The Lettered Pumpkin

I haven't had a chance to do anything super crafty in a while, but I really wanted to try out an idea I saw on the Better Homes and Gardens website.

Kevin and I don't really decorate for the holidays that much, because any extra money we have is spent on things that we need to fix up the house. Paint, wood, caulk, nails, tools, etc. Once the house is done (ha ha, yeah right!) we look forward to being able to spend more time decorating for the holidays.

But on a trip to the hardware store the other day, I just couldn't resist buying ONE white pumpkin. I knew it would be perfect for the project I had seen on BHG.com.



Before we headed home from the hardware store, we stopped by the new Hobby Lobby (a.k.a "The Lobster"). It just opened last week, so there was a big time Grand Opening sale going on. It was a mad house. I'm talking, pure pandemonium. Total "Tickle-Me-Elmo-hysteria-on-Black-Friday-1996" all over again. Except this time, is was all about the fake pumpkins, Halloween decorations and glitter.

Lucky for us, all we went in for was a pack of doilies and some stencil brushes...



Those aisles were like ghost towns. Obviously no one had seen the Better Homes tutorial that I had!

Before we checked out though, I did grab a pumpkin-on-a-stick near the check out lane...



It was 50% off $1.99. I didn't want the stick on it, so I just pulled it out. Easy breezy.



I also grabbed this twig one while I was there too. It had some leaves and a ribbon around the stem, but I wasn't crazy about them, so I cut them off. This one was 50% off of $7.99.



Back at home, I started by making sure all the little holes in the doily were completely open. I used a nail to poke out any extra paper that hadn't been fully punched out...




Next, just like the woman on the BHG.com tutorial, I cut out the center of the doily...




Then, I coated the back side of the doily with spray adhesive...



...and stuck it on the top of the pumpkin.



Using a stencil brush, I used some brown-colored craft paint to fill in the holes...





I went all the way around one time, and then when the first coat had completely dried, I applied a second coat...



When I was finished painting, I pulled off the stencil...



I wasn't 100% happy with the results, so I just used a small paint brush to go back in and add a little more detail...



I was really starting to get into it at this point, so I thought it might be neat to add a cursive letter "P" (for Palmer) to the front of the pumpkin. I printed one out (backwards) and "traced" it onto the pumpkin.





Since the pumpkin was somewhat soft, my pencil lines were very easy to see...



I filled in the "P" with more of the brown craft paint, and voila! Done!

I think it turned out pretty cute. I only wish I could afford to buy bunches of pumpkins so I could play around with all kinds of different designs! (Mental note: plant a pumpkin patch someday)



The three of them will probably end up on the linen press in the hallway.



But don't quote me on that...things are always changing at the last minute around here! :-)

Hope you enjoyed my little "tutorial inspired by another tutorial" and that you're having fun with your pumpkin(s) this year too!

Layla

Awesome Item Alert: Check out these galvanized place cards I purchased from Farmhouse Wares a few months back. I'm going to use them to label the appetizers at our "Halloweenie Roast"!