White Pumpkin Decor from Cheap Thrift Store Foam Pumpkins

When my blogging friends said they were doing a fun thrift store challenge, I knew I wanted to join in the fun. But honestly, I was a little concerned about adding another project to my plate.

I am so busy these days adjusting to our new routine as a family of four and being back at work. So I kept it really simple and created easy and cheap white pumpkin decor! And I know you will appreciate simple too, right?! Keep reading to learn how to make these easy Fall pumpkins! 

You can’t get out of the house these days without seeing fall everywhere you look – maybe the weather hasn’t started changing yet or the leaves haven’t turned…but there are pumpkin spice lattes, so all is right in the world.

The fall decor is really in full force when you go inside stores – especially craft stores and thrift stores.

One thing that I am always seeing at thrift stores this time of year is a bunch of large carvable foam pumpkins. And the best part??? They are usually REALLY cheap. I got these 2 orange pumpkins for $2 and $3! Way cheaper than the new ones at the craft stores. I bet you can find them even cheaper at the end of the season! 

But here’s the thing. They are almost ALWAYS orange at the thrift store.

It’s so hard to find the cute white pumpkin decor that goes so well with farmhouse style home decor. And orange…I just can’t.

So I thought to myself – why can’t I just make these cheap thrift store foam pumpkins white?!

I remembered last fall when I painted a bunch of mini pumpkins from the dollar store with neutral and pastels for this rustic fall tablescape.

It was so easy to completely transform the look of the mini pumpkins with spray paint and make them work for my decorating style. Doing the same thing with the larger cheap thrift store foam pumpkins was as easy and as fun!! 

UPDATE: See these white pumpkins styled on our living room shelves as well! It turned out SO cute!

This white pumpkin decor post contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t recommend wholeheartedly. Read my full disclosure here.

White Pumpkin Decor from Cheap Foam Pumpkins: Step-by-Step Tutorial

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Step 1. Apply 3-4 coats of spray paint

Start by painting 3-4 coats of spray paint on the pumpkins to cover up that orange. This color is perfect for that farmhouse-style white pumpkin look! If you need some help with spray painting techniques, be sure to check out these spray painting tips and tricks. 

Ok, here’s the thing. I tried to cover up the stems when I spray painted the cheap thrift store foam pumpkins with tin foil – yes, you heard that right… I just wrapped the stems up with tin foil.

To be honest, I had seen that done somewhere long ago.

Welllllll, it didn’t work. The tin foil didn’t really stay on there and the paint ended up getting on the bottom half of the stems, but not the top. It looked a little silly.

Step 2. Paint pumpkin stems with brown craft paint.

I sat around and looked at them on my front porch for about a week until it bugged me enough to want to fix it. I decided to paint the stems with some brown craft paint. It worked perfectly!  One on the left is fixed, and the right is not. They looked much more like real pumpkins after fixing the stems.

Step 3. Add Sharpie designs.

Then after I fixed the stems, I still felt like they were missing a little something. I wanted to customize them a bit and add a little character. So I grabbed a Sharpie and got to work!

I totally could have planned things out a little bit with a pencil, but I was flying by the seat of my pants so I just freehanded the text on both.

If you didn’t want to freehand it, you would always cut out vinyl if you have a Silhouette or Cricut – here’s a super cute cut file from A Girl and A Glue Gun that would be perfect on white foam pumpkins!

If you don’t have a cutting machine, you could also grab a sticker. I love these ones from Etsy!

As I was writing the “Fall” I got to thinking that it would be super cute to make it look like a Rae Dunn mug – I know people go gaga for those!

So…of course, I had to look it up and see if it had been done. Of course, I found some ADORABLE Rae Dunn inspired pumpkin decor on Etsy. Aren’t these so cute?

I added the white pumpkin decor back in on my front porch, and now I’m really loving them!

I had so much fun styling this little wooden step stool next to my front door with the large white pumpkins, faux greenery, and other faux pumpkins! On the doors, I added some wicker baskets stuffed full of fall branches. 

Making this white pumpkin decor from cheap artificial foam pumpkins couldn’t be easier. All you do is spray paint the small pumpkins, paint the stem, and write your saying with a Sharpie! Voila.

This white pumpkin decor fits right in with farmhouse-style fall decorations and can be used through Thanksgiving because they are more neutral and not that classic “Halloween” orange.

What saying would you want on your white pumpkin decor?

Let me know in the comments below!!

If you liked this project, be sure to check out our other Halloween & Fall posts:

How To Make White Pumpkin Decor

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $10

Making white pumpkin decor from cheap thrift store foam pumpkins couldn’t be easier. This white pumpkin decor fits right in with farmhouse style fall decorations  can be used all the way through Thanksgiving because they are more neutral and not that classic “Halloween” orange.

Print

Materials

• Foam carving pumpkins
• Spray paint
• Brown craft paint

Tools

• Sharpie
• Foam paint brush

Instructions

1. Spray paint all sides of pumpkins with 3-4 light coats of spray paint.
2. Paint over stems with brown craft paint.
3. Wait for the pumpkins to dry thoroughly.
4. Use Sharpie to create your design.

Did you make this project?

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