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Crafts· Fall· Projects· Seasonal & Holiday

DIY Painted Pumpkins

October 4, 2017

It’s officially pumpkin season, and I’m not sad about that! Whether they’re on the shelves in the dining room, as the main centerpiece on the table, or stacked up on the front porch, I’m making plenty of room for them this year. I mean, I planted a bunch of them in my garden, so ready or not, pumpkins it is!

And while fresh pumpkins are the real deal, beyond stunning and the perfect way to jazz up your home for fall, they’re not the only pumpkin out there! Faux pumpkins come in many different shapes and styles, and several of them look just as fabulous as the real deal… but some of them… weeellll, they’re not only fake, they’re just not the best to look at. Nothing a little paint can’t fix though…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

Here’s what you’ll need:

Please note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which allows us to make a small commission from your purchase, but your purchase price stays the same. Thank you for helping support our blog! We greatly appreciate it!

Sources:
  • Pumpkins- from your closet, a thrift store, or handed down
  • Tough Coat Sealer– see below on why I needed it
  • White Chalk Paint- here’s what I used
  • Brown Chalk Paint- here’s what I used
  • Espresso Wax- this is similar
  • Vanilla Latte Wax- this is similar
  • Paint Brush– I use this brush and love it for projects like this
  • Cotton Cloth

I’ve had a group of pumpkins stashed away in my fall tote that I’ve put off using… they weren’t the best to look at. I knew all they needed was some paint, but I just hadn’t made a priority to do it… until this year. It was time for a makeover!

Here’s what I started with… they were just a little too fake looking… and really orange…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

I spread them out on newspaper and got to work adding a few coats of paint…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

I used Maison Blanche’s chalk paint in Vanille, which is the perfect creamy white…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

The only problem, was that after I let those first two coats dry, several of the pumpkins were still looking a little too orange…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

The original orange color was bleeding right through the paint. There was no way that was going to work, so I applied Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat Sealer…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

It’s made to seal any surface that wants to bleed through. I’ve used it on a few different pieces of furniture with success, so I had high hopes it would work on the pumpkins as well. I simply brushed on a thick coat of the sealer over the chalk painted pumpkins and waited for it to dry…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

(Don’t worry, I fixed those drips on the pumpkin after I took the picture. 🙂 )

After the sealer dried, I applied another coat of chalk paint…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

… And the paint dried pretty as ever. The sealer worked like a charm! (Cue the hand clap!)

I wanted to paint the bottoms of the pumpkins as well, so I used a few glasses to hold the pumpkins upside down…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

Once the Vanille paint was dry, I started painting the stems of the pumpkins…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

For that, I used Coffee Bean, which is a nice rich, dark brown…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

Once the stems were dry, I started waxing the pumpkins. I wanted the pumpkins to have a little bit of texture to them, so I opted to use dark wax, specifically Espresso and Vanilla Latte, which are new to the Maison Blanche Paint family…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

To start, I rubbed each pumpkin down with Vanilla Latte, and then I did a combination of the two. Here’s what my rag looked like with a good mix of the Espresso and Vanilla Latte…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

The combination of the two created a perfect weathered look on the pumpkins, and gave them just the right amount of “dirt”. The pumpkins originally had a few dings, dents and scratches in their surface, and the wax only helped to heighten the look of the appearance.

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

This was such an easy upgrade. The pumpkins look so much better, and the Vanille paint is the perfect creamy white to mimic those real white pumpkins you see…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

Once again, this is one of those projects I should have done a while ago… the results are totally worth it and I’ll be using these pumpkins for years to come!

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

Plus, I can’t help but love the contrast of them against the moody shelves in the dining room…

DIY Painted Pumpkins by The Wood Grain Cottage

So, just in case you have any dated pumpkins stashed away in a tote or closet, pull those little beauties out and give them a quick paint job! You’ll be happy you did! 🙂

 

I’m Shayna… The small town Colorado girl who’s obsessed with home and everything that entails! I’m a creative, a decorator, a day dreamer, a huge fan of scones and I’m passionate about loving where I live and making a home.

8 Comments

Comments

  1. Linda Cole says

    October 4, 2017 at 11:44 AM

    I love them! The new paint job was just what they needed. Thanks for sharing your instructions!

    Reply
    • Shayna says

      October 23, 2017 at 10:39 AM

      Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed the post! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Gwen says

    October 4, 2017 at 5:57 PM

    We had a MB supplier in town and I love her waxes. I think I’d like to try these. They are easier to work with. The new colors give options too. I’d forgotten about this MS product. Thank you for guiding us!! Your pumpkins did turn out better than any I’ve seen in stores and the faux are pricey now. But…So are the real!!!! Thank you for the information!!! It is so worth it to put forth the effort. Great results.

    Reply
    • Shayna says

      October 23, 2017 at 10:38 AM

      I’m so happy you enjoyed the post! 🙂

      Reply
  3. DEbbie says

    October 4, 2017 at 6:07 PM

    Love them. Love the stand too….where can we get one?

    Reply
    • Shayna says

      October 23, 2017 at 10:31 AM

      Thank you so much, Debbie! The stand is from my shop: https://www.thewoodgraincottage.com/shop/product/large-wood-metal-stand/.

      Reply
  4. Rebekah Purnell says

    November 23, 2017 at 10:26 AM

    I love all of those pumpkins! The pumpkins catch my eye, so I like to make. Thanks for great idea

    Reply
  5. Rogers Roy says

    April 7, 2018 at 4:48 AM

    Wow, there are so many cool pumpkins. I am also DIY lover But I am not doing this before. this weekend I definitely try this and I will inform you the feedback about this.

    Reply

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I’m Shayna… The small town Colorado girl who’s obsessed with home and everything that entails! I’m a creative, a decorator, a day dreamer, a huge fan of scones and I’m passionate about loving where I live and making a home.

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