I posted this last year and it was a hit, so for those who didn’t see it…here it is! A year later and they look just as good as the did on Day 1.
Have you ever been in a store and said to yourself, “I bet I could make that!”? Well, I have, and I did that recently on a trip to Michael’s and Joanns Fabrics. I saw these really cool pumpkins that were all shiny and full of glitter. After picking myself up off the floor after a quick glance at the price tag, I thought, “I can do that for far less.”. So, I put the plan into action and asked my kids if they would be willing to help.
Instead of shopping for foam pumpkins at Joanns, I remembered that Walmart had loads of them in all different sizes. And guess what? They were MUCH cheaper and very fake and ugly looking. They would not stay that way for long! We were going to transform them into designer pumpkins that look awesome! And wait until you see how incredibly easy it is to do these pumpkins. The best part is that you do not have to go the traditional route. You can design them in any color you want. If you want ‘Frozen” inspired pumpkins, you can do that too! The sky is the limit!
Just so you know, my picture did not capture how great it actually looks. It was a fairly gray day outside and so the pumpkins lost some of their shimmer. Here is a picture of what they look like inside the house-with the lights off and candles glowing, it looks even better!
What do you need to make designer pumpkins that look awesome?
3 foam pumpkins- Walmart sells them in yellow and orange. Make sure they fit well one on top of the other.
1 can of Rust-oleum Hammered Spray Paint- I bought bronze
1 can of Krylon Spray Adhesive
1 spray paint sprayer (the black spray gun attachment sold near the paint) **IMPORTANT**
1 jar of glitter. We chose a copper color.
1 box of latex/rubber gloves
1 glue gun and glue sticks
An old piece of wood or board of some sort. Lowes has discarded pieces you can take for free in the lumber section.
Making the Designer Pumpkins
I suggest a day that is not rainy. If it is rainy, it will take forever to dry. Also, it is preferred to not be windy. If there is a slight breeze, figure out which direction it is going and do NOT spray into the wind…otherwise you will paint yourself!
- First make sure everything is set out in front of you. You will begin prepping the pumpkins.
- Figure out which pumpkin will go on the bottom, the middle, and the top. Once you know which pumpkins will be the middle and bottom, simply twist the stalks off of the middle and bottom pumpkin. Do not take the stalk out of the top pumpkin. They come out very easily.
- Connect the spray gun attachment to the spray paint can. DO NOT use just your finger to press down on the spray paint nozzle! You will end up with something I have named “spray paint finger” which I never knew existed until I decided to spray paint our shutters last spring. The repeated pressure on your finger will cause your fingertip to go numb…and it will stay numb for possibly weeks. Mine did. Learn from my mistake. Use the attachment!
- With gloves on, begin spraying the bottom of the pumpkin. Once that is done, you can place the pumpkin down on the board and then paint the rest. Let it dry.
- Repeat for the other two. You could leave them like this if you want, or you can continue to the next step to add glitter. If you skip the glitter, move down to step 7.
- Once the paint is dry, spray the adhesive all over the pumpkins. Sprinkle the glitter from a height of about 6 to 12 inches above the area you want coated. Let it dry once again. Make sure you are wearing gloves!
- Once the pumpkins are dry, you can begin assembling them. With your glue gun, add a good amount of hot glue where the stalk used to be. Now place the middle pumpkin on top. Carefully add glue to any spaces that look like they might need more glue. Do not worry if you get ‘glue strands” on the pumpkin. Once the glue is dry, they are easily removed.
- Repeat the process for the top pumpkin.
- If you notice that you missed some areas with the glitter, you can go back and respray with adhesive and add more glitter.
- Let it dry, and then enjoy your new designer pumpkins!
