DIY Halloween Decor: Sequined Pumpkins

Quick note: I rushed to get this tutorial written so you could take advantage of the sales going on right now.  All products mentioned here were from Michaels, and are 50% off this week.  Most of the rhinestone packs were only $1.50 on sale, so scoot on over there if you want them for a great price!  My rush to publish this post hopefully explains the glue drying in one or two photos.  ;-)

My friend "K" should know better than to throw me a challenge, even inadvertently.  She sent an email asking how to make these "bedazzled" pumpkins:

for less than their $158 price tag.

Challenge accepted, my friend!  It's like she read my mind-- I've been looking for a new idea, something different from the same, tired, "scary" Halloween decor in all the stores.  My dream is to find modern Halloween decor that won't terrify my kids.  I threw out my stressful to-do list and Noodle and I headed to Michaels just to "scope out" supplies.  Turns out I could not resist the sales this week and filled up my basket with sparkly goodness.  Once I got home, it took just a few minutes to whip up these babies:

Not quite like the originals, but not bad for a knockoff, right?  The best part is how customizable these are.  I like mine with a little less bling, but I'm sure most people prefer more.  You can use pre-glued rhinestones or create your own pattern.  The {fake} pumpkins come in four sizes and three colors, too.

I was amazed at the selection of materials I found for duplicating the $158 version.  Of course, I had to try them all so here are three different types of material, broken down by style:

Elegant Swirly Pumpkins

Check out what I found in the scrapbooking/sticker section:

They were a cinch to apply, all I did was peel off the sticker and position it in a pleasing way onto the pumpkin.  However, after a few hours the edges started to peel off.  I added a few dots of Elmer's glue at the ends and woot, they stuck.

I think this bottle is leftover from my teaching days...

For $6, I ended up with this elegant little beauty:

Modern Striped Pumpkin

For a modern look, I used 2 packs of rhinestone tape (found in the scrapbooking section) to make vertical stripes.

I ended up with this happy stripey pumpkin in about 3 minutes for $10.

Monogrammed or Custom-Patterned Pumpkin

If you want to glue your own pattern, I found these in the bead section.

Here's my attempt at a monogrammed blinged out pumpkin.  First I found a font I liked and drew it lightly on the pumpkin. Apparently I drew it light enough to be barely noticeable in this photo, ooops!

Sidenote: erasing works just fine on this surface.  Trust me.  ;-)

After the letter looked the way I wanted, I drew over it (one section at a time) with a thin line of Elmer's glue. Then I placed the rhinestones on top, one at a time.  For the ends of the letter, I used small preglued rhinestones for a graduated look.

The last step was to place a few preglued sequin patterns as "leaves" next to the stem.

While the process of gluing my own pattern was more time consuming, it's totally customized.  And by "time consuming", I'm not kidding, the whole thing took under 15 minutes.  It took longer to take the darn photos!

If you want to go even cheaper, black glitter puffy paint can replicate this look nicely and all you have to do is make dots in any pattern you'd like.  Here are two other ideas straight from the scrapbook section.  The web would look amazing on a black pumpkin:

And if you aren't into spooky, these butterflies are fall colored and would look beautiful glued in various places all over the pumpkin:

Plus two more inspiration photos from the website:

Many thanks to my dear friend, K, for the inspiration.  Can't wait 'til you move here and we can have craft nights together!  Oh, and with the kids too, I guess.  ;-)

So, what would you put on it-- more bling, or less?  A symbol, monogram, more?  Anyone else want to throw another challenge my way so I can put the to-do list off a little longer?  Because bedazzling pumpkins is WAY more fun than paying bills!

What can I say?  I'm a party girl.  I'm linking up to these great parties today!

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