Faux Heirloom Pumpkins Tutorial for Under $10

Turn foam pumpkins into beautiful and colorful heirloom pumpkins with this easy tutorial using craft paint.

Today I’m joining a group of fellow Texas lifestyle bloggers in a fun series call 10 on the tenth. This group of ladies share creative ideas for under $10 on the tenth of every month and this month our theme is pumpkins! So grab a faux pumpkin or two and check out this easy DIY for faux heirloom pumpkins!

DIY Heirloom Inspired Pumpkins for Under $10

If you are new here, howdy! I’m a recently retired military spouse who moved back to Texas after being gone 19 years. I’ve perfected the art of rental decorating and overcoming challenges in small spaces the last fifteen years but now we are home owners and have a new set of challenges! I love infusing colorful global style with DIYs and furnishings in our one story 60’s ranch style home.

For this project I repurposed foam pumpkins that I have had forever. But I was excited to see very similar 6 inch foam pumpkins at the Dollar Tree this year so I know you can do this project with multiple pumpkins for under $10!

What you need for faux heirloom painted pumpkins:

• Dollar Tree or dollar bin foam pumpkins (Or repurpose ones you already have.)
• Large and small craft brushes
• Craft paint
• (Optional) pumpkin stems and hot glue

How to paint foam pumpkins to look like heirloom pumpkins:

First chose a color and have 2-3 variations (shades or tints) of the color. You can achieve this by adding white or black to the paint or just grab 2-3 small craft bottles in the same color family. I’m using a jade heirloom for my example but you can experiment with many different colors! Paint a pumpkin to look heirloom in three steps.

1. Paint one coat of a base color if your pumpkin is white or 2-3 coats for an orange pumpkin. Mint green is perfect for a jade heirloom look. Let dry.
2. Use a small craft brush and paint thin lines into the curves of the pumpkin with a slightly darker green.
3. Take a larger dry craft brush and drag the wet darker paint from bottom to top and top to bottom for dry brushing. Really fill in the grooves and let some paint get outside of the lines. Use the same color or lighten the color a little for the top and bottom of the pumpkin with a dry brush. (Watch the one and half minute video below to see the dry brush technique in action.)

Take your pumpkins a step further by adding real pumpkin stems! Carefully use a Dremel tool to remove the foam stem and then hot glue on a real stem. Fill in any gaps with more hot glue and then paint the base of the stem to the pumpkin covering any exposed hot glue with brown (or stem color) paint.

I went to a pumpkin farm and asked if I could pick up any stems that were laying on the ground and brought home a huge collection in varying sizes. All you have to do is ask!

The faux heirloom painted pumpkins look great on our DIY German smear fireplace (also for under $10) and other budget friendly Fall decorating ideas in our Fall home tour.

Make sure to check out what these other creative ladies are sharing for Ten on the 10th!!

Ann – The Apple Street Cottage
Patti – Pandora’s Box
Terrie – Decorate & More With Tip
Carol – Bluesky at Home
Tammy – Patina and Paint

Looking for a little extra help in the decorating department? Check out my FREE five-day email decorating course that gives you the tools to learn all about how to decorate with inspiration, decorating and organizational tips and tricks, and related worksheets. Sign up now and receive our weekly newsletter, access to a growing library of printable art, and exclusive offers just for subscribers.

Have a great day,

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