Just Paint It: Decoupaged Pumpkins

It’s amazing how many ways there are to decorate pumpkins, don’t you think? While decoupage isn’t anything new, I loved using these purple Halloween napkins to make these little pumpkins pop with color.

To be honest, I’m not a great decoupager or Mod Podger or whatever you wanna call it. My projects wind up with air bubbles and wrinkles and . . . stuff.

All that doesn’t matter when you decoupage a pumpkin.

Let me show you why.

If you’re using napkins, separate the patterned sheet from the blank sheet so you have a thin piece of paper.

I got these napkins at the dollar store – I know! – but it was either last year or the year before.

One of those these-are-so-cute-I-know-I’ll-use-them-for-something kinda things.

I loved all of the scrolls – now you see the inspiration for the black and silver pumpkins – but I wanted the jack o’ lantern and witch to be the stars so I tore the napkins into strips – main pieces and filler pieces.

I put the main pieces on the broader part of the pumpkin.

Um, yeah . . . a couple of things . . . first, notice the orange pumpkin? That didn’t work, unless you like a little orange with your purple. Huh uh.

And second, see how I used the whole napkin on the orange pumpkin? That didn’t work either.

Spray paint your pumpkins white.

Ok, yes, the pumpkin on the right has tons of wrinkles. It looks like I decoupaged the entire pumpkin before I figured out the orange was gonna show thru, doesn’t it?

ahem.

If you want your purple pumpkins to have a little glitter . . . who wouldn’t want sparkly purple pumpkins . . . I mean . . . c’mon!

Grab some Sparkle Mod Podge for the topcoat.

Another ‘lightbulb’ moment – paint the stems first, before you start gluing.

Let’s review:

Separate your napkin to remove the blank sheet.
Tear the napkin into pieces to make it easier to mold to the pumpkin.
Paint the pumpkins white, or any color that won’t compete with the napkin.
Paint the stems before you start gluing.
Use Matte Mod Podge to glue the napkin to the pumpkin.
Use Sparkle Mod Podge to topcoat.

Well look at that. I can write a tutorial in just a few sentences!

But where’s the fun in that? It’s like a decoupaged purple pumpkin without glitter.

Maybe it’s just me, but if you’re gonna have a purple podge’d pumpkin, it needs to be a sparkly purple podge’d pumpkin.

(I couldn’t come up with a P word for sparkly. Sorry.)

Now that I have your mind thinking of P words that sparkle, have you decorated any pumpkins this year? What’ve you done? Real pumpkins or foam? Tell me, tell me!

Decoupaged Pumpkins Supply List

foam pumpkin

Halloween napkins or tissue paper

Mod Podge matte

Mod Podge Sparkle

FolkArt Licorice paint

Colleen

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