Forget your traditional Jack ‘O Lantern… Pumpkin decorating has taken a new form. I love carving pumpkins and will always do it with the kids, but being a crafty girl that has had an entire year of rounding out my Halloween Pinterest board– I had to do something a little different. Whether its bedazzling, painting, or glittering that gets you going, the possibilities are endless! Here’s a little treat with a couple of tricks on how to create some fabulous looking pumpkins!
I started the project off with some pumpkins… all a slightly different size and shape. $.99 spray paint from Home Depot and just a bunch of random decoration items I had around the house. Yes, I own this much Martha Stewart Glitter (and this isn’t even half of it!) I chose the cheapest spray paint because the pumpkins are eventually going to be thrown away. Even if you use faux pumpkins, they are probably going to be stored for 11 months. This stuff works great so – no need to pay much.
Originally, I was going to carve an outline of the Paper & Cake logo into the biggest pumpkin I had, but I changed my mind mid-process. What, a girl can’t change her mind? To start, I taped a stencil to the pumpkin and poked through it along the lines to give me a guide on the surface. Once I removed the stencil, I traced over it with a pen to see it more clearly. Using Tulip puffy paint, I simply drew along the lines and there you have it.. Paper & Cake! Try this method for other ideas, like freehand a design or tracing a pattern!
This pumpkin is by far my favorite! So easy and so chic. I took glossy white spray paint and painted the entire pumpkin, starting with the bottom. This will take a couple of coats so be patient!
Once the paint dried, I simply took strips of sequined ribbon and Mod Podged (that’s a verb, right?) it to the pumpkin. I added a coat of Mod Podge on top of the sequins to give it some extra hold. That’s the beauty of Mod Podge- it dries on clear!
For this pumpkin, I taped off some stripes with painters tape and spray painted with glossy black. Again, start with the bottom of the pumpkin to get good coverage. I kept the tape a little loose to give it an imperfect, grungy kind of look. You can tape off any kind of pattern with this method. A popular one is chevron! After the paint dried, I removed the tape. I couldn’t resist adding more craziness, so I used the Tulip puffy paint once more and gave it some polka dots. Everyone loves polka dots…
Second favorite pumpkin here! Its also the easiest one. Using flat (or matte) black paint, simply give this pumpkin a few coats for some instant creepy chic.
Another super easy method is the hole punch. We’ve used this method before in some of our Valentines Decor. Punch out A LOT of hole punches (be mindful of the colors you are using). Wrap your pumpkin in double sided tape and roll taped area onto punches. Now you have some textured stripes on your pumpkin!
Another wonderful thing about Mod Podge is that it is a terrific adherent for glitter! Since I have a serious collection of Martha Stewart Glitter… why not go all out? Cover your pumpkin in Mod Podge and sprinkle your glitter onto the pumpkin. If you are using a large pumpkin, do this in stages, starting from the bottom. Shake off any excess glitter and let dry. Best to do this project outside!
This little guy was super fun and pretty self explanatory. Using the Tulip puffy paint again, I free-handed a spider web design by following the natural grooves of the pumpkin’s sides. Stuck a few rhinestones on the intersecting points and instantly had me a little glam pumpkin!
I set up my day’s “work” with a few gems from the Dollar Store like the foam pumpkins (which I also spray painted), skulls and this rad Zombie Feeding Area sign. I hope this inspired some of you to put your crafty hats on and get to decorating!