DIY Painted Pumpkins

I have a confession I have a little obsession for pumpkins, and they are one of my favourite things to use when decorating for fall and Halloween. I love all the real beautiful pale heirloom style pumpkins and while I use those outside, I like to go the faux route for inside. After finding it hard to get my hands on faux pumpkins that had that heirloom feel I was looking for, I took matters into my own hands, grabbed a paint brush and decided to create my own! I pick them up from local dollar stores and Walmart, so they are a low price point most were only a dollar or two and the larger ones the most I have paid was $10. The best part is they are pumpkins so they stay on trend for the season and you can use them year after year, I always add a few more each year it seems, soon they will take over the house!

All you need is a little paint, a couple of paint brushes, and you have a super simple DIY that makes a big difference! I like to use chalk paint as I usually have that on hand, but acrylic craft paint would work too!

Here’s my process:

• I take all of my stems off then give them a little dry brush with white paint to give them a less plastic look and set them to the side
• I used skewers and stuck them into the stem hole to give me something to hold onto to paint the pumpkins
• Give the pumpkins two coats of paint, I find two light coats work best
• Then I have used both wax and dry brushing to give the pumpkins more definition and that heirloom look
• Once your pumpkins are dry, dry brush or wax {or use a combo}, and lightly brush into the creases, around the top of the pumpkin and even on some of the sides
• I use a combination of browns and whites to give them different looks
• Once you are happy with how they look, I put a drop of hot glue into the stem holes and press the stems back in place!
  
  & your pumpkins are complete and ready for display!

Aren’t they so much better, they have that great heirloom feel and for sure don’t look like I found them in the $1 zone!

I have painted all the pumpkins in this large wood dough bowl, besides these great faux striped ones I found just this year! Its nice to mix some others in, you could even mix in some real ones too!

I hope this simple little DIY inspires you to create your own heirloom pumpkins! They are such great inexpensive décor to take your home from fall right into Thanksgiving and even Halloween!