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Painted skeleton pumpkin
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4.86 from 7 votes

DIY Skeleton Pumpkin

Learn how to turn a plain faux pumpkin into a spooky Halloween skull pumpkin! It's very easy to do, and perfect for your holiday decor.
Prep Time10 minutes
Active Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 1 pumpkin
Cost: $12

Equipment

Materials

  • 1 Craft pumpkin
  • Skeleton clip art printed out to fit the pumpkin
  • Craft paint I used FolkArt - Licorice, Dove Gray, Metallic Silver Sterling
  • Mod Podge Sparkle
  • Purple craft leaves
  • Pipe cleaners black
  • White transfer paper and stylus
  • Stencil tape

Instructions

  • Paint the craft pumpkin with Licorice (unless you got a black craft pumpkin).
  • Tape the white transfer paper behind the pattern onto the pumpkin surface. Use a stylus or pencil to trace the image, leaving the white lines behind.
    Skull pattern traced onto the front of the pumpkin
  • Use your small brush to paint in the skeleton design with gray paint. Follow the pattern lines as closely as you can. Keep painting until you’ve filled the skeleton completely in and then allow to dry. Don’t forget the stem.
    Painting in the pattern with a small paintbrush
  • Use your small brush and silver to paint over the gray. It gives it a nice little sheen. Cover and then allow to dry. Paint the stem too.
    Painting over the gray with silver paint
  • Coat the pumpkin with several layers of Sparkle Mod Podge, allowing to dry between coats. Set aside and allow to dry.
    Painting sparkle mod podge over the top of the pumpkin
  • While you are waiting for the pumpkin to dry, take some of the leaves and glue onto the ends of pipe cleaners.
    Gluing black pipe cleaners to purple sparkly leaves
  • Once dry, wrap the pipe cleaners around a finger to make a curled vine effect.
    Twisting the pipe cleaners around a finger to create coils
  • Using the hot glue gun, attach the pipe cleaner “vines” to the top of the pumpkin, then start attaching leaves. Let the glue cool completely before displaying.
    Gluing the leaves to the skeleton pumpkin

Notes

Other methods for transferring the pattern if you don't want to do transfer paper:
  1. Cut out the image and hold it to the pumpkin, tracing around it in chalk (you can erase it later). Don't draw so hard with the chalk that you create grooves in the pumpkin surface.
  2. Turn the pattern over and color it with a white crayon. Tape it to the pumpkin and use a pencil to trace the lines, which will transfer the crayon to the surface of the pumpkin.