with an oil based paint, and a little dark green on the top.

 Judy pretty much made the whole hat, which was the big thing. We bought some red vinylish, pleatherish fabric at JoAnns. Just figuring out the shape was a challenge for us.  Using the pencil-on-a-string method, we started at one corner and made a rounded bottom for the cone shape, which is actually a 1/4 circle.

 Next, we attached some white flannel for the trim by cutting a piece twice the width and the correct length and folded the width in half to form a pocket, then sewed it on to the bottom of our 1/4 circle.

Fold it in half, right sides together and sew from the top of the hat all the way down to where the trim starts.  You'll want to leave that trim part open for now. Turn it right sides out and it should look like this.

 It needs something to fatten up the trim as well as give it some support at the base.  We used pipe insulation...two pieces actually and inserted it into the trim  opening and slid it all the way around.

 We then connected the pieces by using a smaller piece of plastic pipe.

 Once the pieces are connected, you can hand stitch the trim closed.
Time for a pumpkin fitting.....

 Not bad....but it needs some support inside to make the hat stand up more and it needs a little (or should I say big) pom pom on the end.  Let's make one!
Judy used a piece of cheap flannel lined, plastic table cloth to make the pom pom.  She cut a long strip of it, then ran a straight stitch up the center.  Next she cut fringe strips on both sides.

Then, slowly she pulled the thread to gather it much like you would do to make a ruffle.

 Tie off the end of the thread and voila...pom pom!    
Now for some some center support to make the hat stand up....enter Sam again.  He used some hardware cloth (which is actually like a sturdy screen material) to form a cone.  This stuff is really sharp, so he taped all the edges with white duct tape.

He used some wire to hold the cone form together and it worked pretty good!

  All we needed now was a face and I was a girl with a plan.  My father-in-law use to make some awesome magnetic photo holders from sheets of magnets covered in wall paper.  He gave me several sheets.  I spray painted them black.

 When it was dry, I drew on a pumpkin face and cut it out.  

I wanted to use magnets so that I could change out the face when we use it for our pumpkin patch and corn maze.  I can even make a scary face for when our haunted maze is open next year. ( Of course the Santa hat will disappear after Christmas!)

So now I have a very sturdy display, that will hold up to wind and weather to represent our seasonal business for our local towns Christmas display. 

Here is my adorable grandson Jacob standing by it in town last night!