We love fall…and we love all things coastal! So we’re getting in the fall spirit with simple DIY nautical pumpkins.
We picked up a few white faux pumpkins and had some fun with a new layered nautical stencil! With a color palette of creams, browns, and a touch of metallic, it scratches our fall itch while making us bask in the nautical vibes that are season-less in our house.
They were so fun and simple to make! And with the layered effect, we can imagine all sorts of color combinations. Oh it’s sooo hard not to run to the store and pick up a few more pumpkins to decorate! 🙂
If you don’t have the stencil, don’t let that stop you! Pencil in the design you want right on the pumpkin, then paint it in with a brush instead.
What you’ll need:
- faux pumpkins
- adhesive nautical stencil (we used this layered stencil from Martha Stewart)
- acrylic craft paint in two colors (we used champagne gold and a very dark brown called “raw umber”)
- foam pouncer
- plate to put paint on (we re-use a plastic appetizer plate, but paper will do just fine)
- paper towels for any messes, wiping stray paint, etc.
How to make it:
1. Apply the adhesive stencil where you want it, and then use the foam pouncer to apply paint while holding the stencil down with available fingers as much as possible.
Remove the stencil after all areas are done, rinse the stencil, and then let the artwork dry on the pumpkin. (Of course, if you’re not happy with it, you can always use a thin brush, corner of a paper towel, fingernail, etc. to wipe any stray paint before it dries.)
2. Since we used a “layered” stencil, we then used the other stencil to layer on top of the dry artwork with the contrasting color. Too cool!
We played around a little with all of the stencils: anchor, ship, fish, and whale. By the time we had done the first stencil on all of the pumpkins, the first one was dry and ready for the second stencil.
With round surfaces making stencils a little tricky, we found that the bigger/taller pumpkins did better in terms of having a more flat surface to work with. Having an adhesive stencil really helps to hold it down.
The subtle contrast of the champagne gold color along with the dark brown really makes for a beautiful combination!
We hope you enjoy keeping the coastal vibe going all year long as much as we do!
P.S.- Looking for more coastal-inspired fall ideas? We’ve got you more than covered!! (We LOVE fall if you couldn’t tell.) Click here for 15 DIY Coastal Fall Ideas.
super cute! Adding to our “painted pumpkins” blog post on our site – will link back to you. Great job!
Yay! We’re so excited. Thank you for sharing, Caron! 🙂
I love the nautical white pumpkins and love the waterside dock setting too! Keep up the great ideas!
Yay! Thank you, so glad you’re enjoying!! 🙂