I’m on a mission to beautify cheap foam pumpkins! Inside every garishly orange pumpkin is a lovely little gourd just waiting to emerge. This is the tale of 3 Pumpkins and their amazing transformations! Up first I showed you how to make a Book Page Pumpkin. I also made a Monogrammed Pumpkin early in the season, if you want to check that out as well!
Next I want introduce you to the Faux Nailhead Pumpkin.
Aren’t they so stylish! While the Book Page Pumpkin was sweet and vintage, this pumpkin is a little more glamorous and sophisticated. Now I am as obsessed as the next person with nailhead trim. BUT I was not going to pay $2.00 for 10 nailheads only to be placed on a a Dollar Tree pumpkin! That would have been $14.00 for the amount of nailheads I needed! Um…no.
I needed to find a cheap alternative. Enter the humble thumbtack! First can I say how difficult it was to find just plain ole’ cheap thumbtacks?! I finally located them deep within the office supply aisle at Wal-Mart hiding as if they were ashamed behind all of the new fancy schmancy thumbtacks they make now. I found a pack of 70 for .78!
Here’s a quick step by step tutorial on how to make your own Faux Nailhead Pumpkin!
Supplies:
inexpensive foam pumpkins (I get mine from Dollar Tree)
Primer
Paint color of your choice (I used a soft blue)
Pack of cheap plain white thumbtacks
Copper or Espresso Brown Metallic paint
Pearl Metallic Paint
2-Foam brush
Small paint brush
inexpensive foam pumpkins (I get mine from Dollar Tree)
Primer
Paint color of your choice (I used a soft blue)
Pack of cheap plain white thumbtacks
Copper or Espresso Brown Metallic paint
Pearl Metallic Paint
2-Foam brush
Small paint brush
Step 1: Prime your pumpkin lightly using one of the foam brushes.
Step 2. Paint your pumpkin with color of choice using foam brush. Allow to dry completely.
Step 3: Using dark metallic color of choice and a tiny paint brush Paint 1 of the two sets of thumbtacks. I found it helped to dab the paint on working to avoid getting to much on the cardboard so they wouldn’t be “stuck” on it when dry. You might find you need to add a second coat for full coverage of the thumbtack. Allow tacks to dry completely.
Step 4: Paint the second set of tacks half with the brown metallic paint and half with the pearl metallic paint following steps above. Allow them to dry completely. While you have paint out, use the small brush to paint the stems of your pumpkin with the dark metallic paint.
Nailhead Pumpkin Option 1:
using the line on the along the middle of the pumpkin (from the pumpkin mold) evenly space your nailheads around the perimeter pushing them into the foam.
Nailhead Pumpkin Option 2:
For option two, place the two colors of nailheads in a random pattern over the surface of the pumpkin by pushing them into the foam.
And that’s it! A cheap and easy faux nailhead pumpkin!
What do you think of my faux nailhead pumpkins? I just love how they turned out!
Stay tuned for Pumpkin Number Three and thanks for joining me and my glam pumpkins…At The Picket Fence!
And don’t forget all week we have a $30 Pottery Barn gift card giveaway going on over on our Facebook Page to celebrate our 1,000+ Facebook friends! Be sure to head over and “like” our page and enter the giveaway! Just scroll down the wall and comment on the giveaway post. That’s it!
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LOVE this idea, very smart using the tacks, and even painting them!! xoxo
How cute are those! I love how you used tacks.
wonderful idea! thanks for sharing
Especially like these because they are CUTE and NOT orange! Same with the paper pages! Looking forward to #3.♥♫
Those faux nailhead pumpkins are adorable! You are so creative. And, that is my kind of project, love it! Thanks for sharing! XO ~Liz
Great idea! You are becoming a crafting genius! Hugs!
Cute pumpkins and how smart using tacks. I painted some plastic pumpkins and gourds with chalk paint and some metallics. Yours are looking mighty fine. Thanks in advance for joining the party.
ooh, so pretty! I may have to do this using a soft grey green. 🙂
I always thought painting pumpkins was smart…but painting thumbtacks!! Girl you are amazing with this idea!! So cute!
what a terrific idea….I wonder if you had used a bronze nail polish on the tacks….if the polish would have stuck…..I’m sure it costs more, but then I have a few dozen bottles sitting around drying up…
Those are adorable, and very clever of you to think of using the tacks! Love the color, I use that craft color often.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee!! I lurve them! Adorumble!
I have some white thumbtacks in my desk drawer in case you need some next time 😉
I love this! I would’ve never thought to do that. I love the one with the scattered thumbtacks the best. It’s all polka-dotted.
OMG Heather I love them both!! Martina
Fun, I just may have to go back for more!
What a cute and fun idea!
Yet another smashing idea! And yet again, I went to DT to discover not a pumpkin in sight.
I tell ya, somebody has gone all over my town buying up every pumpkin. I’ll just bet she’s a blogger, too. Those pesky bloggers.
(BTW, I don’t have a facebook. I’m the only one on the planet, but I don’t.)
This is such a cute (and thrifty) idea. Lov the pumpkins!
Hugs,
Sherry
love the copper accent~
I LOVE them! They look so expensive and classy! You are just too creative. I went to my Dollar Tree and no pumpkins 🙁
Your pumpkins are great! I love the color and the nail heads! Cute idea! Thanks for sharing!
Adorable. Love pumpkin decorating and these are awesome.
What an awesome idea – Southern Living had a beautiful pumpkin this month that used nailhead trim – your idea is just a pretty and so much more affordable! I love the pale blue too!!
You were so clever to use the tumbtacks and paint them. I love these pumpkins! Off to the Dollar Tree tomorrow!
Your project turned out great!
You are smart, smart, smart!!!
Love your pumpkins. They look amamzing.
Love those pumpkins! Thanks for sharing!
What a great idea and I love the price! Your tutorial is great because i think I could do this. I love both designs. I love the finished product…..
~Emily
The French Hutch
Love the glamour factor! I actually found upholstry nailheads at my WalMart in the hardware section. 30 in a pkg for $1.97– very DIY friendly!
Thanks for sharing!
Heidi @ Show Some Decor
These are so cute!
Those turned out AWESOME! I picked up my thumb tacks at Dollar Tree in boxes of 300. Granted, you would have to stick them in some cardboard. If you decide to do another project it’s worth checking $T. Hope that helps! =)
Great idea! Looks wonderful! I want to try this myself!
I saw your post over on Savvy Seasons. Your pumpkins look great! They would easily rival the ones in the October issue of Southern Living!! And for the price…genius!
Such a cute idea and so unique!
Great Idea! Thanks for sharing,Joann
Cute as can be! Thanks for sharing. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Adorable! I love seeing fun ideas with pumpkins. I love the one with the simple line of tacks around the pumpkin.
So Cute…I was just getting ready to paint my pumpkins too….I love the thumb tack idea thanks for sharing…would love it if you would share at Share It One More Time..
http://www.onemoretimeevents.com/2012/08/features-6-share-it-one-more-time-6-and.html
Tammy
Cute, cute ! BTW since you get your pumpkins at the $ store, you might want to get your thumbtacks there too. They are in a box of 300 for $1