Cut a few mini pumpkins in half to make this Pumpkin Specimen Art. It uses just a few materials and is super easy to do!
How to make mini pumpkin specimen art.
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Why I love this craft
Since my first specimen art craft project, I’ve been hooked. With so many things you can use to create this type of decor, I knew that I needed a pumpkin style for the fall season. This was a simple, yet beautiful, craft and it only called for a few materials that could be picked up at Dollar Tree – a canvas, and some mini pumpkins. Everything else I already had on hand – like drop cloth fabric and a variety of paints.
Where can I find drop cloth?
You can find drop cloth at most major home improvement stores – Home Depot, Menards, or Lowes, just to name a few. I always recommend purchases a nice stash to keep on hand, especially for projects like these. It’s much more cost efficient than some other fabrics as well.
The inspiration for this craft:
I’ve made many different types of specimen art from butterflies and sea urchins to Easter bunnies and Spring Carrots. Although they may seem similar, they each have their very own looks.
Video Tutorial: Mini Pumpkin Specimen Art
Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:
Pumpkin Specimen Art
If you're looking for a unique craft project to try, you'll love this Pumpkin Specimen Art. It uses just a few materials and is easy to do!
Materials
- 11x14 flat canvas (large, Dollar Tree)
- Assorted acrylic or chalk paints (see note below)
- 6 mini foam pumpkins (Dollar Tree)
- drop cloth fabric
- Elmer's school glue
- twine
- faux greenery
- small sticks
Tools
- pen blade
- 1" flat paint brush
- pliers
- rotary cutter and cutting mat
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
Instructions
- Watch tutorial video. Follow along with the video for a step-by-step guide on how to create your own pumpkin specimen art.
- Paint the canvas. Paint the entire front of the canvas solid green.
- Prepare the pumpkins. Remove the clips/stems from the pumpkins. I use a pair of pliers to make this process quick and easy.
- Cut the pumpkins in half. Use a pen blade to cut each of the pumpkins in half.
- Paint the pumpkins. The method I used was applying a solid base coat and letting it dry completely. Then, I came back with a different or mixed second color. Mix and match colors according to your preference. Let the pumpkins dry.
- Cut a section of drop cloth. Using a rotary cutter (or scissors), cut a rectangular shaped piece of drop cloth fabric a little smaller than the canvas. Use a weeding tool or seam ripper to create frayed edges around the cloth piece.
- Attach the cloth to the canvas. Pour Elmer's glue onto the canvas and use a flat paint brush to smooth the glue onto the canvas. Apply the cloth directly on top of the glue.
- Create pumpkin stems. Make a figure-8 bows using small pieces of twine. I also added small stick piece and tiny piece of faux greenery. Put it all in place with a dab of hot glue. (Watch the video to see how I did this.)
- Attach the pumpkins. Once you have the pumpkin embellished, dry arrange them onto the canvas however you like and then secure them with hot glue.
Notes
My go-to paint colors for painting pumpkins:
FolkArt Matte Acrylic Paint: Mossy Meadow, Sage, Sage Shadow, Canyon Sunset, Parchment
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paint: Light Avocado
Waverly Chalk Paint: Moss, Pumpkin
FolkArt Home Decor Chalk: Barely Pink, Castle