Halloween Craft Ideas: Metallic "Trick-or-Treat" Pumpkins

Using pumpkins as lettering is a great way to add chic style to your Halloween decor this year. This metallic "trick-or-treat" pumpkins project takes a little effort but is very glam when finished.

For this project, you will need:

- Eleven faux pumpkins of any size or shape (available at craft supply shops and Halloween decor shops)
- Soapy water
- Small dish cloth
- Paper towels
- Painter's tape
- Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White
- Krylon Brushed Metallic Paint in Champagne Nouveau
- Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Gloss Black
- Extra fine tipped permanent marker
- Four inch or larger sized font lettering in a wavy style
- Two or larger sized font lettering in a wavy style
- Pencil
- Cardstock
- Craft knife
- Self healing mat
- Old newspaper and/or a large drop cloth

Cover your work area with sheets of old newspaper and/or a large drop cloth. Carefully wash each of the eleven faux pumpkins with warm soapy water. Rinse each pumpkin well. Dry the exteriors of each pumpkin with paper towels and let it air dry for about an hour. Cover each pumpkin's stem piece with a strip of painter's tape for protection.

Prime the outside of the pumpkin with an even coat of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White. Add a few coats of primer, if needed, so that all the orange underneath is no longer showing. Dry for a couple hours before proceeding. Paint each of the pumpkins with two to three coats of Krylon Brushed Metallic Paint in Champagne Nouveau. Let the pumpkins dry for three to four hours.

Place a sheet of cardstock onto the self healing mat. In pencil, trace a four inch sized "T" onto the sheet. On separate sheets of cardstock (one per letter), trace the following: R, I, C, K, T, R, E, A, T. On one more sheet, trace "-or-" (with the dashes) in a two inch size. Cut out each of the letters individually and the smaller middle piece with a craft knife.

Use the cardstock cutouts and an extra fine tipped permanent marker to transfer the lettering to the pumpkins. Use one pumpkin per four inch letter and one pumpkin for the middle "-or-" design. Cover all expose area on the pumpkin except for the lettering with painter's tape. Spray the exposed lettering using Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Gloss Black. Wait an hour, apply a second coat, and dry overnight. Remove the tape and arrange the pumpkins in a row to spell out "Trick -or- Treat"!