What better project to consider this time of year than one that would involve pumpkins? Now, I'm not really a fan of pumpkin anything. I don't eat or drink pumpkin products if I can help it; I don't even really like pumpkin pie unless it's slathered in whipped cream and/or ice cream. I don't really carve pumpkins because the guts feel weird on my hand and smell weird and the pumpkin kind of rots before it's actually Halloween. I probably have a few pumpkin decorations, but that would involve going out into the abyss of the bonus room (an area I haven't managed to corral properly just yet) and looking for them. I'd much rather spend $382 and 64 hours making my own pumpkin decor, hello?!
One of my friends recently pinned this pin on Pinterest. I followed the link through to the website and was impressed by the tutorial that made me believe that I, too, could paint a lovely pumpkin canvas. I want to make mine into a door hanging for my front door, but I'll do that only if the final product doesn't embarrass me.
Here are some links to various blogs that I linked to from Pinterest in order to do this project:
If you like these links, you should prob follow my Craftiness board on Pinterest, just saying.
To prepare for this grand project, I headed to my local craft stores for supplies. I bought the canvas and paints at Michael's; canvas was 50% off or about $8 for a 20 X 24 piece and paints were 66 cents each - I bought 5 colors. Next, I stopped by Hobby Lobby to look for something else entirely and came upon a great deal on paintbrushes for mixed media. I snagged a package of 10 for $5.99; with my 40% off coupon, it was around $3.50 total for the package. Pin was pinned, canvas & paints &
brushes were purchased. All that was left to do was actually make the project.
After a pretty long day of work and night class, I settled into my studio to watch the democratic debate and sketch out my pumpkin. Here's what my initial sketch looked like. I didn't trace anything; I just referred to the pics and her instructions on her website, then I went for it. I had thought to myself that tracing a pumpkin was an option if I couldn't just freehand it. If you're too nervous to freehand it, definitely just trace a pumpkin. Who cares if you use a pattern or stencil to get the exact pumpkin shape you want!
I didn't want my finished project to look too much like the original, so I started looking for ideas that would allow me to make it a little different. Ultimately, I decided I wanted two pumpkins on my canvas instead of just one. (I really wanted three, but I didn't think I could get everything to fit since I'd drawn the first pumpkin as such a fat one.) Take a look at the sketch that includes a small pumpkin in the foreground.
- Will I still be able to see my pencil lines to create the pumpkin lines? yes, no problem there
- How will I cover said pencil lines if I can still see them? the darker color paint and blending fixed this no problem
- Should I try to put my initial or a phrase or a word on the large white pumpkin, especially knowing that I'm likely to majorly jack it up in some way? too afraid of jacking it up, so I opted not to try this
- If I love it, what will I make on the 12 X 24 canvas I also bought? A scarecrow? A pumpkin topiary? A shock of corn? A snowman? I'm excited about the possibilities, but I guess I need to finish this one first. idk what I'll make yet, but I guarantee I'll be making more of these
I have plans with the fella this evening, but I plan to head home after school and a meeting to work on my pumpkins a bit more. Take a look at what I manged to accomplish is just about an hour of work between my plans on Wednesday afternoon.
I mixed up some light brown paint for my shadowing...
I looked at some pictures of handpainted pumpkins online and decided I wanted to add some curly things coming off of the stem. Here's how I started that process. I also toned down the bright green stems with some brown and khaki to muddy it up a bit and make it look more aged.
In all, this project cost me about $15. I spent a total of about 4 hours working on it, not counting drying time. I'm actually really proud of the finished project and hope some of you will consider making your own seasonal door hanging. Check out my finished door hanging:
Here it is from a distance with the sunlight shining on it Thursday afternoon. (And yes, those are all the leaves that fell in the last 24 hours on my front step. Oy!)
And here's my view from the inside of my house looking out my front door. I think it's cool how the design bleeds through to the back with the light shining on it - an unintended bonus.
Finally, here's the closeup photo of my canvas on my front door. I'm loving it and am super proud of myself; look at me making a Pinterest project that wasn't a nightmare failure. Woot! Woot! I cannot wait to work on another canvas - check me out being all crafty and messy. These are better photos that I took before leaving for school this morning.
Ultimate takeaway from this crafty experience? If I can do it, anybody can. I promise you. Now, go and be crafty, my friends. :)
Great job Tiffany. I am inspired to try painting a canvas. Thank you for sharing your successful project.
ReplyDeletewell done!!!
ReplyDeleteThis came out great and how neat that you were able to use some tips from your Dabble date to feel more confident on the project, too. Learning new things is da bomb. :)
ReplyDeleteI love it! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous!
ReplyDelete