DIY Painted Pumpkins from a Mesh Bag

I've always been a fan of painting instead of carving my pumpkins... never been very good at handling a knife! For today's DIY, I partnered with DecoArt to bring you my first fall decor project featuring their Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint. This paint is pretty awesome...it's as easy to use as regular acrylic paint, but it leaves the surface looking ultra-matte and chalky, giving it that rustic look that I love. Can't wait to use it on more home decor projects! 

As I was trying to decide what kind of pattern to paint on the pumpkins, I just happened to see a mesh bag filled with tangerines in my kitchen. Turned out that the mesh bag worked perfectly as a stencil! It's also a super easy way to paint so the kids can join in too. I  used artificial pumpkins for this project so that I can reuse them each year, but you can use real ones too. 

Follow the steps below to make your own! 

Supplies:

• Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint
• Artificial or real pumpkins
• Mesh bag (I upcycled the bag that my tangerines came in...you can also buy mesh sheets)

• Cotton balls (or a foam brush) 

Steps: 
• Place a section of the mesh bag over the pumpkin.

• Dip a cotton ball in paint and dab it a few times on a scrap paper before applying to the pumpkin.
• Dab the cotton ball over the mesh bag (like a stencil).

• Continue until the pumpkin is completely covered. 

 

Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint is available in Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, A.C. Moore and other stores. Visit the DecoArt Chalky Finish website for more chalk paint ideas and inspiration. This post was created in partnership with DecoArt. All opinions are my own.