Project: Mercury Pumpkins

      I love fall.  I think that may be the ultimate cliche, but I do not care.  It is a great season, and there are so many reasons that everyone proclaims their love of it regularly.  I am on the fall bandwagon and couldn't be happier to be there.  I got a Pottery Barn catalog in the mail, as I do every two days or so it seems.  This was the holiday version, and on the front were some beautiful mercury silver pumpkins.  I love things that are shiny and sparkly, and I certainly love pumpkins - put those hands together, and I am sold.  I thought it might be easier and cheaper to recreate than purchase from Pottery Barn, and it was!




When I looked online, it actually looked like most of these were sold out, but the little one that was still available cost $24 - it cost me a little over $35 to make all three of mine.  You could probably find cheaper pumpkins - I wanted the good foam ones that would last for several years, and they aren't just super cheap, even when 40% off at Hobby Lobby.

Here's what you need.



A pumpkin (mine were all heavy foam pumpkins)
Metallic Silver Spray Paint
Martha Stewart's Metallic Mercury Glaze

I started off by spray painting all the pumpkins just silver.  You could actually just stop there and have cool silver pumpkins.  That would be super easy.




After getting them all silver, I took the glaze and painted over the spray paint.  I took a self-timer picture of myself crafting this step - I am thinking I may not do that very often.



Here is what my little pumpkins were up to while I was crafting.




In my mind, the mercury glaze was supposed to make it look more dirty and glazy.  It just looked a little more silvery when I was finished.



So, I decided to improvise.  I mixed the glaze with a little black acrylic paint and water in a cup.




I put black spots over the pumpkins.




Then, I brushed just plain water over that to make it run and spread out.



It worked!  At least, I like the way it turned out.




Happy Fall!