Pumpkin Painting Project

Happy Happy Friday everybody!! I am excited about my plans for this weekend (apple picking anyone?!) but if you need something to do on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I have a pretty easy and awesome craft idea for you! If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that my family and I painted pumpkins on Tuesday. We got so much great feedback that I figured I'd do a quick little tutorial so you can paint away this weekend til your heart's content.

Supplies:

-- Pumpkins (whatever size you want)
-- Sharpie Paint Pens (we preferred the water-based over the oil-based big time!!; the orange one is 
    oil-based and was a real pain in the you-know-where)
-- Circle stencils (we used lids of spice jars)
-- Scissors
-- Pencil
-- Scotch tape
-- Ribbon
-- Lettering (we printed some off Word and free-handed the rest)
-- Master shine clear gloss coat

 

Directions:

-- Make sure the pumpkins are fairly clean. Usually one side is dirtier than the other, and if that's the case, just face that side towards the back and no one is any the wiser (unless they are inspecting the back of your pumpkin, to which I would tell them to buzz off). 

-- Outline whatever letter or words you want to paint onto the pumpkin. The pencil doesn't actually show up on the pumpkin, but it makes indents you can see for when you paint. I used my first initial, Brian's first initial, and the word boo. My Mom used the first letter of our last name, FALL, and Est. 1987 for the year they got married. Mitchell also did boo, and Savanna did Welcome. 

-- Follow the instructions on the paint pens to get them to work, then turn the pumpkin on its side so you can fill in the letters (this way the paint pens are always vertical-- they work better this way). You can outline the letters in a different color if you want, like my Mom did, or not. It's totally up to you however you want to do it! 

-- Once that paint is dry (it's pretty fast), stencil on your polka dots, stripes, or whatever else you want to cover the rest of the pumpkin, then fill those in with paint as well.

-- Once the paint is completely dry, take the pumpkins outside on a flat surface. Make sure the area under them can get a little messy, because you will miss with spray and get it on the ground.

-- The Master Shine says spray in vertical strokes onto the pumpkin from about 12-18 inches away, but honestly I was only about 6 inches away because it blew all over and missed the pumpkin if I wasn't. 

-- Let it dry, then see if you missed any spots. I ended up spraying a whole second coat, to be sure. 

-- Once fully dry (not that long, like 20-30 minutes), tie on a ribbon in a bow, and voila!.

-- Show off to all your friends and family and make them jealous that you are so awesome! 

*Tip* If it's hot outside, keep them inside or at least out of the direct sun because they will melt and you will cry and no one should cry in October, it's the best month! Have a great weekend everyone!