Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved carving pumpkins every year for Halloween. Now, carving a pumpkin can be super fun, but sometimes we don’t always have time to get a pumpkin, the carving tools, scoop out the inside, find a stencil, etc. (you know the drill). So, this year I thought I would mix it up a bit and decorate a pumpkin instead of carving one! I’ve been inspired to make a simple decorative pumpkin that’s both classy and cute, which resulted in my beautiful gold glitter pumpkin. This DIY is great for anyone who is short on time!
What You Need:
- A pumpkin
- Towel
- Old newspaper or a drop cloth
- Gold spray paint – after trying a bunch of different kinds, Rust-oleum metalllic spray paint is my personal favorite (it’s the paint I used for pretty much everything in my wedding)
- Painter’s tape
- Spray adhesive
- Gold glitter
What I Did:
1) Wash the pumpkin
Pumpkins almost always have some kind of mud or dirt film on them, so it’s important to wash your pumpkin and dry it thoroughly before even attempting to paint it or put any sort of adhesive on it.
2) Prep
Old newspaper is perfect for spray painting your pumpkin on. Make sure you have enough laid out so that it goes at least a foot around your pumpkin.
3) Paint your pumpkin
I learned a ton about spray painting when planning my wedding, so here are a few tips for spray painting your pumpkin:
- Always spray paint in a well ventilated area and read the instructions on the can before starting your project – if you have asthma, use a respirator
- Shake the can for at least 30 seconds before spraying, even if you put the can down for only a few minutes. If you don’t shake the can it can come out separated and you will most likely end up with the paint running down the side.
- Hold the can about 8″ away from the surface of what you’re painting – if you’re closer, it might start to drip from over application, and if you’re farther away the paint will most likely end up in the wind
- Make sure you apply the paint in light coats to avoid paint drips
- Apply horizontally (left to right or vice versa) so the paint can make its way into the crevices
I ended up not painting the bottom of my pumpkin for the first coat, and turned it on its side to spray the bottom once the first coat had dried. See the can for drying times.
4) Tape the stem
I like to be able to use the stem as a handle and I hate getting a ton of glitter on my hands, so I decided to tape the stem off before applying the adhesive and glitter. Make sure you use painters tape – anything else will most likely take all the paint off your pumpkin.
5) Apply the adhesive & glitter
I only applied the adhesive to the top so the glitter would trickle down the sides of the pumpkin. This step can get messy, but remember to treat spray adhesive just like spray paint when applying. Extra fine glitter seemed to work best for this step because coarse glitter can have difficulty adhering to an object when it’s not laid flat.
6) Photo shoot!
Voila!
XOXO,
Sugar & Shine 