Whitewashed pumpkins how-to.

Wow, TWO craft tutorials in a week?! Aren't you lucky! Says the girl who isn't crafty at all. I expect each and every one of you to show me up on these Halloween crafts, ya hear?

So. These pumpkins are really easy. And cheap, if you get the foam ones at the Dollar Tree. I spent a total of $3.75 on both.

 Whitewashed Pumpkins

Supplies:

Pumpkins
Black acrylic paint
White acrylic paint
Foam paintbrush
Mod Podge or clear spray paint (for finish)

1. Take your pumpkins and slather them in black paint. It doesn't need to be perfect, but you want to cover all the orange. I did two coats. Go ahead and paint the stem, too. Allow it to dry completely.

2. Cover your pumpkins in a few coats of white paint. The goal is not to cover them completely in white, but for them to be an off-white due to the black underneath. Since the white coat will be visible, paint in the direction of the spines/grooves on the pumpkin (from top to bottom). You'll want some of the black to show through on the spines or in the grooves. It gives it the shabby-chic feel.

Looking closely at this picture, you'll see that I left the stem somewhat black. I went over it with one very thin coat of white paint. The rest of the pumpkin got two coats. Over black, it's just enough that the pumpkin looks white but the black still shows through appropriately. I hope that made sense.

3. After the white paint is dry, coat the whole thing in a layer of Mod Podge. If you have clear spray paint, that might be a better bet. Either one is fine. The clear coat will give the pumpkins a little bit of shine, just like real-live pumpkins.

I'm not thrilled with the giant line cutting the pumpkin in half, but ... well, I'm a tight-wad. So I'll take a severed pumpkin if it means saving a few bucks. And this is all the Dollar Tree had: severed pumpkins. Just be aware of this. There might be a way of filling or sanding the crack. I'm not sure. Remember, I'm not crafty. So if you figure it out, more power to you! But the only non-severed pumpkins I could find of this size were about $10 each and at that price, I can go to Hobby Lobby and get whitewashed pumpkins already done. Ya see.

Alright, there you have it! Two crafts in one week. Just in time to decorate for Halloween.