You don’t have to carve your pumpkin this Halloween to make it holiday appropriate. A scary or silly design can be painted onto your pumpkin to make it festive! Halloween Pumpkin painting can be easier and safer than carving, and it often results in a more creative craft product. A painted pumpkin will last longer than a carved one, especially if you live somewhere with humid or chilly weather.

Finding the Right Pumpkin

If don’t have much experience with painting, you’ll probably want to start with a big pumpkin. But if you’re looking to exercise your artistic skills, try tiny baby pumpkins. Regardless of the size of your pumpkin, be careful to get one with a bright color, no bruises or soft spots and a thick stem. Purchase your pumpkin from local venders rather than the grocery, as you should always remember your values before shopping, even on holidays.

Choosing the Right Tools

If you don’t already have some on hand, go out and get some acrylic paints and a light all purpose glaze.  Keep some Q-tips nearby for touch-ups during the artistic process.

Draw it First

If you just start painting without a clear idea of what you’re doing, you’re probably going to end up with a crummy looking pumpkin. To avoid such a mistake, try lightly drawing a design on your pumpkin with a pencil before you begin painting. Pencil lines tend to show up rather lightly on a pumpkin’s surface, which makes for a great blueprint as you paint.

Dive In!

One of the key principles to painting is to start on the backgrounds and work your way forward. In this case, this would mean painting the whites of your pumpkin’s eyes before adding lashes and pupils, or painting your pumpkin’s tongue before the teeth. You’ll need to wait a moment for the paint to dry in between painting different sections. After all, you don’t want to smear your paint and ruin your pumpkin. Acrylics usually dry in about five minutes, so you wouldn’t have to wait long. This is also where you’ll need the Q-tips to dab and clear up your mistakes. Try adding fun features like hair, ears, and freckles. Make your pumpkin unique and fun.

Adding Final Touches

Let you pumpkin sit for about 30 minutes while all the paint dries. Take this time to clean up your work area and wash your brushes (since acrylic paints dry so fast, you’ll need to your brushes as soon as possible). After your pumpkin has finished drying, lightly coat the painted surface with your all-purpose glaze to prevent future chipping. Your pumpkin must be totally dry before you add this top coat, otherwise you’ll smudge your painting and have to redo the whole process. Once you’ve finished with the glaze, let your pumpkin rest for another 30 minutes before moving it outside for lawn decoration. Then take a minute to pat yourself on the back, as you now have a lovely handmade holiday creation!

Other Fun Pumpkin Craft Ideas

Why stop at just painting a pumpkin? You can also create mixed media pumpkins creations! Add some fake hair, fake ears, or fake arms and legs to make your handmade pumpkin creation look truly one-of-a-kind this holiday season!

Click here to check out the handmade holiday arts and crafts our members at Artfire.com are making!

-Sara

www.ArtFire.com

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Remember to always buy handmade!