Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor for Little Birdie Crafts

Hello, Friends!  We are still waiting for fall weather to arrive here in North Carolina.  I thought perhaps I could conjure up some cool crisp days with this Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor piece created for Little Birdie Crafts.  Fall flowers, a really cool textured wooden pumpkin and a matching hostess gift card sing Autumn Leaves to me!

I tried some new mixed media techniques on this one, and I have to say, I’m super happy with the way it turned out.  The matching hostess gift card is made from the scraps I had on my table.

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: Creating the Base

The base for this project is a 12″ x 9″ wood pumpkin from Hobby Lobby.  You can use whatever you can find in your stash, or cut your own pumpkin shape from chipboard.

Begin by applying a liberal coat of Little Birdie Grainy Texture Paste over the surface.  Use a palette knife, or even an old credit card for this step.  Don’t worry about creating an even layer of texture paste; uneven looks better!  Use the side of your blade to remove paste from the grooves.  Then tap the surface to create raised ridges that resemble pumpkin skin.

Next, add color with Little Birdie Color Splash.  First put down a light coating of Lemon Zing.  Follow this with a layer of Paprika.  Then add just a few spritzes of Lime Splash.  Heat set between layers.  Repeat until you are happy with the results.

TIP:  Cover your work surface with old grocery bags, newspaper or garbage bags for easy cleanup.

TIP:  Spray Color Splash in light layers for best results.

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: Two Step Crackle Medium

The next step requires a little patience on your part.  To create this amazing texture, pour a layer of Little Birdie Two Step Crackle Medium (Base Coat)  over the surface of your pumpkin.  Use a foam brush to gently move the medium around, brushing as little as possible.  Then set it aside to dry overnight.  The finish will be slightly tacky in the morning, but that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Now pour Two Step Crackle Medium Top Coat in a thin layer over the entire surface.  Once again, use a foam brush to gently move the medium around.  Then let it set for a few hours, or gently heat set.  The medium will crackle as it dries, creating this cool effect.

Add walnut ink along the edges to create depth and dimension.  You may want to add more Color Splash, heat setting between layers, as I did.  The ink puddles into the cracks created by the Crackle Medium and looks amazing!

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: Creating Depth and Dimension

Now comes the fun part: decorating your pumpkin!  Use an image from your stash to create a focal point.  I printed out THIS digital image twice, cutting out the girl and the wheat sheaves from one print.

Back the fussy cut image with foam adhesive or waste chipboard and adhere to the first image.  Tear bits of the bricks  and layer them behind the image.  Distress he brick papers from the 12″ x 12″ Texture Brew paper pack, tear off pieces and layer them behind the focal image. This creates loads of depth and dimension.  

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: Grateful

The framed sentiment comes from the Think Positive Primed Chipboard pack.  Paint the frame with Orange Splash Chalk Paint that has been mixed with a little walnut stain.  Then heat emboss the letters with Rocky Road Baked Texture.

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: The Flowers

Choose flowers that match the colors in your focal image for a well composed design.  All my flowers have been distressed with Walnut Cream and Orange Splash Chalk Paints mixed with walnut stain.  Just dry brush over the petals to create lovely texture.

Mixed Media Pumpkin Harvest Home Decor: Natural Sisal Fibre

Dye Natural Sisal Fibre with the same Color Splash Sprays that I used on the pumpkin base.

TIP:  Place the sisal fibre in a plastic grocery bag before you spray.  This keeps the mess off your work station, and off your hands.  I just smooshed the bag between my fingers to move the spray around.  So much less mess!

Harvest Themed Hostess Thank You Card

I had some leftover flowers and paper scraps, so I created this lovely hostess thank you card.

The base is a 6″ x 6″ kraft card from Little Birdie.  The image is another from the digital sheet I printed out for the pumpkin.

Distressed edges and ink spatter give this card a wonderful rustic feel.

The corrugate sentiment and chipboard are also from Little Birdie.

The inside has room to write a little note, and a tea bag pocket.

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and techniques that you can use in your own crafty adventures.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Little Birdie Crafts Supplies:

• 12″ x 12″ Texture Brew Paper Pack
• Grainy Texture Paste
• Two Step Crackle Medium
• Rich Copper Fairy Dust
• Golden Hearts Melange
• Think Positive Primed Chipboard
• Layla Vivid Palette Flowers
• Andrea Mulberry Flowers
• Andrea Vivid Palette Flowers
• Little Birdie Foliage
• Corrugated Kraft Thank You Wishes
• Enchanting Scroll Primed Chipboard
• Natural Sisal Fibre
• Walnut Creme Chalk Paint
• Orange Splash Chalk Paint

Other Supplies:

• Walnut Stain
• Gecko Galz Autumn Magic Digital Collage
• Wooden Pumpkin