Mod Podge Pumpkin Tutorial

Being ever so crafty, I couldn't just get regular pumpkins when I started decorating for fall. I saw this awesome blog post last year and decided that I needed to try the technique out. Mod Podge Pumpkins

So off I went, to Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart, and collected some supplies.
To do this project you will need:
Pumpkins (real or plastic, same degree of difficulty)
Funky tissue paper and napkins
White paint (acrylic or spray paint)
Mod Podge

As this was my first attempt, I chose a variety of napkins/tissues, paints and assorted pumpkins. The advantage of using the plastic pumpkins is that you'll be able to use these again next year.

(I tried to take pictures during each stage of the process but forgot a few!)

First, paint your pumpkins white. In the past I've used spray paint, but for this project I used acrylic paint. It's your personal preference- if doing this with kids, I'd probably paint them before you brought them in) If you're planning on leaving some of the pumpkin visible, you can use other colors, but for completely covering, it looks better with white :)

Let your pumpkins completely dry. If they aren't dry, the mod podge will not stick.

While your pumpkins are drying, cut your napkins into strips. The main tutorial says to take the backing off of the napkins, but I found that this makes the napkins tear more when you're applying the Mod Podge, so leave the backing on.

Coat the back of the napkin with Mod Podge. It will go on white and dry clear. I used a spongy craft brush. Once you have applied a coat, position your strip onto your pumpkin- I applied vertically and followed the contour of the pumpkin. Push the ends down into the pumpkin's crevices so that nothing is sticking up. Note: Once you put these down, they dry quickly and will not pull up easily without tearing.

I've found that the best way to do this next part is to divide your pumpkin into quarters visually. If you put your strip on one side, go directly across and apply your other strip. Then do the same on the other sides, as if you are cutting a pizza. It should make sense (especially with zebra stripes) to place them right next to each other, but that just doesn't work for me.

Next, wait until your strips are dry on the pumpkin. Then, coat the outside of the strips and pumpkin with more Mod Podge. Be careful as this is still tissue paper that we're working with and it may tear. Dabbing it will be okay. It will look messy as the Mod Podge will go on white, but it will dry glossy and shiny.

Be creative with this project! You can make your pumpkins look any way you want them to! What inspires you?

Thankfulness

As the weather gets colder and the leaves crisper, I can't help but think about the wonderful holidays coming up! The holiday season is really the best time of the year, and as I've gotten older I've really become a lot happier when Christmas rolls around. (It helps that last year I was on a beach the week before!)

In honor of Thanksgiving and the Facebook "Thankfulness" challenge- I will post the things I am most grateful for. But I won't do it every day. Maybe every week or so. So since it's already November 5, here's 5 things I'm so thankful for today:

1. Adam. He came into my life like a whirlwind and stuck around. He's seen me at my absolute worst, he's seen me at my radiant best. We have so much fun together. We get each other. We're stubborn together. We have barely anything in common except for our joint love from the Golden Girls. He loves anything grilled and I'm a sucker for fried; he loves old music and I'm a total pop star; he loves Clint Eastwood movies but I love Reese Witherspoon. It works. He adores me, and I'm quite fond of him as well.

2. My job. Sure, it's rough some days. Sure, it took 100 resumes, 2 interviews and 20 rejection letters to get here, but a lot of people are still without jobs in this economy. I'm grateful for the opportunity and the challenge that it is and will be for me.

3. Zumba. Before I got caught up in Zumba, I was silently (okay, not so silently) cursing my ever widening hips at home, sitting on the couch. Zumba has not only given me a lot more energy, shrunk me just a little, but also given me valuable "me" time- away from the hustle and bustle of my home! I love that one hour I'm away!

4. My mother. She's a good mama. She answers my 20 calls a day, she laughs at most things I have to say, but she can always put me in my place.

5. Mod Podge. I love it. It has helped me in my pursuit of crafts. I love creating things, and it makes it all work!