DIY Pumpkin Decor

A few years back on our fall California vacation we made a stop into a little store called TARGET. Not surprisingly, they had the most EPIC fall décor items. Sadly, our suitcases were not large enough to bring back the cute decor pumpkins we wanted to- among them these adorable studded Pumpkins. We weren’t too disappointed though, as we figured- how hard could it possibly be to make our own DIY pumpkin decor? We couldn’t wait to make our own studded pumpkins!

If you don’t feel like buying more mini pumpkins, do what Richelle did and repurpose your Thanksgiving Pumpkins with a little Spray Paint!

For the actual studs – we got a few different kits of studs in packages of 100 because we wanted lots of options for our studded pumpkins! Make sure you buy the studs with prongs and not the ones with screws for the back.

We also found some at Michaels that were in an “Antique” Gold, so we chose to spray paint those ones to make them shinier, that said, some of the antique patina comes through, which we LOVE!

I also found some more ‘modern’ studs on Amazon ( Pyramid and Cone shaped) that did not require spray painting.

Thumb tacks can also be used if you like!

Here’s What you Need to Make Studded Pumpkins:

• Ghost Pumpkins & Mini pumpkins of assorted colors
• Fabric Studs (See above!)
• Rust Oleum Spray Paint (Found at Home Depot)
• Paint Brush (Michaels)
• Gold Acrylic Paint ( Michaels)

How to make DIY Pumpkin Decorations:

• Choose which pumpkins to spray paint (We have done Black, Gold, Grey, Pink and Cream over the years!). We recommend doing this outside or in a garage to spray. We put kraft packing paper and garbage bags down, and wear rubber gloves to avoid mess!
• Then use gold Spray Paint to paint Fabric Studs. I found it near impossible to find shiny gold studs at any craft store. So this was the best way to achieve the look! Again use kraft paper.
• The studs have a tendency to lay on the face (which is where you want the paint to be), so I found I just sprayed some of the paint into a small “puddle” and dipped the studs in. Then lay to dry on their side, try to rotate after about a half hour.
• If you are not keen to spend the time spray painting studs, you can also search for “gold fabric studs” on Amazon and eliminate this step!
• The next day, Once paint has dried on black pumpkins, Paint all pumpkin stems Gold with Acrylic Paint.
• Once Studs have dried, decide where you want to place them on your pumpkin. I chose to place some along the seams on some, do a sort of Ombre on one and to create designs on others. Get creative!
• Finish the designs on your last studded pumpkins.
• Stand back and wait for the compliments to roll in on your awesome Fall and Halloween Décor!

Before:

After Spray Painting:

Stem Painting:

“Helping” with VERY close supervision

Gold Cone studs placed Seam-wise

Black With Pyramid Studs

We even did a few in Pink Chalk Paint and Glossy Cream

And a few in Grey Chalk Paint too!

We’d Loved to see your Punk Pumpkins! Share your photos with us on Instagram by tagging us @rivercitysisters #rivercitysisters or send us an email rivercitysisters@gmail.com.