Tutorial Tuesday: Holographic Spiderweb Pumpkin
So carving a pumpkin has never really been my thing. You get so excited as a child to make a jack-o-lantern, you head to the pumpkin stand and pick out the tall and skinny pumpkin to make a silly face, or that short round pumpkin to make a scary face, or maybe you want that perfectly shaped pumpkin to make the just right jack-o-lantern. I will admit I always wanted to do something just a little different. Then you get home and realize that your parents won't let you use a knife. Then you get older and realize how much work it is to actually carve a pumpkin, not to mention you are terrible about creating a straight line, and your pumpkin looks not a thing like you envisioned. Or, maybe that is just me.
Last year my friend Kari had the right idea. She let the girls color and glue frozen stickers to their pumpkins. They had a blast and we did not have to pull out any knives. So, I thought this year we would decorate a pumpkin. I have been loving all the black and white Halloween decorations. So classy! Just check out our Pinterest board, you can totally tell that I gravitated towards the black and white. So, I thought a black and white pumpkin would be great!
I got my inspiration form the cobweb plates we carry in our store, plus we have a lot of holographic items this fall. They are crazy fun! I went to Amazon, of course, and ordered some white spray paint, holographic paint, and a black paint pen. Then, I headed to the local grocery store and picked up a pumpkin.
Of Course We Have to Have a Before Picture
Now let's get down to work. We grabbed the local paper and placed one of the stepping stones from my daughter's playhouse upside down onto the paper and placed the pumpkin on top. We have visions of turning her playhouse into a fairy house. Doesn't that sound like the sweetest idea? I have big plans but the stepping stones are as far as we have gotten. But that is for another cooler day, you know when it is not in the 90's in September.
I have never been great at spray painting. I get too close, get runs, and it just isn't great looking. But with a pumpkin I was not concerned, runs will add character, however it was surprisingly easy to get good clean lines. Perhaps I have gotten better over the years, more experienced, or more than likely it was just spray paint I was using.
After just a few minutes, the pumpkin is covered in white and it is time to start the second coat. The little one wanted to help out, of course she isn't really strong enough to use the spray paint but I let her "try".
We let the pumpkin dry over night. I am sure it would have been fine in an hour or so, but it was getting late in the afternoon and we were sweaty! Remember 90+ here and look at what the princess is wearing.
Day Two, on to the painting. I actually was a little shocked when I opened the lid of the paint and it just looked white. I was thinking oops maybe we should have spray painted the pumpkin black or silver. I guess this will go on the Blog as a mistake. But two coats later and we love the way our pumpkin looks. And yes the little one did get to help with this step. She would run off and play pirates with her dolls and then come back and offer her assistance to paint a few more strokes. We let the pumpkin dry and hour between each coat.
Don't you love that holographic sheen? So pretty!
The spiderweb only took a few minutes. I am not an artist, I am a former teacher. And as a former teacher I would often humor my students with my unrecognizable drawings. That is why this spiderweb is perfect, you can just free hand it! I snapped a few pictures so you could get an idea on where to start and how to connect the lines. It can be intimidating to start but really it is super easy. In fact we will be purchasing another pumpkin so my four year old can make her own web on one and I bet it will turn out great.
I stopped my spiderweb about half way down the pumpkin, but you could do it all over the entire pumpkin. Adding a few of those plastic spiders might be a cute idea. So, what do you guys think? I love it as a centerpiece.
Don't forget: Make Memories, Be Joyous, and Sprinkle Some Happiness!
Much Love,
Brandi