How to Paint Faces on Pumpkins
Painting faces on pumpkins is a fun way to decorate for Halloween without having to clean up the mess that often results from carving pumpkins. When carving a pumpkin you only get one chance to cut it right. However, when painting a pumpkin you can mess up and try again simply by painting over the mistake, thereby making this a great option for kids and families. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Pumpkin (any size)
- Newspaper
- Pencil
- Stencil
- Acrylic paints
- Paintbrushes
- Acrylic clear coat
Instructions
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How to Paint Faces on Pumpkins
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1
Pick a pumpkin from a local farmers market or orchard. Pumpkins of varying sizes can be found for reasonable prices, and the whole family can get involved in selecting their favorite sizes and shapes.
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2
Wash each pumpkin with warm water and a mild soap to remove dirt. This will help the paint adhere to the pumpkin. Pat the pumpkin dry with paper towels until all water is absorbed from the pumpkin's surface. Place the pumpkin on a newspaper-covered table or work area.
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3
Decide what face you want on your pumpkin. Do you want a funny face, a scary face, a cartoon face or a friendly face? Popular pumpkin face ideas include scarecrow faces, vampire faces, ghost faces and the standard jack-o-lantern face. Ideas for pumpkin faces can be found in Halloween catalogs, coloring books or from costumes.
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Sketch out the face on the pumpkin with a pencil. If you feel your drawing skills aren't up to this task, consider finding a pumpkin face painting stencil that can easily be taped to the pumpkin and then outlined. A link to free pumpkin stencils can be found in the resources section of this article.
After you sketch out the face design on the pumpkin, write numbers on the pumpkin according to color. An example of this is 1-red, 2-blue and 3-yellow. This will help kids paint the face on the pumpkin just like they would paint a paint-by-number canvas.
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Paint the pumpkin using acrylic paints. Start with the hair and work your way to painting the facial features. For big areas use a wide paintbrush and for thin areas use a thin paintbrush. Let the paint dry after the face has been painted on the pumpkin. After the paint is dry, take the pumpkin outside and spray it with acrylic clear coat. This will make the pumpkin shiny and help hold the paint in place so it does not crack or chip.
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Tips & Warnings
Embellish your pumpkin face by adding hay as hair, a straw hat or a witch hat.
An adult should spray the acrylic clear coat onto the pumpkin face after it has been painted. Also, a smock or old shirt should be worn when painting the face on the pumpkin.
