How to: ‘Easy’ DIY chevron painted pumpkins
Shelby Kast creates a “How To” blog post for Halloween. She give step-by-step instructions on how to make a chevron painted pumpkin which turned out to be harder than she thought.
Halloween is this Saturday, and it is a long-time tradition to decorate a pumpkin. I have been carving pumpkins with my family for as long as I can remember. However, this year I wanted to try something a bit different. There has been an increasing trend with painting pumpkins instead. I decided to give it a try, but it didn’t turn out to be as easy as I thought it would be.
One of the most popular ideas on Pinterest is chevron pumpkins. At first, it didn’t seem too hard.
The instructions are as follows:
- Using scotch or painter’s tape to create a zigzag pattern on your pumpkin. You can create as many rows of zigzags as you like.
- You could use white paint to create a UT theme since the pumpkin is already orange or you can go with whatever color you choose.
- Once the paint has dried, peel the tape off. The result is an orange and white chevron pumpkin.
It seems simple enough. However, making the chevron pattern is much harder than expected. Since I am working a rounded, uneven surface, it becomes difficult to keep the zigzag lines level. Also, if the tape is not completely stuck to the pumpkin, the paint will bleed through, creating uneven lines. It is pretty hard to fix once it happens.
After getting over my frustration with this pumpkin, I decided to go back to the basics and carve. This fared well compared to the painted pumpkin. To create a UT inspired pumpkin, you can find several pictures and logos on the internet to serve as stencils. Here, I used the UT monogram.
Once finding a stencil, do the following:
- Before carving, the pumpkin must be gutted. Take the seeds out and thin the wall of the pumpkin. This makes it easier to carve.
- Print out the stencil. Be sure it is easy to see.
- Tape the stencil to your pumpkin.
- Use pumpkin tools, typically found at any local Walmart, to stencil and carve the pumpkin.
- After carving, use an electric light to light up the pumpkin. An electric candle is safe and lasts much longer than an actual candle.
Whether you are creative or not, feel free to try either idea this week. You may mess up, but it’s all about trial and error as long as you have fun.
Happy Halloween!
Edited by Jessica Carr
