Dollar Tree Pumpkin Makeover

WOOHOO!!! Today is the first day of fall, which is my very favorite time of the year! This coming weekend I'll put up my fall decorations, but I decided to work on a little project this past weekend to get a head start:

I started out with 5 painted Styrofoam pumpkins that I picked up at the Dollar Tree:

They were very bright orange and shiny, and I thought that a little aging/distressing was in order, so I mixed up a little black and brown acrylic paint with a bit of water to create a wash to cover the pumpkins:

Using a sponge brush, I applied the wash to the pumpkins and then dabbed off the excess paint with a paper towel:

After the paint wash dried, here's how the pumpkins look...the shiny orange is gone and they've got a nice, antiqued look to them:

Since I planned to put these in a little garden cart in my front flower bed, I didn't want them to blow away as the fall winds kick up, so I placed a wooden skewer into the base of each pumpkin so that I could secure them in the garden cart:

I wrapped a cardboard box in plastic shopping bags, covered the box with straw, pinecones and artificial leaves before placing the skewers into the cardboard box to secure the pumpkins in the cart:

I think they turned out pretty well, and even better, I've only got $5 invested in this seasonal display! When the end of the season is over, and it's time to start decorating for Christmas, I can just toss the pumpkins if they look bad.

Here are a couple of pics of some of the decorations that I put out on my front porch:

I've got the materials to make a new fall wreath this coming weekend, but for now I just put up the one that I already had:

Be sure to check back next week to see the new fall wreath that I'm making this weekend. I hope that the rest of your week runs smoothly and that your upcoming weekend is TERRIFIC!!

Blessings,