Monday, November 9, 2009

Pretty Pumpkins

Material from a previous blog:

There is just so much to do with pumpkins this time of year- carving, roasting seeds, pies, painting- here’s one more to add to your repertoire- stained glass pumpkins.

The best part of pumpkins is picking them so if you can grow your own or visit a local grower.  Many pumpkin growers (at least in our area) don’t plan to sell any after Halloween so they will give them away.  Our crowd went & collected pumkins the other day so we could teach stained glass pumpkin art at our 4-H Club meeting.  Here is F9 showing off for the camera!


Stained glass pumpkins are not only beautiful & make great Thanksgiving table centerpieces but they also complement a study of color wonderfully.  We had a lesson on the color wheel & this project which utilizes layers of tissue paper allows the artist to experiment with color in so many fun ways.

Basically, you take a clean, dry pumpkin & wet a small spot using a sponge brush to apply a white glue/water mixture (about 50/50.)  Then you take small pieces of tissue paper (several layered together for vibrant colors or one for a more transparent look) dip them in the glue mix & stick on the pumpkin.  You use your fingertips to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles & make sure the edges of the tissue paper are wet & flat.  You continue around the pumpkin in any way you desire.  With 20 kids doing this project you got 20 different styles & that is of coarse the best part of art.  Here are our family’s pumpkins, enjoy!



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