Trash to Treasure: Chalk Painted Pumpkins
Learn how to create beautifully chalk painted pumpkins using Dollar Tree or thrift store pumpkins!
Helloooo my fall DIY lovers! 😊 It’s officially fall, so I don’t feel like I have to hold back anymore!
Where my fellow pumpkin lovers at?? If you love decorating for fall with pumpkins, then this fall DIY is for you! This week’s DIY is a fun trash to treasure project…using thrift store, garage sale, and dollar store pumpkins!
These chalk painted pumpkins can be done in just 3 easy steps…and let’s get real: step 1 barely counts.
Let’s get to it!
Chalk Painted Pumpkins: Supplies
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First, let’s get a little visual of what these pumpkins looked like in the beginning.
Yowzers.
The bright orange pumpkins are from Dollar Tree, while the other (but equally “in your face orange”) pumpkins are from a garage sale!
Since writing this post, I’ve also picked up several more pumpkins from local thrift stores that I plan on adding to this collection!
Here’s what you’ll need for this project:
- An assortment of fake pumpkins (suggestions below)
- Dollar Tree has small bright orange foam pumpkins just begging for a makeover!
- Hit up your local thrift stores to look for fake pumpkins. Remember: you can paint just about anything. So even if you find something hideous, think of what it could look like with a coat of paint!
- Garage sales are another great place to look. The pumpkins that I used retail for almost $30 a PIECE at some local craft stores. I scored all 6 for just $5 at a garage sale!
- If all else fails: Amazon! They have a few affordable selections of craft pumpkins that would work well for this project; like this set of 12 small pumpkins or this set of 3 larger pumpkins.
- Chalk paint colors of your choice (see below for my color picks)
- Waverly Inspirations Chalk Paint: Celery (available at Walmart)
- Waverly Inspirations Chalk Paint: White
- Spray paint (optional)
- I chose to use spray paint as well because I really liked the Rust-olem Green Camouflage color. You can skip this step and just stick to chalk paint, OR you can skip the chalk paint altogether and go the spray paint route.
- Gold paint for the stems
- I used acrylic gold paint because that’s what I had on hand. It’s definitely not full-coverage for a surface like this, but I like how the original color of the stem kind of peeked through. Feel free to use any other type of gold paint as well.
*Other supplies you may need: paint brushes
How-To: Chalk Painted Pumpkins
Step 1: Wipe Down Your Pumpkins
This first step barely counts, but take a damp rag and do a little wipe down of your pumpkins to rid them of any oils and gunk. Seriously, don’t spend alot of time doing this. A quick wipe is all they need.
Step 2: Chalk Paint Your Pumpkins
Chalk Paint: If you’re chalk painting, go ahead and paint your first coat on each pumpkin. Don’t worry about getting the stem, since that will be painted over at the end.
Once the first coat is completely dry (about 30 minutes), apply your second coat.
Spray Paint: If you choose to spray paint, you know how it works. Go outside and give it a good spray.
You may have to wait for one side to dry (10 minutes tops) before you can spray the other side. Make sure all the orange (or the original color of the pumpkin) is fully covered.
*Although the Rust-Oleum Camouflage spray paint covered my pumpkins BEAUTIFULLY, I did try a white spray paint as well…and it was just “meh”. It didn’t give me the same coverage as the Camouflage paint and the paint “ran” in a few different places. So keep that in mind if you go the spray paint route.
Also, DON’T go the cheap route on spray paint. The cheap stuff (like the $1 cans) is terrible!
Step 3: Paint the Stems
Once your chalk painted pumpkins (or spray-painted pumpkins) are dry, use gold paint to paint the stems.
Again, I used acrylic paint…which is NOT meant for this kind of surface. So it didn’t fully cover the stem like chalk paint would. But I actually like how it turned out and felt like it gave the stems more “deminsion”.
Tada! Beautiful and Modern Chalk Painted Pumpkins
Chalk painted pumpkins in 3 easy steps? Yes please! I’m loving the look that the green color scheme adds to my fall decor!
And bonus: if I’m not feeling those colors again next year….I can repaint them. That’s the beauty of chalk paint!
As always, I love to see your takes on these fall DIYs. If you post on Instagram, be sure and tag me (@herhappyhome) with your own version of these chalk painted pumpkins! What colors will you use??
Want more easy fall DIYs? Check out the other posts in this series:
- Stylish +Cheap Fall Decor for Your Home This Season
- $5 Buffalo Check Wreath
- Dollar Tree Buffalo Check Banner
- Dollar Tree Farmhouse Frames w/Free Fall Printables
- DIY Wood Bead Wreath
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