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
Beautiful fall projects, Kathy! I love the amazing crackle on that pumpkin, and in my opinion, that IS the fun part! You know I love to get messy! Every detail works perfectly together, and your tip on spraying the sisal in a grocery bag is genius! Thanks! Now maybe I won’t walk around with brown fingers (that’s a mix of all the colors I get my hands messy with). Lovely card, too! Love all those distressed layers! Sending hugs! (I think we might be getting cooler weather today; I haven’t been out yet.)
Kathy the colors you chose for the pumpkin just jumped right off the screen…I love it..along with those images…and your distressing and layering makes this a work of beauty….sure makes me dream of past fall times…sigh….have a great day
WOW…your pumpkin is fabulous Kathy! The textures and colors are perfect…so glad you went out of your comfort zone! LOVE the card too!
You just get better and better with the whole mixed media process! Of course you know I think anything you create is a work of art! Thank you for the step by step directions. I’m a tea drinker (I worked in a tearoom for several years) but I’ve never seen that Pumpkin tea in bags before. Where did you find it. My son said he thinks it suppose to go near 90 today in Raleigh. Meanwhile I’m getting my winter coat out!
This is a delightful home decor and card creation, Kathy. I especially enjoyed seeing the step-by-step transformation of the pumpkin base and all those helpful tips you added. It provides a great starting point for a variety of Fall projects. You’ve got my imagination going with this! tfs
How sweet this is! Luv the vintage look and the colors are just beautiful! And such a thoughtful thank you card …and with just scraps??? Beautifully created Kathy! Thanks for sharing your awesome tips for making these! And … we’ve got frost on the pumpkins this morning …our first 32° morning here in Indiana! Brrr!!! Can’t wait for the leaves to turn! Warm hugs, Suzy Q
Kathy, that is so beautiful and oh the colors! What a great display that would make from Halloween all the way to Thanksgiving. The girl images are so sweet. What you turn into a gorgeous card just using your “scraps” is magic! Always in awe of your creative talents. Thank you for sharing! Hugs