One of the things I look forward to every year is, undoubtedly, decorating pumpkins. However, after doing it for so many years, coming up with fresh ideas was proving itself to be more difficult! So, I just thought to myself, "What are my favorite things, and how can I make that out of a pumpkin?" I can't seem to get enough of succulents and cacti right now, so immediately I thought "cactus pumpkin!" and here we are.
I'm going to apologize in advance for not taking any 'progress pics,' but, admittedly, I kind of made this one up as I went along. Sorry!
- Small faux pumpkin
- Small terracotta pot (or pot of your choice!)
- Light green acrylic paint
- Darker green acrylic paint
- Low-Temp Hot glue gun + glue sticks
- Hot pink felt
- Straight pin
1. Plug in your glue gun. Set aside.
2. Using the darker green paint, paint your pumpkin completely.
3. With the lighter green paint (you can also just mix the darker green with white paint), highlight the ridges of the pumpkin to create a 'natural effect.' If the two colors kind of blend together, that's fine!
4. Once the pumpkin is completely dry, grab your glue gun to make the spines of the cactus. Along the ridges that you painted the lighter color, squeeze a small dot or pearl of hot glue and pull away, so that there's a small peak in the glue. Repeat all the way down the ridge of the pumpkin, and then repeat all the way around. This took a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly. After all of the hot gluing, there will likely be "hot glue strings" everywhere, so just trim those off with a pair of scissors.
5. With the hot pink felt, cut a 1.5" diameter circle, and then cut small notches all the way around the edge of the circle, so that it looks like rays of a sun. Fold the circle into quarters, and then using the straight pin, pin to the pumpkin near the stem.
6. Place your pumpkin in the terracotta pot, and you're done!
If you have any questions--since I know these instructions are kind of tricky!--please feel free to contact me. And, stay tuned for my next pumpkin DIY, because it just might be my favorite pumpkin of all time...bold words, I know. Any guesses?!?!
