Hi Everyone!

Today I am back with a new fun Thanksgiving craft project involving my new craft obsession,  metal leaf!  And to make it more exciting I have teamed up with my #Homeforthefallidays crew to bring you a fun Thanksgiving craft hop just in time to get you ready for the big day!

1. UpCycled Fall Basket Wreath by Shabby Grace Blog
2. Easy Kids Craft Turkey Plate by Little Bits of Home
3. Thankful Everyday Canvas Art by Beauteeful Living
4. Gilded Pumpkins by Pocketful of Posies
5. Fall Paper Wreath by Our House Now A Home
6. Thankfulness Tree by Oh The Fun
7. UpCycled Thankful Sign by Green With Decor
8. How to Make Velvet Acorns by Lehman Lane

Don’t forget to jump on over to see all the other amazing projects my friends have made and share your own using our special #Homeforthefallidays Instagram tag for your chance to be featured across all 16 of our Instagram accounts.

For my fun and easy Thanksgiving craft I chose to make these super cute and inexpensive Gilded Pumpkins.  I absolutely love the way they turned out and I can’t wait to show you what I’ll be using them for in an upcoming post but first let me show you how I made them!

• Resin pumpkins
• white acrylic craft paint
• water
• metal leaf
• metal leaf glue
• metal leaf sealer or clear spray paint
• 2 paint brushes (one dry, one wet)

I found all of my craft supplies at Hobby Lobby where they also sell similar pre-made pumpkins for $10-20 each.  However, if you stick to my recipe each pumpkin cost me $2-3 including all the glue, sealers and metal leaf.

I started my project by very lightly white washing my resin pumpkins with a very very thin mixture of white craft paint and water.  Roughly about 2 drops of acrylic craft paint to 1 tbsp of water.  I didn’t want to completely loose the orange in my pumpkins, just tone down the fake plastic orange bit.

After my pumpkins were dry to the touch from their white washing, roughly 20-30 minutes I started to apply the metal leaf glue using the same, rinsed paint brush.  Tip: Be very, very careful when working with this glue and always work on a covered space.  It is extremely sticky and while it is easily cleanable when wet, once it dries into its tacky state it can be very difficult to remove.

Since I didn’t want a stiff line between the metal gilding and the rest of my pumpkin I choose to apply the glue without first taping off the upper portion of my pumpkins.  To give each pumpkin even more character  I pulled some of the glue up into lobe creases. This created an even more uneven finish adding tons visual interest to each pumpkin.

Once the glue was applied it need to sit for at least 30 minutes or until all of the glue has entered its clear tacky state.  Tip: If you try to apply the metal leaf before all of the glue has dried to its clear state the metal leaf will slip and bunch up in those areas leaving a spotty rough finish.

For the smoothest finish place the pumpkin on the sheet without first removing it from the pack.  Then gently turn it up side down using the second dry paint brush gently smooth the leaf onto the glue.  Tip: Be careful not to get your brush into the glue.  This will cause the metal leaf will stick to the brush and not the pumpkin.

Once the leaf has been smoothed over all of the glue let it sit for at least an additional 20 minutes before brushing away any excess metal leaf using the same dry paint brush. After the excess metal leaf has been brushed away the glue is completely set (a few hours) spray the pumpkins with the metal leaf sealer or clear spray paint to protect its new finish.  Tip: The hardest part about this project is waiting for everything to dry.  But it is important to make sure the the glue/metal leaf area is always facing up during any of the drying times listed above.  Stacking or turning the pumpkins upright could ruin the new metal guilding.

Once the pumpkins are completely dry the only thing left to do was decorate with my new fancy Gilded Pumpkins!  Don’t forget to check back to see how I decorated with them in an upcoming post!

Still looking for more amazing Fall Decorating ideas?  Check out my It’s All About Fall Pinterest Board!

I hope you all enjoyed our #Homeforthefallidays Halloween Craft Hop!  Please be sure to stop by and join in the fun with our Instagram Game!  Each week we feature our favorite entry across 16 Instagram Accounts, so you don’t want to miss out!

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If you loved my gilded pumpkins you’ll love these fall decor finds!

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