How to Make

Painted Pumpkins

That is because one coat of black paint usually is sufficient, whereas lighter colors almost certainly will require at least two coats and perhaps more.


The painted pumpkins in the photo are artificial. You can use real pumpkins if you prefer. (Of course, they eventually will rot.)

I used artificial pumpkins, such as the one in the photo to the right. I bought them at Hobby Lobby.

They came with wires coming out of the bottom (as shown in photo) because they are meant to be attached to autumn centerpieces. I pulled the wires out, using pliers.

Some artificial pumpkins are smooth. Others have a fuzzy peach-like surface. (The white pumpkin in the top photo was fuzzy.) I prefer the smooth ones because they don't need as much paint.

Materials

Small pumpkin (real or artificial)

Acrylic craft paint in two contrasting colors of your choice

Paint brush or brushes (I used a brush with one inch width to paint the pumpkin and a small brush to paint the stem.)

Pencil with unused eraser tip (to apply the polka dots)

Ribbon

Optional: Circle-shaped sponge-on-a-stick paint applicator (I'm not sure exactly what this thing is called! Here's a photo of what I'm talking about.)

• Use this applicator if you want to make "doughnut" style dots.
• The sponge applicator makes a larger circle than the pencil eraser does. I used it to make black dots on the small white pumpkin shown in the photo at the top of the page.
• After I had added the black dots, I thought they looked too big, so after the black paint dried I added white dots inside the black circles, using the pencil eraser.

Instructions

If you are using a real pumpkin, wash and dry it.

Paint the pumpkin one color.

• I squeeze paint onto a paper plate which serves as a palette, as shown in the photo above on the left.
• Paint the bottom of the pumpkin and set it on a container to dry, as shown in the middle photo above.
• Paint the top of the pumpkin and set it on the container to dry, as shown in the photo above on the right.

Paint the stem the other color.

Let dry.

Using the same color you used for the stem, dip the pencil eraser into paint and make dots on the pumpkin. Place the dots in whatever pattern you want to and make as many dots as you like. Let dry.


In the photo to the left, I am working on a different pumpkin than those pictured at the top of the page. Here, I painted the stem orange and am adding orange polka dots (although the paint looks yellow in the photo!).

Optional: For "doughnut" style dots on your painted pumpkins, use the sponge-on-a-stick paint applicator first and let the paint dry. Then use the pencil eraser to add the doughnut "holes".


Tie a bow around the stem.


Here is a finished painted pumpkin in Halloween black and orange.

For more Halloween arts and crafts, see Halloween placecards and these great Halloween ornaments: Halloween bat, Halloween clown ornament, Halloween jack-o-lantern ornaments, Halloween spider ornament.