These beautiful glitter dipped pumpkins are painted, then embellished with a sparkly glitter “dip” on the bottom to make them stand out. Use them to decorate your autumn centerpieces and displays. Or use small ones to make wreaths and garlands.
I must be on a bit of a glitter kick, because this is my second glittery project in a row. Last week I made a handful of Glitter Halloween Luminaries for holiday decorations. This time, I’ve made some glitter “dipped” pumpkins.
Last year, I picked up a package of mini pumpkins from JoAnns when they were on sale. I was planning on decorating them, but then as usual I got sidetracked and they were set aside. So this year I was determined to use them so they wouldn’t be taking up space in my craft room anymore.
The result are these adorable glittered pumpkins. Instead of adding glitter to the whole thing, I decided to just add it to the bottom to give it a dipped effect. And I’m really happy with how they turned out.
These little guys are not only cute but versatile as well. They can be used as a decoration all by themselves or can be added to any kind of fall project that could use a few sparkly pumpkins. Who doesn’t want some sparkly pumpkins, right?
Since the ones I made are so tiny, I might use them to decorate a wreath or something similar. But this project can be used to decorate any size of pumpkin, not just these tiny ones. And I’m sure you could use this technique to even decorate real pumpkins as well. I just prefer to make ones that I can save for decoration in future years too.
What You Will Need to Make Painted Glitter Dipped Pumpkins
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Craft Pumpkins
I also used a piece of wax paper. It helped protect my work surface when I was painting and adding Mod Podge to the pumpkins. And then later it caught the glitter so I could save any extra.
And I’m not sure how much it matters, but I used extra fine glitter. You could probably get away with using any type of glitter on this project. But I like the extra fine glitter because it gives good solid coverage.
How to Make Painted Glitter Dipped Pumpkins
Step 1: Remove Stem (if possible) and Paint It
To start, I prefer to begin with painting the stem. I’ve chosen two different colors of paint to use. One is for the stem and the other for the pumpkin. So because of this, it’s much easier to remove the stem altogether before painting.
Because I am using a silver glitter on the bottom of the pumpkin, I thought it would look nice to paint the stem in a silver color as well. That way they will match.
The stem on my pumpkins was able to easily be pulled out. It was held in the pumpkin with these plastic spikes instead of glue.
I then added several thin coats of the silver paint to the stem. Make sure to let the paint dry completely in between each coat. Otherwise, your paint could clump and that would just be no good.
If the pumpkin you are decorating doesn’t have a removable stem, then move on to painting the pumpkin. You can paint the stem afterward. You will just need to be a bit more careful to keep your painting neat.
Step 2: Paint Pumpkin
Now it’s time to paint the pumpkin itself. To contrast with the silver glitter and paint, I chose a light metallic blue. This is one of my favorite paint colors, so I’ve used it a handful of times now in other projects. You might recognize it from both my Glitter Seashell Ornaments or my Wood Bead Keychains.
Like with the stem, paint your pumpkin in thin layers. And make sure to let the paint dry completely in between coats. Here’s how it looked after the first layer:
The paint looks pretty thin, but not to worry. After a few more layers the color becomes much smoother.
For me it took three coats to achieve a nice even layer of paint. But depending on the paint you are using you may need a few more or less.
When you are happy with how the color of your pumpkin looks, set it aside to dry completely.
While painting I didn’t bother with the bottom. This made it a bit easier to paint while holding the pumpkin. In the next step this area will be covered in glitter anyway so it doesn’t matter.
Step 3: Add Glitter “Dip” to Pumpkin
With the pumpkin painted, it’s now time to add the best part: the glitter! Start by deciding how far up you want your glitter to go. It can be as much or as little as you like, so do whatever works best for your project.
I wanted just a moderate amount of glitter so you could still appreciate the metallic paint on the pumpkin. So my glitter “dip” covers the bottom half or so of the pumpkin.
Using your paintbrush, paint a thin layer of Mod Podge all around the bottom of your pumpkin.
Then generously pour on the glitter. Make sure to have something under your pumpkin to catch the glitter. That way any excess can be poured back into the bottle.
Then set your pumpkin aside so the Mod Podge can dry. This usually takes about 30 minutes or so.
Don’t worry if your glitter looks thin or has any bald spots. After the Mod Podge has dried, simply repeat this step until you are happy with how the glitter looks.
Step 4: Seal Glitter
Lastly, seal the glitter. To do this, brush on another thin layer of Mod Podge over your glitter. Then set aside to dry. The Mod Podge will dry completely clear so your glitter can shine through.
As you can see in the picture below, there are still plenty of stray bits of glitter on the painted area of my pumpkin. These can be brushed away after the glitter has been sealed.
Just as a reminder, make sure you use the gloss Mod Podge for this. If you use the matte version your glitter will look very dull.
Even with the gloss, the outer layer of Mod Podge does cut down on the sparkle of the glitter a bit. But I think it’s worth it to not have glitter shedding all over the floor and everywhere else. Thankfully, the silver and gold fine glitter does a good job of retaining most of the shine.
Step 5: Finish the Painted Glitter Dipped Pumpkins
Now you can add any finishing touches to your pumpkins. Because my stem was removeable, I was able to pop it back into the pumpkin to finish it up. If your pumpkin doesn’t have a removeable stem, carefully paint (or even glitter it) in your chosen color. Just be careful to keep your edges neat.
And that’s it! Now make a whole pumpkin patch of different colors! To go along with this blue pumpkin I made a white one with silver glitter as well.
I also wanted to make a few pumpkins with gold. So I went with purple, pink, and another white for the paint colors.
Additional Notes on Painted Glitter Dipped Pumpkins
This is another fun project that is easy to get carried away with. I kept it simple with only a few colors of paint and glitter. But it was hard to choose just a few.
And although I went with all metallic colors of paint, you could of course go with any type of paint you like. Matte, gloss, and special effect paints would all look amazing on these pumpkins as well.
Similarly, you could use any color of glitter as the dip too. I went with gold and silver, but any color can look good on these if you find the right paint and glitter combination.
So go wild and make a collection of pumpkins! You’re only limited by your imagination. And of course how many pumpkins you have on hand.
Next year I’d like to try making this project again but with bigger pumpkins. These little ones are super cute but it was hard to handle them sometimes because they’re just SO small!
I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I’d love to hear from you! Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting!
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