Happy Monday to y’all…
You know we’ve been busy gearing up for Fall at the shop in our displays and have some awesome decor coming, too.
We painted about 30 pumpkins to fill our shop windows, and after showing you some sneak peeks on Instagram & Facebook, you guys asked for a tutorial.
I’m all about the simple, stress-free projects and this is certainly one of them. You can get completely creative with color and pattern, but I wanted ours to compliment our shop, so we went with classic colors (albeit off the traditional Fall path).
What you’ll need:
- foam pumpkins ranging in size and shape
- small craft brush
- 2 inch smooth nylon sash brush (I use a Purdy)
- paint (we stuck with 3 neutrals + 2 shades of blue/green to pop)
- clear wax
- dark/antiquing wax
- better than cheesecloth or smooth, lint-free cloths
Optional:
- tape for cutting around stems
- Krylon glitter blast/glitter paint
- Metallic craft paints (love Martha Stewart Craft Paint by Plaid)
1. Start by painting 2 coats on your foam pumpkin. I didn’t want to bother with the hassle of priming, so I used Chalk Paint in Old White, French Linen, a custom mix of Chateau Grey and Old White (about 3 parts OW to 1 part CG), Duck Egg, and a custom mix of Florence and Old White (5 parts OW to 1 part F). You could use any paint that will stick without primer for this project…and those without a super glossy finish like acrylics, or milk paint (mixed with bonding agent).
Use a small craft brush to cut around the stem, then finish the coating the pumpkin with your 2 inch angled brush (I use a Purdy 2 1/2 sash). Be sure to paint into each groove and notch. Let dry and paint another coat for lighter colors.
2. After the paint has dried, use a cloth to to apply your wax. Remember you don’t need that much at a time.
3. Spread the wax on thinly. You’ll be able to tell where you’ve applied it–the wax will deepen the paint color a little. Spread it all in each groove and all over the pumpkin, wiping excess off as you go with another cloth.
4. Begin working your dark wax into the pumpkin now. Apply it all over, pushing it into the grooves and dips in the pumpkin.
5. Work in sections, spreading it in, and wiping it off with another cloth. Be sure to let the dark/antiquing wax collect in the grooves of the pumpkin as dirt normally would. I usually like to dark wax to create a deeper/warmer tone, but this project is one where you can use dark wax to look “dirty” and it looks completely natural.
Let them dry & you’re done!
Adding the dark wax or detail painting really creates some dimension on the pumpkins, and makes them look a bit more realistic.
We did a few different treatments on these….This one was painted with French Linen & once it was dry, I simply ran my finger along the raised edges with King Gold Gilding Wax.
The silver & gold pumpkin was painted with Martha Stewart Gold craft paint & then I sprayed the bottom half with Krylon Glitter Blast in Silver Flash, varying the “edges” a little all around.
We labeled this one the “Cinderella Pumpkin.” We painted it in Old White & I sprayed the top 3/4 with Krylon Glitter Blast in Silver Flash.
See?! So simple and fun! Let us know if you try it…and I’ll show you where our pumpkins wound up late in the week.
Happy simple crafting, friends.
Gorgeous! I love these! I bet you’re window looks wonderful and will stop customers dead in their tracks dying to rush into your store. : )
These are amazing! Love the flat paint.
Looks fab. Can you tell me where you got the foam pumpkins? I would like to do a project for my front porch and would rather not use real pumpkins. I have looked on the net and cannot find anything that looks likes yours. I would greatly appreciate it.
I found some at Dollar tree.
I don’t know where she got hers but Michaels Craft Store has them and I think Hobby Lobby does as well.
Yep, hobby lobby is great, dollar stores, Walmart even…amazon!
so pretty…love the light glitter ones:)
xo
Who knew!!! These are beautiful and I imagine look wonderful in your window. I, too, would love to know where you found your pumpkins. Thanks so much for the tutorial 🙂
Hey there! we picked up them all at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off.
🙂
shaunna
Ohhh my god they are very beautiful…. Now I know one more thing I can use my AS paint to…
Wow those really came out great and it seems like a pretty simple process. Thanks for sharing.
Love these! I’ve been dying to try the chalk paint and now I just *have* to get some! 🙂 Love how you used the wax on them!
These are fantastic! What a great way to think outside the box. Love the metallic colors, very refreshing touch to a cozy space!
OMG, these are amazing – I use Annie Sloan paint and wax and was so excited to see you do too. Am off to buy some pumpkins and do some for Christmas – love, love, love them. Kaylee is so right – they look absolutely refreshing and will add warmth. Well done!
I love these! I loved them so much that I included them in a round-up last week! So cute!
Absolutely loved these! I have some foam pumpkins…I’ll give this a try. Thank you so much for sharing your skills with us!