DIY Sparkly Pumpkins - Tutorial

We really needed some fall decorations around these parts. Since we were in school last year we really didn't decorate our old apartment... at all.

For our new home I wanted some glamorous pumpkins. Can pumpkins be glamourous?  I don't see why not. I saw a white pumpkin at TJ Maxx awhile ago that was covered in glass beads and sparkles. I loved it but I didn't want to spend $20 on a fake pumpkin.

So I waited and looked around for some plain white (fake) pumpkins. Hobby Lobby was a big disappointment when it came to plain pumpkins so I headed over to Michael's. I found a plain white pumpkin, 50% off, for $4. Not bad. A little glue and epsom salt later - this is what I ended up with.


So you want to make one? Here is what you will need.



-Elmer's glue
-Epsom salt
-Pumpkin
-Sponge brush
-Disposable cups
-Paper plate (recommended)

I poured some glue into a disposable cup and some epsom salt in another cup. Dip your sponge brush into the glue and coat the pumpkin.

Put a light coat of glue on the pumpkin - you don't want to put too much on or else you will get runs and clumps.

Sprinkle the epsom salt over the areas that have wet glue. I did about a quarter of the pumpkin at a time. I was working on an old pizza pan (it is my portable work space) and wish I would have used a paper plate - it would have made clean up a lot easier - so you could make a funnel and pour all of the extra epsom salt back in the container.

Let it dry and find a new home for it. Mine ended up on our little entry table.

So this project ended up costing $8 - way better than $20! The pumpkin was $4, epsom salt was $3, glue was $1, and I already had the sponge brush and cups. But I barely made a dent in the epsom salt and glue. I am sure I will get a lot of use out of those supplies come winter time. 

I may try to use some food coloring and cover an orange pumpkin with some orange salt. Wish me luck!


UPDATE: I used some food coloring and was able to tint the epsom salt orange. It looks awesome on my orange pumpkin! See?

Sept 2014 Update: I just pulled out my fall decorations and the epsom salt on the pumpkins has turned completely white. I'm not sure if it is just an age thing or because it was stored in our attic in the Texas heat. These looked great for a couple of years but I'm going to brush off all of the epsom salt this year.