DIY: Dollar Tree Pumpkin Redesign!

First, I removed the sunflower and raffia bow from the front of the pumpkin.

Removing the sunflower and the raffia bow from the front of the pumpkin.

Next, I sanded the front of the pumpkin using sand paper also bought at the Dollar Tree.

I then painted the front of the pumpkin with Waverly white chalk paint.

A nice coat of paint on the front of the pumpkin.

Once the paint dried, I drew faint pencil lines on the pumpkin to mimic the grooves of a pumpkin.

Faint pencil lines were made to mimic the grooves a real pumpkin has.

Then I painted the pencil lines in with brown Folk Art Wax.

Painting the lines with brown Folk Art Wax.

Lines and outline complete, including the stem.

Then, I antiqued the pumpkin by using a fairly dry brush with the wax on it and brushed it over the pumpkin. Then I quickly wiped it off with a damp paper towel.

Brushing on brown Folk Art Wax to antique the pumpkin.

Quickly wiping off the wax with a damp paper towel.

I decided a lot of the grooves I had painted on the pumpkin got too faded when I antiqued it, so I quickly painted the lines again. Live and learn, LOL!

You could still see the Friends part that the previous pumpkin had, so I decided to use burlap ribbon that I purchased at The Dollar Tree to cover it.

Decorating the front of the pumpkin with burlap ribbon.

Securing the burlap ribbon with hot glue.

I made a stencil on the Cricut that reads, “Hey there, Pumpkin”. I didn’t have stencil sheets, or card stock, so I used the back of one of my daughter’s old workbooks to create the stencil.

Taping the stencil down, getting ready to apply the paint.

One key to stenciling is to try to keep the brush sort of dry with paint. I use a paper plate to dap the brush on before I paint the stencil. A round stencil brush helps too, which I don’t have, ha ha. I painted the burlap ribbon with Apple Barrel Black Paint.

Applying Apple Barrel Black paint to the stencil.

“Hey there, pumpkin!” This is how it looks before I filled in with a black sharpie.

Then I used a black sharpie to fill in any spots that didn’t have the writing. It helped to fill in any bald spots underneath the burlap.

Filling in bald spots with a black Sharpie.

Next, I wound some garden twine around the pumpkin stem, and secured it with some hot glue.

Adding some garden twine around the stem and hot gluing it.

Then I added a piece of cotton stem, that I also purchased at The Dollar Tree, to the top of the pumpkin. I secured it using some hot glue.

Placing the cotton stem to the top of the pumpkin.

And here is the finished pumpkin. I think it turned out awesome! The cost was about $3 to make, minus the cost of paint and garden twine. It has a nice, rustic farmhouse decor look. I hope you like it too! What do you think? Do you like the before or after better? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks for joining me! Please follow my blog, and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, DIY Happy Home, to see my upcoming future home projects.