By : Joanne Palmisano,
We painted and carved chevrons patterns onto three pumpkins, inserted
tea-lights then stacked the pumpkins together to create a retro-style topiary.
Moss-covered stones were laid around the base of the topiary to give it a little
earthy yet eerie feel.
Tools and Materials
serrated knifejigsaw (optional)
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins by Funkin)
painter's tarp
6 to 9 battery-operated tea lights
4 colors of craft paint (we used green, blue, black, white)
small artist paintbrush
dry-erase marker
Clean Out the Pumpkins
Cut a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin and clean out the innards.
Dry-Fit the Stack and Create Pattern
Place the pumpkins on top of each other. Use a dry-erase marker (washable
marker) to draw a chevron pattern across the middle of each pumpkin a little
more than halfway around the pumpkin. Do not draw your pattern all the way
around whole thing. Disassemble the stack and mark which is the top, middle and
bottom.
Carve Part of the Pattern
Use a serrated knife or jigsaw to cut the patterns. If using a jigsaw, drill
a hole first, then insert the jigsaw blade before turning it on. On each
pattern, leave two stabilizers to help handle the weight of the other pumpkins
(so it doesn't fold down on itself).
Paint the Rest of the Pattern
Paint two zigzag patterns above and two below the cut-out pattern, using four
different paint colors. Repeat on the other two pumpkins. We put each color in
the same exact location on each pumpkin. Let the paint dry completely.
