A Storybook Life

Painted pumpkins are becoming very popular, and although they are a great project for those who are to young to carve, they aren’t just for kids anymore I have seen some absolutely stunning examples of painted pumpkins, that would be a beautiful addition to any home. You can do something very simple or extremely complex, it’s totally up to you. These painted pumpkin ideas are not only easy, but they will also allow you to use your creativity and put together something unique & inexpensive for your fall display.

Before you paint your pumpkin, be sure that it is clean & dry.

Deciding what to use to “color” your pumpkin is rather easy. Simply ask yourself… what do I already have around the house? You can use just about anything, as long as the color will stick

Here are some ideas

Choose colors that you love, and that will match your home decor. I happen to love the colors of fall, but some people wouldn’t put red or orange their homes at any cost

Here are some color combinations to spark your imagination.

blue & chocolate … do I sense a need for a quick chocolate morsal

When thinking about what types of designs to use, don’t stop at what would be considered “normal” fall decorating. Use your creativity to come up with all sorts of ideas!

Designs for Painting Pumpkins

Here are a few ideas that you might want to try.

Paint the whole pumpkin one solid color
I once saw a display that someone created, where they used several pumpkins all painted in shiny deep jewel tones. Then they were arranged into a Cinderella theme display! It was surprisingly beautiful!

Pumpkin Stencils
Decide what type of designs you would like to have on your pumpkin, then cut that shape out of paper. Tape the piece of paper onto the pumpkin, then paint over it. When you remove the stencil, you will see the stencil shape in either the color of the pumpkin itself, or the base color that you decided to use.

In this example, paper circles were taped onto the pumpkin, then it was lightly spray painted with black paint. Notice how the paint doesn’t completely cover – giving it a nice faded effect.

Stamp Designs
Why not use your stamps to put designs on your pumpkins? That way, it’s quick – easy – and you can get as intricate as you’d like… without having to have much design talent

Here’s a very pretty example of how you can use stamps to decorate your pumpkins.

Painted Pumpkin Designs
Tape a paper cut out of any shape that you would like onto the pumpkin, and trace around it with a fine tip marker. Then, fill in the shape with your desired color. The sky is the limit when choosing your design, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
leaves, acorns, dots, stars, pumpkin faces, saltbox houses, barn, etc.

You could also paint the design free handed if you’d rather as in this example.

Aren’t these sweet! Such a creative idea! And you thought argyle patterns were just for socks

Look how beautiful these pumpkins are! Although they are dressed in henna, it almost looks like toile!

If you didn’t want to actually paint your pumpkins, you could simply add stickers, or bits from your scrapbooking supplies. Look at this sweet example!