Fall’s five: Primping your pumpkin
Ashley Silvey, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Carlee Colvard, managing editor.
In 2015, it seems as though the words pumpkin and fall are synonymous as many people tend to associate the orange-colored squash plant with the start of the autumn season. This year, however, a new trend has gained popularity: personalizing and decorating pumpkins.
Long gone are the days where merely jack-o-lanterns line the front porch of neighbor’s homes. Now, a variety of exciting and unique ideas for primping pumpkins can be found all over the Internet. From the simplest of decorations to the most creative and original, here are five ways to decorate your pumpkin.
1. Capture the character
In the midst of the superhero hype and the countless character crazes prevalent in today’s society, the capture the character option is ideal for representing the character you support. Capturing the character does not require any exceptional artistic talent and no carving necessarily has to take place.
All that is needed for this pumpkin style are the appropriate tubes of acrylic paint and a black permanent markers to make outlines or to shade in the smaller areas. If symbols or intricate details for a character, such as Batman, are difficult to draw, you can use templates offered through Google or other search engines to trace around.
2. Going glittery
For those who love the sparkle and shine of glitter, going glittery is a great alternative to carving. Depending upon your personal preference, you can choose to carve a face or your favorite catch phrase into the pumpkin.
If you decide to carve, however, ensure that you do so before dowsing your pumpkin in glitter. As with capturing the character, this project does not require an abundance of artistic talent but just enough to accomplish what you want.
All the supplies you need are white glue, a few shakers of glitter and a foam brush to spread the glitter out evenly.
3. Chaos with crayons
As is true with numerous Pinterest craft ideas, the chaos with crayons has the potential to turn out happily or horribly. Either way, the chaos of the craft will be perfect for the spooky Halloween season.
While a 24-pack of crayons would allow for more color, a simple 12-pack could work just as well. Also, a tube of white acrylic or chalk paint will be needed to layer the pumpkin so that the colors from the melted crayons will be more visible and exuberant.
Remove the labels from the crayons, break them in half and glue the crayons to the crown of the pumpkin with tack glue. Finally, apply heat to the crayons either individually as you glue them or collectively once you have glued them all.
The heat can be accomplished through a blow dryer set on high. Make sure you have a disposable surface beneath the pumpkin because this abstract craft is potentially very messy.
4. Photo plant
Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest provide several options for capturing photographic memories of family, friends and fun times. Your pumpkin can be a gesture of your appreciation and thankfulness for the wonderful times gone by, making this style fitting for both Halloween and Thanksgiving.
For the photo plant, be prepared to use quite a bit of ink. You can even use your printing money from the library to accomplish this task.
The only materials you need for this option are the photos (the number of which depends on the size of the pumpkin) and white glue. To smooth out the glue beneath the photos, you may want to use a foam brush but that is not a requirement.
5. Laden with leaves
For those of you who love the fall season but wish to maintain an aura of simplicity and tradition, the laden with leaves provides just that. Whether you choose fake branches of leaves from the Dollar Tree or you string together ones fallen from the trees all over campus, this project is very inexpensive and practical.
You can drape the leaves across the pumpkins attractively or you can glue them onto the actual face of the pumpkin. Laden with leaves is the most natural of the five options but still allows for a hand of creativity and originality in primping your pumpkin.
