Well, I mentioned that I’m not particularly into Halloween per se, though I have had fun creating costumes like these Pokemon outfits, over the years. Rather, I like to embrace a fall theme that can last the whole season and feels appropriately festive for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and beyond.

Decorating with natural elements fits well with the spirit of the season, though I don’t always get out to pick up gourds, and I do worry about them rotting over a period of a couple of months. So, I ended up with a lot of “faux” (yes, fake, artificial, plastic) pumpkins. Rather than trying to pretend these are real, why not dress them up with paint, stencils, or decoupage?

It has been a busy season for us, so I did this project with things I hard around the house. I started with some plain orange pumpkins I bought a few years ago for less than a dollar each. To be sure, they are not perfectly convincing when inspected up close, but they look great on the mantel or table. By adding paint, these took on a much more elegant and inspired look!

DIY painted pumpkins in metallic hues.

How to:

Start by spraying your pumpkins with a coat of primer, followed by a few coats of your base color. I used olive green, silver, and gold.

As you can see below, the solid color lacks dimension, so the next step is to brush on some thinned paint to bring out the details and tone down the color. On the gold pumpkin, I brushed diluted silver craft paint. On the green and silver pumpkins, I brushed diluted gold craft paint. The stems on all the pumpkins are a mix of green and black. Brush along the lines of the pumpkin, starting at the base of the stem, for the best effect.

Brush on paint to soften the look and add detail to your pumpkins.

Here’s how the finished pumpkins look arranged in our living room.

Fall mantel with DIY painted metallic pumpkins.

Once the season winds down, I’d love to buy some more pumpkins on sale and try new ideas for next fall.  What’s on my wish list for next year? “Looking Glass” silver spray paint from Krylon to mimic mercury glass pumpkins seen at Pottery Barn and copper paint, which would have the perfect orange metallic glow for a stylish fall display.

Hope you are enjoying the brisk and beautiful fall days!

“Jewels”