Clown Pumpkins

$30 - $40 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes three pumpkins

The farm theme for 2016’s haunt left me with numerous pumpkins and I have spent the last few years finding ways to repurpose them. As I worked on the twisted circus idea for my office, I thought it would be interesting to transform a few into clowns (one of the two clown-related props I built for that concept).

• Three lighted jack-o-lanterns (roughly twelve inches in diameter)
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in glossy white
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat orange*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat yellow*
• One 0.64 oz. bag of pom poms in varying colors and sizes
• Two cone-shaped party hats
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
  

1. Remove the lights and their electrical cords from the pumpkins and, on a newspaper-line surface in a well-ventilated area, give each prop three even coats of white spray paint. I used three; however, you may use more or less based on your preferences.

2. Detail the pumpkins with polychromatic paints. Your faces can be as fanciful of frightening as you choose. If you struggle with drawing, find templates online and use a pencil to lightly sketch their patterns. Once the paint has dried, outline the designs with black paint to enhance the colors.

3. Glue multicolored pom poms to the stems to create hair. To achieve a tapered shape, graduate upward from largest to smallest. You could also use party hats or wigs for an alternate look.

4. You could give the pumpkins further detail by adhering bowties, fake noses, and glasses for more whimsy or blood splatters, plastic insects, and severed body parts for a more frightening appearance.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.