I have another great pumpkin project for you today, friends! I am showing you how to make plaster covered pumpkins. They have so much texture and add neutral beauty to my fall decor. I love the way they turned out and I hope you do too!
I have shared lots of fun pumpkin crafts with you this month. And I am just as excited about showing you how to make plaster covered pumpkins as I was about the others. I know the word “plaster” can sometimes turn people off. But this plaster project isn’t super messy. And it’s really simple to do!
I use a pre-mixed, ready to use, comes in a small tub, all purpose sheet rock as my plaster. It’s a joint compound for drywall but works perfectly for this project. And, since it’s ready to go right in the tub, we don’t have the mess of mixing.
I do put down a sheet of cardboard to protect my table. But even I don’t make much of a mess with this! So grab your closest pumpkin and chip brush, and let’s get crafting!
How to Make Plaster Covered Pumpkins
When it comes to fall decor, the sky is the limit on the possible ways to create it. I have been having so much fun seeing the amazing projects that creatives have been coming up with this season. There has been so much inspiration to be found and can’t wait to share new projects with you all!
I first made these plaster covered pumpkins in my membership group. It has been a few years and I still love them. So I thought it would be ok to share them with you all now. I hope you love them as much as I do!
How to Choose your Pumpkin
You can use practically any faux pumpkin as a base for this project. The one I used was plastic and had a greenish yellow tint that matches my decor. I haven’t tried it with a foam pumpkin but the process would be the same.
My advice is to choose a pumpkin with a color that matches your home. You will want to let a little of that color shine through. So keep that in mind when selecting your pumpkin.
I also think that the finished plaster covered pumpkins look better in pairs or groupings. You can select your main pumpkin and then pick one or two smaller ones to display with it.
How to Make Plaster Covered Pumpkins Supply List
- Craft pumpkin (I used a plastic one from Hobby Lobby, about 12″ across)
- All purpose sheet rock (I prefer the one with the blue top because it dries whiter. The green lid dries a little bit greyer)
- Chip brush
- Sanding block
- Something for your stem
- Hot glue gun
- Spanish moss
How to Make Plaster Covered Pumpkins Instructions
- Dip your brush into the tub of sheet rock. You want quite a bit on the brush. Then bounce/dab it onto the pumpkin. I am not painting it on. Instead I bounce the brush around the pumpkin. Doing it this way adds all the texture that I love about this process.
- Work your way around one half the pumpkin, repeating this process. You don’t want full coverage here. Let some of the pumpkin color come through.
- When you are about done, take the brush and lightly brush over the joint compound. You don’t want to completely smooth it out, just take off the sharp peaks. This will lower and soften some of the high spots.
- Make sure the bottom of your pumpkin (where it will meet the table) is nice and smooth. That way it will sit level wherever you put it.
- Let this half of your pumpkin dry. Then repeat the same process to the other half.
- Once the pumpkin dries, knock off any spots that are still sharp or standing up too far. A drywall/sheetrock sponge is great for this. But a rag will work too.
Finishing your Plaster Covered Pumpkins
Once your pumpkin is dry, you can leave it as is. Add your stem and any cute vintage bits and bobs that you want to. But you could also take the pumpkin itself a bit farther. For my pumpkin, I added a bit of white paint.
Since all I had was the green lid sheet rock, it dried with more of a grey tint than I wanted. To get it back to white, I used my chip brush to dab on white paint.
I did it just like I did the sheet rock, bouncing and dabbing my brush. I didn’t completely cover the sheet rock. Then I went back in with a cream colored paint and did the same thing. The different shades worked well together and I love the results!
I stopped after I painted my pumpkin. But you could go in with antique wax and get down into the bevels to add more color and definition.
Once my pumpkin was dry, I used hot glue to attach the branch I choose for the stem. To make this easier, I poked into the top of my pumpkin and cut out a little bit of it. That let me push my branch down into the pumpkin a bit. Which gave me more places to add hot glue. And helped support the weight of the stick itself.
As my last step, I hot glued Spanish moss to the top of my pumpkin, around the stem.
Choosing a Stem for your Plaster Covered Pumpkin
In my opinion, the stem is the most important part of the pumpkin. It is where the character of the pumpkin really shines through. I really love the look of curly willow branches. So that is what I used for my stem. But you can use any kind of branch or stick that you can get your hands on.
You can also save your real pumpkin stems from year to year. I started doing this a long time ago because I love the look of a natural dried pumpkin stem on a lot of my projects. All I do is remove them from their original pumpkin.
Then lay them out to dry. I store mine in a cool dark storage area all year and then pull them out when it’s time to craft for the next season. I even have friends and family members who save their stems for me now. That way I have plenty to work with each season!
The Wrap Up
And that’s how you make plaster covered pumpkins. It’s easy, it’s pretty quick, and they are adorable! This is definitely one of my new favorite pumpkin projects. I hope you love it as much I do!
I would love to see how you use them in your own home. So if you post any pictures of your garlands on social media, tag me so I can check them out! As always, I hope you love this project as much as I do. Happy crafting, friends!
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