It might not feel like that “Hallmark-movie-type-Fall” here in the Rio Grande Valley, but make no mistake, Fall is here and soon we’ll be eating our fill of pumpkin pie. We have a wonderful tradition here at C.A.M.P. University where all our Staff, CAMPers, families, and board get together to for Thanksgiving (usually prior to the real one) and enjoy each other’s company. We’re a very big CAMP family. As we prepare for that event all of our art projects tend to lean in the direction of décor that can make our facility feel festive and a little hygge.
As you can probably tell from our website, our color is teal. So, we decided to be creative with some dollar store pumpkins and some of the succulents from our garden. What do you think?
Turn This... ...Into This
If you want to try what we did, here’s what you’ll need:
· Some of those not-so-pretty pumpkins (We found ours at the Dollar Tree.)
· Primary paint color of choice (We picked a teal acrylic.)
· A secondary paint color (We used a silver acrylic but a gold or or creamy color might work well too.)
· Shower Caps (The kind you might see in a hotel is perfect.)
· Potting soil (Look for a succulent blend which will help with drainage.)
· Small succulents
· Moss (We got this at the Dollar Tree as well.)
· A knife (We don’t recommend a serrated edge)
· Paint brushes
· Spray water bottle
· Plastic table cloth for easy clean up. (Trust us, you'll want something to catch the paint and soil.)
The top of the pumpkin should have a ring that you can follow like a dotted line. Use the
knife to cut the top off. Discard the tops.
Paint the pumpkin from bottom to top not side to side. We found it easiest to put our hand inside the pumpkin rather than holding the edge. Your hands will definitely get messy but it was the easiest way to paint. When finished set it aside too dry.
The secondary color is just icing on the cake so grab a fresh brush and make light strokes with a relatively dry brush. A drier brush will let the primary color shine through. You’ll go from the top where the hole is to about an inch or two down. Use your best judgement. When satisfied set it aside to dry.
Once the paint is completely dry, line the inside of your pumpkin with the shower cap so moisture stays inside. Then fill the shower cap with potting soil.
Remove the succulents from the pot that they come in and separate the succulents if needed. The big ones we potted as is but some of the others we wanted to group. Plant them in the soil but make sure they are not sitting too low in the pumpkin. Give the soil a quick spritz of water.
Finally pull off small pieces of moss and gently hide the dirt around the succulents. We liked the way it looked when some of the pieces hung down rather than being packed into place.
If any dirt is on the side of the pumpkin whe you’re finished you can use a third dry paint brush to lightly dust off the pumpkin.
So how did you do? Do you have a favorite way to use these pumpkins? Let us know.
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