4 FUN & EASY WAYS TO DECORATE CINDERELLA PUMPKINS
Pumpkins are such a major part of fall. We carve them, paint them, decorate them, lay them all over the house, and, last but not least, we make delicious food with them!
If you aren’t familiar with the “Cinderella Pumpkins”, they are the short, flat pumpkins that you can usually find in the section of the store near the gourds. Some of these pumpkins are up to 20 pounds and you can actually cook them as a winter squash. The pumpkins I am using here are a small variety, and you can use real or fake, large or small.
DECORATING THE CINDERELLA PUMPKINS
I bought a few of the small, flat pumpkins that they have in bins at the grocery store, just to see if I could do something creative with them. I’m really happy with how they came out, so I’ll show you exactly how I decorated them.
First, I decided to leave one pumpkin how it was, just because it was naturally so pretty. The next thing I did was spray paint a few of them matte black and I’ll so you what I did. These pumpkin decorations are all very easy, very cheap, and very quick projects We hit the trifecta!
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The Glitter Pumpkin
This pumpkin came out pretty and looks very dramatic. I can tell you with complete certainty that my sister would hate this pumpkin. She hates all things glitter. I remember when her daughters were little and I would do a craft project with them, they would always say, “We’re not allowed to use glitter. Our mom doesn’t allow glitter in the house.” Makes sense. It’s messy. But even to this day, do not send her a card that has glitter on it or give her a gift bag that has glitter on it. She may be smiling politely, but she is thinking about the little specks of glitter that will be left behind. Fact.
Materials
Instructions
- First, simply spray-painted it matte black, so that the orange would not show through.
- Cover the entire pumpkin (except the stem) with Mod Podge, using a sponge brush.
- I used some copper/metallic orange colored glitter that I had, and I carefully sprinkled the glitter all over the pumpkin, being sure to completely cover the Mod Podge. Then I held the pumpkin over some craft paper to shake off the excess glitter.
The Rhinestone Pumpkin
Next is the Rhinestone Pumpkin. This pumpkin is probably my favorite, and this is definitely the most simple. My family knows that I am all about the sparkles. I think the matte black paint along with the shiny crystals looks very pretty. Colored rhinestone stickers would have looked great on this pumpkin, as well.
Materials
Instructions
- Spray-paint the pumpkin with matte black to cover it all.
- Use a sheet of rhinestone stickers and stick them to the pumpkin, following along the natural vertical lines of the pumpkin. You could use any color you like or any color you have readily available to you.
TISSUE PAPER DECOUPAGE
This pumpkin ends up looking very pretty, but the process is messy and you just have to trust that when you finish and the pumpkin is completely dry, it really does look stunning.
Materials
Instructions
- Find a patterned tissue paper that you really like. This could be full of fall colors or look nothing like fall at all.
- Set your pumpkin down on the piece of tissue paper and cut a square piece that is big enough to cover the entire surface of the pumpkin when you pull all the sides, including corners, to the center of the top of the pumpkin. Cut out the square piece of tissue paper.
- Fold the square in half, making a crease, and then fold in half again and crease. You should now have a smaller square that is folded into quarters.
- Open up the full-size piece of tissue paper, and cut along one of the creased sides, just until you get to the center of the big square. Refold the tissue paper and cut a small opening in the center, to allow for the stem.
- Pull the tissue paper around the pumpkin, with the small opening in the center. Using a foam brush, paint a good coating of Mod Podge all over the pumpkin, and use your hands to begin smoothing the tissue paper out. (I use rubber gloves for this, just to keep the Mod Podge off my hands).
- Continue until all of the tissue paper has been glued down on the pumpkin. Set aside to dry.
- Once the pumpkin and tissue paper have dried, add another thick coating of the Mod Podge all over the top of the tissue paper. If there are any edges of paper sticking up, continue to smooth them down with your finger or the sponge brush. Then let the pumpkin dry completely.
PAPER NAPKIN DECOUPAGE
Lastly, I have included the Paper Napkin Pumpkin. This decoupage style is almost exactly the same as the tissue paper pumpkin, above. Again, it’s a messy process, but I think you will be happy with the results. You can look for any seasonal, patterned paper napkin that you like for this pumpkin.
Materials
Instructions
- Find a patterned napkin that you like. Prepare the napkin by peeling off the backing. You won’t be needing that thin, plain layer, so just save the thinner napkin that has just the pattern on it.
- Divide your napkin into quarters, using the natural fold of the napkin. Open up the napkin and cut along one line until you get to the center of the napkin.
- Refold the napkin and cut a small opening in the center, to allow for the stem.
- Pull the napkin around the pumpkin, with the small opening in the center. Using a foam brush, paint a good coating of Mod Podge all over the pumpkin, and use your hands to begin smoothing the napkin out. (I use rubber gloves for this, just to keep the Mod Podge off my hands). If the Mod Podge is too thick and tears your napkin, you can add a little bit of water and thin it out. If the napkin rips, don’t worry. Once you have applied the final coat of Mod Podge, nobody will be able to see any tears or imperfections.
- Continue until all the napkin has been glued down on the pumpkin. Set aside to dry.
- Once the pumpkin and napkin have dried, add another coating of the Mod Podge all over the top of the napkin. If there are any edges of paper sticking up, continue to smooth them down with your finger or the sponge brush. Then let the pumpkin dry completely.
In Conclusion
I really hope you liked these pumpkins. They can be used them on your dining table, maybe lined up along a table runner. You can stack them on a small table on your front porch. I used an old silver tray that I purchased at a yard sale and laid them out on that for now. Whether you use them together in a display or separate them around your house, they will look great and add a little bit of whimsy to your fall décor.
Don’t hesitate to message me below in the comment section if there was anything unclear to you in these instructions, and I will try to answer questions as soon as possible. If you enjoyed these projects, please share them with your friends on Social Media by clicking on one of the Social Media icons below.
More Fall Decorations
There will be a few more projects to show you over the next 2 weeks, so I hope you will enjoy all of it! A couple of additional fall decorating blog posts I have are the following:
https://celebrationelevation.com/blog/create-this-simple-diy-creepy-mummy-hand-for-halloween/
https://celebrationelevation.com/blog/easy-fall-decorating-ideas-you-can-diy/
https://celebrationelevation.com/blog/halloween-party-decorations/
Thank you for stopping by my website and reading my words and looking at my pumpkin projects! I hope you will try one or more of these pumpkin techniques out, and add them to your fall celebrations.
xoxo Teresa
