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Gilded Gourds…

Wondering what to do with all of those pumpkins and gourds that accumulated during October? Why not dress them up for the winter holidays to come with a wash of gold?

Armed with a can of Gold Krylon Metallics from the hardware store I transformed these orbs from passé to posh in a matter of minutes.

Before spray painting, cover the ground with a drop cloth or newspapers. Be sure to allow 2 feet or more on the borders of the painting area, because the paint can drift. Work in an outdoor or well ventilated spot. Dust or wash off any debris on the pumpkins and allow them to dry thoroughly before painting.
I spray painted the bottoms first. Use the lightest coat possible so that the paint doesn’t drip {you especially don’t want drips when painting the bottoms, since they will be more noticeable when they are displayed upright}.
If you have some interesting looking branches on hand, go ahead and spray paint those as well.

Allow the bottoms to dry {I left them overnight, but the can says they will dry in 15 minutes}. When dry, turn them over and spray the tops. Don’t they look luxurious? I especially love how that curvaceous stem and those worrisome warts look when gilded.

I’ll be keeping these at my front door most of the time {they’ll last longer in the cold}, but I have a notion to bring them in and display them with navy for special occasions.

It’s a new twist for me to paint my pumpkins gold, I think my eyes have been influenced by the sunshine and the fall leaves.
Another option is to frost your pumpkins, with a spray of silver.
Frosted Pumpkins
I’m not the only one going gold, look at these elegant pumpkins made by Jeanne, from I dream of. She took the time to gold leaf her pumpkins, leaving a bit of the orange showing. Jeanne is a very talented artist who sets the most equisite table, using hand painted tags that welcome each of her guests to their seats. If you haven’t had a chance to visit her yet, why wait?
Silver or gold, polish up those pumpkins and you’ll have an inviting display for your front door or table for weeks to come.

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  • Emily, this is absolutely splendid!
    I love this idea. I'm going to post it to my FB page 'cause it's too pretty not to share. Imagine, one could do the same thing with those plastic ones from Michael's and then we wouldn't have to toss them. Here in Houston it's chilly but we may not have too much cold weather, how will the real ones last, do you know? xx's

  • Emily, your golden gourds look great – I probably would have made more of a mess with paint than I did with the gold leaf, but I'm sure it was a much more efficient technique! And the results are terrific! Thanks so much for the shout out and the kind words. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. XO

  • Marsha, what a great idea to use the pumpkins from Michael's, the ones that have the texture and look so real? I think they would definitely work.

    Tina, they are almost xmas worthy, I may be hanging on to these for awhile {well for as long as they stay fresh}.

    You're so sweet Teresa! I know Jeanne thinks so too!

    Jeanne, your's are so elegant {of course!}

    Thanks Jojo and Design Chic. If anyone is looking for Thanksgiving table inspiration, hop over to Design Chic, they just did a great collection of gorgeous tabletops!

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