Acrylic Paint | TheProjectPile.com

You know those super-ugly pumpkins and gourds that you can get from the dollar store?!

OK, well maybe they aren’t that ugly…. Perhaps they just aren’t quite the right colors for your home décor? Well, guess what! You can transform those dollar store pumpkins into something beautiful that will work perfect for you!

It’s really way easier than you are probably thinking, too! I used chalk paint and acrylic paint, but really any type of paint that you have on hand will do!

Umm…. Step one – Ditch the toddler!!!! Just kidding! (Maybe!)

Ok, step one for real now! The first thing that you want to do is mix up your base coat. I had some white chalk paint on hand, so I just simply added some dark green acrylic paint to it, until I created a color that I was happy with. Kind of like a mossy-mint green, I guess?! Next I applied this base coat to all of my ugly dollar store pumpkins. I actually applied two coats of paint for my base coat. This may vary depending on what type of paint you are using…. Just keep applying paint until you have full coverage!

Looking pretty good, right?! Definitely much better than before, but I still wanted to add a little more detail, so they looked just a little more realistic. Now you may think this is the tricky part, but really it’s quite simple, so don’t panic!

(Hey! Looking for more great pumpkin decor ideas? Check out White Painted Pumpkins and Milk Glass!)

I just picked out the accent colors that I wanted to add to my mossy-mint pumpkins, and put a dab of each color onto my pallet – uh, I mean mason jar lid! I then dabbed a little of each color onto my paint brush. The secret to get everything blended so well is to keep using the same paint brush for all of the colors, without rinsing in between.

I then started applying the accent colors inside the grooves of my pumpkins. Then I went back to each groove and “brushed it out” across the rest of the pumpkin, using vertical strokes only!

I just kept repeating this process for all of my pumpkins…. Playing with the accent colors until I was happy with them. I then went back and repainted my stems. Being the sloppy painter that I am, any extra paint that I got onto my pumpkins, I just “brushed it out”, and blended it in!