Shabby Chic Hand Lettered Pumpkins

Thanks to Plaid Crafts for sponsoring today’s post; all opinions are honestly my own.

Fall is FINALLY in the air here in Maryland, but it’s been fully underway inside our house for a few weeks now. While much of our home decor is the same year-round, I do love to decorate the door, the mantle, and the entryway seasonally just to keep things fresh and festive. Today, I want to share with you my fall entryway display and show you how you can recreate it in a few easy steps with some help from Plaid Crafts & Target. Let’s get started!

First, I want to show you how I transformed two plain paper mache pumpkins I found in the craft section at my local Target store into shabby chic decor.

You’ll need:

Paper mache pumpkins {available in two sizes}

Delta Ceramcoat® Acrylic Paint: White, Antique White, Burnt Umber

FolkArt Wooden Layering Block

Paintbrushes: one medium, one very thin liner brush

Pencil with eraser

Step 1: Paint the body of your pumpkin{s} white.

The Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint was a great choice for this project because it gives such great coverage that I only needed one coat to completely cover the original color of the paper mache. This paint {which is made in the good ol’ USA!} is also perfect for stenciling and decorative painting on wood, terra cotta, and plaster surfaces. It dries to a matte finish, which is just what I wanted for that shabby chic, farmhouse vibe.

Step 2: Use a wood layering block to lightly add small areas of Antique White paint.

This helps create a slightly distressed/realistic look since no real pumpkin is pure white all over. You’ll want to get a very thin layer of paint on your wood block, then gently rub the block across the raised areas of your pumpkin. Isn’t it fun how you can give the look of removing paint by adding paint instead?

Step 3: Follow the same process to add Burnt Umber accents to the stem.

This adds texture and dimension, as well as letting you cover any areas where you got white paint on the stem.

Step 4: Use a pencil to lightly sketch your family’s monogram.

I’m using the Faux Calligraphy technique here, writing my letter in cursive, then drawing a second line to thicken the downstroke of the letter. For more specifics on how to do that, check out my beginner hand lettering post!

Here’s a quick and easy guide to how you can form each letter of the alphabet! Feel free to copy my letters or write in any style you like!

Step 5: Go over your pencil lines with Burnt Umber paint.

Or, feel free to use your favorite color! I wanted something neutral, but a pop of orange or even one of the six Delta Ceramcoat Flash Metallics {pink, green, aqua, blue, blue violet, and purple} would look fabulous. You’ll want to use a thin liner brush and trace your pencil marks, plus fill in the space between the double lines on the downstrokes.

That’s all there is to it! Of course, you could also use the same technique to write a word or phrase, like “fall,” “thanks,” “blessed,” “give thanks,” or anything else you like. Since I was going to display mine near a letter board, I chose to keep things simple with just the monogram.

I also chose not to letter on the smaller pumpkin, because I didn’t want the display to become too wordy. I think it’s as cute as can be just painted and distressed.

You can find Delta Ceramcoat® Acrylic Paint at Target in 22 colors and six new Flash Metallic colors at Target in the craft aisle or at Target.com. As if that weren’t a good enough reason to go shopping, I also found most of my other entryway decor at my Target store too; a 12×12 letter board from the home decor section, plus a garland and a strand of battery operated mini rope lights from Bullseye’s Playground! Click here to shop now for your own Delta paint and supplies!

I’m loving how my entryway came together and I’ve gotten lots of compliments from friends and family when they’ve come to visit. It’s the first thing people see when they come in the house, after all, so I might as well make it fabulous, right?

For more entryway, mantle, and door decor, check out these other posts from my fellow Plaid Creators.

Basic Wood Wreath – Petticoat Junktion

Hello Fall Wooden Sign – Flamingo Toes

Plaid Pumpkins – The Cards We Drew

Farmhouse Fall Table – Positively Splendid

Striped Maple Fall Wreath – The Pretty Life Girls

Plus, be sure to follow Plaid on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Don’t forget, if you like it, then you ought to put a Pin on it! What will you do with your entryway this fall?

Hand Lettered Pumpkins

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