In my Family Circle magazine there are some awesome painted pumpkins. I'm going to try and do something similar. The magazine makes it sound easy but gives no specific guidelines (what type of paint, brushes, etc). I'm a craft newbie so has anyone done this before? Any advice? Am I setting myself up to fail? I'm by no means Martha Stewart.
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They just used crayola washable paint over on Young House Love. I'm planning on doing a project like this with E this weekend. http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/10/pumpkin-fingers/
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@littlek: I am NOT crafter either but, I used a think, black permanant marker to outline my drawing first. I needed that so I could just fill in the lines.
Then, I used the fabric paint that I found at joaan's. I don't think you're "supposed" to use it, but it comes in an EASY squeeze tube/container thing.I basically made mine to be easy any way you look at it, because I am a failure at all things DIY. It went really well.
ETA: Another thing I loved about the fabric paint is that it dries quickly and is thick. No drippy pumpkins!
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I used acrylics to paint mine - less than a dollar at Hobby Lobby. Definitely don't use tempura paints... I did that last year and all the paint flaked off! Fail.
ETA: Brushes, anything really. I bought a super cheap sample pack of brushes from Hobby Lobby. It included foam brushes, coarse brushes, fine brushes, small, big. I used each type, and they were all useful in their own ways
An in-progress picture with acrylics:
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My only advice is to (1) do a rough sketch on paper and then hold it up to/on the pumpkin to get an idea of scale/ coverage/ spacing, and (2) you can always outline any wavy/uneven edges with a Sharpie or paint pen for a super clean finish!
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What about weather-proofing? I have a couple of artificial pumpkins that I think I'm going to paint. I liked the idea of using the craft acrylic paint (cheap!), but I wasn't sure it would hold up to rain.
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@kiddosc: love this!!!!
@TurtleDoves: any pics to share of finished product?
@swurlygurl: those look great! -
Acrylics will work well. You can get acrylic paint very cheap at walmart or a similar store. You can use any type of brushes really.
@MamaG: Acrylic paint is plastic based. After 24 hours it dries to a permanent plastic covering. It's not completely weather proof but it will hold up for a while. You can get a spray sealer or use hairspray along with it!
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I just used some regular craft paint and dollar store foam brushes for most of mine, but I also tried spray paint and much preferred that for my base coat! Then I painted my designs using the craft paint.
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@kiddosc: We tried this yesterday... FAIL... B had no interest in finger painting. So, I finger painted his pumpkin.
It's official, I'm no Martha Stewart. The pumpkins turned out um, Okay. I kept telling myself how this was a learning experience and the pumpkins will look better NEXT year.
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@littlek: Aww, we tried it yesterday too and ours are just ok as well. I had to take his hands and put it in the paint and then on the pumpkin and he eventually got in to smearing it around a bit. But all the colors mashed together too much and they look mostly brown... oh well.
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@kiddosc: hahahaha I tried that too. I had to dip his hands in the paint, he then looked at me, hit the pumpkin a few times and ran off to play. Your pumpkins look WAY better than ours.
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