PUMPED-UP-PUMPKINS

Pump-up your Pumpkins
A Nancyfangles Whimsical Creation

Take your fall décor to a whole new level by pumping-up your pumpkins! What exactly does that mean? It
means that you can get a pumpkin at the dollar store, thrift store or local craft shop and transform it from
ordinary to extraordinary! It doesn’t take much to turn a plain pumpkin into a work of art. A little time, a little
money and even some common household items will do. Want to re-design a pumpkin to fit your fall décor?
Here’s how…
Supplies:
Thrift shop pumpkins
ModPodge or white craft glue
Assorted mini doilies
Tiny pine-cones
A paper lunch bag
Rubber stamp and distress ink (or watered down brown paint)
Assorted fall embellishments
Gold gilding wax
A hot glue gun and glue (Always use with Caution)
How I did it:
*For the velvet pumpkin:
The stem was broken, so I started by re-placing the stem with a wooden twig. I snipped out the center of a mini
doily and hot glued it around the stem. I continued to hot glue tiny doilies around the pumpkin until I was
pleased with the design. I also glued one to the bottom of the pumpkin. I finished it off by gluing a few tiny pine-
cones around the stem to add some natural elements.
*For the orange pumpkin:
This pumpkin was a little beat up, it had a few dents and even a few holes, so I decided to decoupage this one.
I found a complimentary decorative napkin and separated the layers so I had just the top layer. I ripped the
napkin into workable sections. I covered the pumpkin a section at a time with ModPodge and using saran wrap, I
smoothed out the napkin onto the pumpkin. I repeated the process until it was covered, including the bottom.
Once it dried I gave it a few more coats of ModPodge to seal it, allowing it to dry between coats. I then hot glued
some small pieces of glittery fall foliage and tiny pine-cones around the stem. I finished it off by applying a little
gold gilding wax with my finger to give it a little sparkle. I loved the idea of the butterflies as both butterflies
and fall are transformational.
*For the Patterned pumpkin:
This one was a challenge as it started out black and glittery. I started by painting over it to give it an even base to
work with. I wanted it to be decorative but to have a nature inspired vibe. Looking around my studio for
inspiration I noticed a stash of brown paper lunch bags and knew that was what I wanted to use! I cut the end off
of the bag and cut down the seem to make one long piece of paper. Then I scrunched it up, un-scrunched it and
scrunched it up again. I went to the kitchen and wet it, wrung out the water and scrunched it again! I ripped it
into pieces, layed them out and stamped them with a patterned stamp and distress ink. I LOVED how it looked!
I ModPodged the pieces of patterned paper onto the pumpkin, over lapping them a bit. I was sure to form them
into the grooves of the pumpkin but still allowing the wrinkles to remain. I sealed it with a few more coats of
ModPodge. I Added a few tiny pine-cones and hung a metal leaf around the stem.
I sat them atop some candle sticks to elevate them to another level! And there you have it – a trio of transformed,
Pumped up Pumpkins, for your fabulous fall festivities! Enjoy