Pimp your pumpkin
Don’t fancy spending hours hollowing out your pumpkin only to be left eating pumpkin soup/ pie/curry for the next month? Us neither. Thankfully, Zoe’s pretty pumpkins are cute and mess free. “As well as carving a big orange pumpkin this year, why not decorate some of the smaller squashes, including pumpkins and gourds?” she suggests. “I like to create a display using lots of squashes in all different sizes, painting them first in white or black, then adding copper accents.
You will need:
● Autumn squashes ● newspaper ● Sealant spray (optional) ● Acrylic spray paint in black and white ● Metallic copper acrylic paint ● Paintbrush
Method:
1. Wash the skin of the squash really well to remove any dirt and grease, and leave it to dry thoroughly, especially the stem – if this stays wet it can cause the squash to rot. 2. If you want to prolong the life of your painted squash, you can spray it all over with sealant. Do this somewhere with plenty of ventilation and over some sheets of newspaper. This will also give you a better surface for painting, as the paint will stick more easily. If using, spray a liberal coating of sealant all over the squash and leave to dry thoroughly. 3. To spray your entire squash in a single colour, lay down sheets of newspaper to protect your work surface (I did this outside). To make sure that the painted squash didn’t stick on the newspaper, I placed my squash on a wire cooling rack. Then to make sure I contained the spray paint, I placed an opened-up cardboard box behind the squash. Using a can of acrylic spray paint, carefully cover the entire surface of the squash. Leave it to dry thoroughly. If necessary, spray the squash again with a second coat of paint to get a smooth, evenly coloured surface. You will probably need to leave it overnight to dry properly. 4. Once the base coat of colour is dry, use the metallic copper acrylic paint and a paintbrush to add any highlights to the squash.