I had this idea last fall after seeing some really beautiful pumpkins that had been completely painted in one color, stem and all. I think that’s a really nice, elegant look and this is just a little bit of a fun twist on that! Basically, you paint your pumpkin, but first you mask off a face or a design so that the original orange from the pumpkin shows through a little bit.
Here’s how it’s done!
Start out with a pumpkin or several. The more dramatically-stemmed your pumpkins are, the better in my opinion. You’ll also need some chalky paint. I’m using Martha Stewart Vintage Decor Paint in “Wedding Cake” for this.
Next you’ll need to mask off your design. If you have a fancy vinyl cutting machine, by all means use it! I don’t so I like to use painter’s tape for this and it works just fine! 🙂 If you have some elements that are a bit larger, just layer your tape together to create one larger sheet before cutting out that piece. I also decided to experiment with some little dot stickers that I had leftover from a garage sale this summer just to see what happened. 🙂
Stick your design pieces on your pumpkin and start painting! I’m using white, but of course, use any color you like. I really love the soft greeny colors I’ve been seeing used more in faux and real pumpkins in the last couple of years, so that would be a great choice too! This is also a really fun and simple project to do with kids and of course they could use just about any color of the rainbow!
When you’re done painting and your paint has been allowed to dry a little bit, remove your tape/vinyl pieces and reveal your work of art!
Sadly, the dot stickers didn’t work well at all, but the painter’s tape was just fine! The pumpkins are pretty bumpy, of course, so your designs probably will be a little imperfect no matter what you do. They’re still pretty cute and eye-catching though!
These pumpkins look great indoors where people can see them, but you could use outdoor paint as well and place them outside with a spotlight on them if you wanted to use them on your front porch!
I used real pumpkins for this, but if you want to make your pumpkins last season after season, pick up some faux pumpkins with a bit of variation in the color so that the pieces that show through will look a bit more real.
Have you tried painting your pumpkins rather than carving them before?
Be sure to pin this idea for later!
MORE FUN IDEAS LIKE THIS
- Easy Wood Scrap Candy Corn Decor
- 10 Classy Non-Tacky Fall Leaf Crafts
- Painted Jack O Lantern Rocks
- The Talentless Decorator’s Guide to Fall Porch Decor
- The Creek Line House Halloween Idea Archives
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.