BLUE AND WHITE PAINTED PUMPKINS

Do you ever think that Thanksgiving is rushed off the calendar? It just feels like September and October get the pumpkins, gourds and candy corn.

By the time the calendar turns to November, the squirrels have had a pumpkin buffet on the front porch steps. So this year I am determined to give November a little attention and these blue and white pumpkins are perfect for the autumn colors, minus the green and purple of Halloween’s past.

BLUE AND WHITE PUMPKINS

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A few years ago when I did an informal count of all my real pumpkins in the yard and in the house I decided to add a few faux pumpkins to slow down the keeping up with Instagrammers. Sometimes it’s just too much.

At $6 for a real pumpkin and a shelf life of a few weeks, it was time to add a few faux pumpkins to the decor.

Like many of my decor decisions, I go all-in on a trend or decor like these decor staples. So over a few weeks of Michael coupons, I had an assortment of white and orange foam pumpkins.

Orange and white combinations can be a bit harsh so I painted a few pumpkins with my favorite creamy white paint.

I loved the softened look and it made the styrofoam pumpkins look warm and cozy.

Which is the perfect mood for November.

This year I stepped up my pumpkin game and painted a few pumpkins with this favorite blue.

I loved the blue pumpkins and decided to round up a few tired styrofoam pumpkins of various sizes and mix them up on the porch.

With one of my favorite color pairs, it just made sense to have blue and white pumpkins. I encourage you to pair a few of your own favorites. I shared this orange and blue pair on my porch on the gram.

And, what transpired was completely by accident and instant love!

Let me explain.

I intended to paint the pumpkins blue.

But, it turns out I paint the way I used to mow the yard on Saturdays- with random turns in no particular order. It drove my dad crazy and my attempts to explain my technique just left him flabbergasted.

Back to the blue and white pumpkins!

My plan was to paint the entire pumpkin but as I randomly painted between the ridges it left a trough that showed a bit of white. And then something really cool happened. With each brushstroke, it created a “striped” look between the pumpkins’ ridges. It resembled a vertical tie-dye.

HOW TO MAKE NAVY AND WHITE PUMPKINS LIKE THESE

• For the smaller pumpkins, I used a 1″ foam brush and for the larger pumpkins I used a 2-3″ foam brush.

• I propped the pumpkins on a mason jar lid. It keeps the pumpkins from rolling off the counter.

• I painted the pumpkins with Benjamin Moore’s Mascarpone. Let dry.
• Use a foam brush and paint down every other “ridge” of the pumpkins. The foam brush “toggles” over the ridges which creates the white space on the pumpkin.

If it’s too stripey in places go back and paint additional ridges. If you look at my pumpkins there are more defined stripes and then sections where I added more blue paint.

I love this happy blue and white paint accident. This is exactly what November needs-a little spunk with blue and white pumpkins. I hope you all find joy and gratitude in the month of November.