CHALK PAINT ON PUMPKINS THE SUSTAINABLE CHOICE

 

Supplies List:

*Artificial pumpkins  of your choice
*Hot  glue gun
*White, mint green, and orange paint  Annie Sloan chalk paint,  Acrylic Paint, or acrylic  pure pigment craft paint
*Chip Brush
*White wax
*Clear and  Dark wax  or raw umber and burnt umber craft paint
*Paper plate
*Paint stick for mixing
*Stencil brush
*Wax brush  

Step 1: Add Deeper Orange Color  

  The first step before painting pumpkins is to clean them with a damp cloth.  It's important, to begin with a clean surface before painting. This will make a  deeper orange color  for this  DIY project.   Paint half of the faux pumpkin drying in between coats. This is the base color that will help to achieve the real pumpkin look. Tip: It's important to begin with a  clean surface  before the  painting process.  

Step 2: Lighten the First Coat

 

For the next step, add white craft paint or  white chalk paint.  This gives a lighter color to the look of a real pumpkin.  Chiffon cream  and  linen white  are great  paint colors  too.  Home Depot  offers similar  paint colors  in their chalk  decorative paint.  Look for Tin Whte or Farmhouse white.  

Add this over the orange, this adds another layer to give the  chalk paint pumpkins  a  real look.

Paint half the pumpkin at a time.  This keeps the paint damp enough for stippling which adds texture that can be found on a real pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.  

A real pumpkin has texture and this is what we are trying to achieve and what makes these have the real pumpkin look.

Use a chip brush and stipple or pounce lightly.  This gives the  chalk paint pumpkins  texture.  

Pouncing and stippling are hard on brushes and this is why I suggest chip brushes because they are .89 and will take a  bit of abuse.  

Let the pumpkins dry.  Once dry use the same process to cover the  entire pumpkin.  

When stippling, if the darker orange is visible, don't worry. Seeing the  different colors  is what adds to the look of  real pumpkins. Tip: A real pumpkin has texture and this is what we are trying to achieve and what makes these have the real pumpkin look.  

Step 3: Buffing White Wax  

 

Add the white wax a bit at a time and rub it into the paint well with the  wax brush.  This is when your faux pumpkin begins to come to life.  

This is going to give your fake pumpkin the look of the soft orange gourds that are costly.  

After applying wax in sections lightly wipe the wax off the faux pumpkin with a lint-free rag. Here's the  fun part  the white wax will add to the Heirloom gourd pumpkin look. The transformation is amazing!

 

Step 5: Add Stems

 

Heat your  glue gun  on the  low setting.  This is important because  high heat glue  will make the  Styrofoam pumpkins  break down.    

Lastly, with a low setting on the glue gun  glue your real stem on top of your pumpkin.  

Since this  DIY project  has dark and  clear wax, I recommend not using the  chalk paint pumpkins  outside. However, spray them with several coats of matte polyurethane they should be fine.  

Step 1: Real Look Mini Pumpkins

This green pumpkin is from the craft store    

What's great about these  painting techniques  is they are easy and don't take long.  

This faux pumpkin has a great  base color  to make it like the soft  green pumpkin  we find at the farmer's market and they are expensive.  

Use Folk Art mint green chalk paint and a chip brush. We are going to use a drybrush technique for the  smaller pumpkins. Dip the tip of your brush into the paint and wipe any excess paint on a paper towel, paper plate, or rag.

You want a little paint on the tip of a chip brush when dry brushing.  

The dry brush technique with paint is hard on brushes, they take a bit of abuse so that's why I recommend chip brushes.    

Apply the chalk paint to the  entire pumpkin  and I added a stem from my  collection of stems. This gave these  smaller pumpkins  a  real look.  

Dry brushing  is a fast process and works miracles on many  easy craft  ideas. Once I have with add a small real stem. The transformation of the fake pumpkin is amazing.

No  real stems, no problem, dry brush the plastic stem with a  bit of raw umber  pure pigment craft paint, or for a different look wrap them in jute or twine.   Tip: No  real stems, no problem, dry brush the plastic stem with a  bit of raw umber  pure pigment craft paint, or for a different look wrap them in jute or twine.  If you purchase small  white pumpkins  for outdoors save the stems.

   

   

Dark Wax

 

Adding a bit of  clear wax  and  dark wax  randomly by the real stem and in the creases makes  white pumpkins  look like  real pumpkins  in an instant. The  stems of the pumpkins  seal the deal when making  Dollar Store  or  Hobby Lobby  fake pumpkins  look like the  real thing.

Tip: When adding the waxes I add a light coat of  clear wax  first. This will help the darker wax not be too heavy.  Dark wax  tends to absorb into paint quickly. Adding a coat of clear will max the waxes' combine perfectly. I always use a smaller  wax brush  or stencil brush for the  detail work. The waxing process doesn't take a  long time  and be sure to rub it in with a lint-free cloth. If you don't wish to use waxes I suggest dipping the tip of a small chip brush in a combination of raw umber  and pure pigment craft paint. Wipe the excess on a paper towel and use a stippling motion around the stem. A dry brush with dark umber paint will work in the creases of the pumpkin.