In the last post, I showed you my fall mantel with watercolor pumpkins:

I was a little conflicted about the watercolor pumpkins I made.

I think I like them? Sometimes, in the right light? But I KNOW I like them better than my first draft, which I neglected to show you because they were kinda weird and possibly reminiscent of a creepy blood-splatter handprint.

…which I guess is appropriate for Halloween… but not really what I was aiming for! (Maybe I should’ve spelled out “FAIL” instead of “fall.” So I redid them with a larger, chunkier font and more colors, and decided I like this version better.

But you know what? THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM!

Not that I actually DID this craft a third time, but I think I learned enough from the first two times that YOU can go do a fantastic job now and make your pumpkin letters like a hundred times better than mine, then send me photos and I will be both in awe and slightly ashamed. It’ll be beautiful.

Materials You’ll Need

• Real or craft pumpkins (Shazam! You didn’t even see that coming.) I got these at Michaels, 50% off stacked with a 20% off coupon.
• Acrylic paint in a couple different colors. (NOT watercolor. Trust.) I used maroon, gold, blue.
• Angled paint brushes
• Spray paint primer

1. Spray your pumpkins with primer

YOU MUST DO THIS EVEN IF YOU BUY WHITE PUMPKINS.

The pumpkins are kinda plastic-y, so the paint will just pool up on them and not soak in. The point of the primer is to create a surface that will accept paint, so don’t skip this step.

Yes, even you. I see you sitting there, thinking the rules don’t apply to you. Listen to the girl who ALSO thought this rule didn’t apply to her, and had to go do a whole extra spray paint session after she learned the hard way.

2. Write the letters on the pumpkin with pencil

I just found a cute font (this one is called “FFF Tusj” and you can download it free here) and printed out the word “fall” with a word processor.

I traced around the letters with a pencil so they kind of indented onto the pumpkin, then I removed the paper and retraced the indention with a pencil mark. Or you can just freehand the letter onto the pumpkin, if you have superhero letter-writing skillz.

(All these photos are from when I did my “first draft,” so the font is different. I forgot to take more pics when I made my second draft!)

3. Use a watercolor paint treatment on the pumpkins

Squeeze out a nice little blob of each acrylic paint color you’re planning to use onto a fancy artist’s palette (if you’re going to get serious about this) or a paper plate (if you’re like me), and set up a little station with a water cup and paper towels.

(I tried this with watercolor paints the first time, and listen: don’t try it! It does not work. The pumpkin rejected the watercolor paint faster than a cheerleader rejecting the fat kid at the middle school dance. It got awkward.)

Here’s the cool, mind-blowing part of this process: dip your angled brush into the clean water and brush the water around the outside edge of the letter. This will train the paint to go toward the water and away from the letter. It’s what makes this project look a lot harder than it is.

Monumentally important point: This is literally the first time in the history of View Along the Way that I have actually done a tutorial with a proper manicure (and probably the last)… because this is the first time since my wedding that I have HAD a proper manicure. Clearly I’m not one of those classy ladies who can get a manicure and NOT point it out to anyone who can hear. “HEY EVERYBODY! COME SEE MAH NAILS!”

Once the outside of the letter is wet, dip the edge of your angled brush into the acrylic paint and begin carefully brushing down the outline of the letter. The water will pick up the paint and spread it out a bit away from the letter. It’s actually kinda magical and enjoyable to watch.

Keep adding more water to the paint and brushing around the outside. If you’re using three colors like I did, outline about a third of it in one color, then switch to the next color and outline a third, then finish it off with the last color. Then, keeping your brush very wet, blend the colors together. It actually worked really well for me and didn’t end up turning into a giant brown sludge like I thought might happen.

I also had a real grown-up pedicure in the photo above, but look how classy I’m being by not pointing it out!

The trick to getting the paint to look mottled and watercolored is to just keep adding water around the edges and blending the colors. In the photo above, it really needed more water on the bottom.

A few things I learned along the way that you can use to make your much-better-than-mine versions:

• It might seem like the hardest part of this project is keeping the paint outside of the letter, but it’s really not hard at all. As long as you keep the outside of the letter very wet, the paint will try to go that direction.
• The hardest part is getting the outside edges of the color to look faded, but just keep it really, really wet and use your paper towel to blot around the sides and you’ll be set.
• It looks better if you use multiple colors.
• Try to keep the paint darkest right around the outline of the letter. I think the end result is much cooler that way.
• It’s worth investing in the shellac paint when you get your manicure. What, wait? #StillTalkingAboutNails

It’s fall, guys. My mantel hath declared it, though my green, summery yard shall deny it for another month. And you know what that means: we should all go get pedicures! (Don’t overthink this rule I just made up.) Has anyone else tried this shellac thing? Are you getting all mantel-ed up for autumn?

Linking up to: Lettered Cottage