DIY Metallic Pumpkins

I love using pumpkins in our Fall decor both indoors and out, and today I’m going to show you how to create pretty metallic pumpkins simply by layering a few different shades of metallic paints onto fake craft pumpkins.

Layering paints will give you a rich and beautiful color with subtle variations you won’t get when using just one color of metallic paint. Since you’re using thin coats of paint, the layers dry quickly and you can have beautiful metallic pumpkins in just a couple of hours!

DIY Metallic Pumpkins

Supplies: 

Medium size craft pumpkins
Modern Masters Metallic Paints (Teal, Sage, Hunter Green)
DecoArt Dazzling Metallics Glaze (Olde World Patina)
Paint Brush
Paper Towels
Wax paper
Wire-edged decorative ribbon

Step One: Paint one coat of Hunter Green metallic paint onto each pumpkin. You’ll notice this paint goes on super smoothly, and a thin coat is all you need. Yes, there will be some of the pumpkin’s original color showing through which is fine. Let dry.

Step Two: Starting on the bottom of each pumpkin, apply a small amount of Teal paint and — using your paint brush — spread and fan the paint upwards on the pumpkin. The teal paint has an almost silver look against the dark green. It’s a neat effect and almost gives a mercury glass look to the pumpkin – at least that’s how it looks to me.

Here’s what the bottom will look like when you begin:

Notice that you see lots of green through the teal. This is what you want. (Trust me, it begins to make sense as you continue layering!)

Step Three: Once you’ve fanned out all the paint from the bottom, repeat the process beginning at the top of each pumpkin. Add a small amount of teal paint to your brush. Wipe the paint on a paper towel to remove some of it from your brush. Apply this paint to each pumpkin starting at the top and fan out as you did in Step Two.

Here’s what the pumpkin looks like so far:

Step Four: Apply the Sage metallic paint to each pumpkin, brushing it lightly here and there as an accent color. You’re going to apply less of this color than the teal paint. Apply it in the same way as before: put a small amount on your brush, wipe onto a paper towel, then lightly apply to the pumpkin.

When it’s time to get more paint on your brush, use what’s left on the paper towel first. You’ll see that you don’t need much paint as you layer each color.

Here’s the pumpkin with the sage paint applied:

Step Five: Layer the Hunter Green paint over the previous colors on each pumpkin. Again, use a paper towel to easily wipe off some of the paint from your brush before applying the paint. I did several long swipes of color – very lightly – from the stem of the pumpkin down to the bottom. Doing this begins to blend the colors together a bit more.

Step Six: Repeat the layering process over again with all three colors of metallic paint on each pumpkin. Continue with this until you like the way it looks.

In fact, you may love it so much you’ll want to stop at this step!

Step Seven: Apply the Metallic Glaze to each pumpkin, one section at a time with your brush. Brush the glaze over a section – top to bottom – then immediately wipe the glaze off with a paper towel. Repeat for each section.

The glaze further blends the metallic paint colors together, adds a hint of turquoise patina, and gives the pumpkins a wonderful depth of color.

In the image below, the pumpkin on the right has been glazed, while the pumpkin on the left has not. 

Let the pumpkins dry for at least an hour before displaying. 

I added a wired-edged, plaid ribbon to the stem of each pumpkin, simply tying it once and bending the ribbon into place. Easy peasy!

Isn’t the color gorgeous? I took these pictures outside, next to our real pumpkins and gourds. The metallic pumpkins do have a slight mercury glass quality about them!

I’ll keep these outdoors in dry weather only. Otherwise, I know these will look very pretty on our dark wood dining table!

How about you? Have you decorated any pumpkins yet this year?

Happy crafting!

~Laura

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