DIY $1 Chalk Painted Pumpkins

I love decorating for the seasons.

I do not love spending a lot of money on seasonal decor that will only be used for a short period of time.

You too?

Then you will love these easy DIY $1 chalk painted white pumpkins!

$1 Chalk Painted White Pumpkins: Before and After

Here’s a quick look at the before and after. (Left: pumpkins in the store. Right: finished painted pumpkins on the dining room table.)

These painted white pumpkins are quick, easy and inexpensive. That’s my favorite kind of DIY!

In this tutorial I will show you how you can easily recreate your own $1 chalk painted white pumpkins!

$1 Chalk Painted Pumpkins: Before

I was picking up a few things in Walmart the other day when I noticed they had just put out all of their new Fall decor.

Of course I had to go check it out.

And I was pleasantly surprised at all of the cute things I found! I’m still thinking about these and (these!) adorable buffalo check pumpkins and I may just have to go back to snag a pair.

Here’s a little (not so) secret about me: I like inexpensive prices. I do not like things that look inexpensive.

Quite the dilemma, really.

These large pumpkins immediately caught my eye because of the size for the price.

If you’ve shopped for faux pumpkins before you know they can be quite pricey. And I for one just can’t justify spending $$$ on fake pumpkins.

I picked up three large white pumpkins for $5.98 each. I was especially impressed with the color and quality of the large white pumpkins. They were very comparable to white pumpkins I have seen in popular craft stores that sell for $20 each.

I also noticed a display of smaller pumpkins for 98 cents each. They were much more yellow in color but I liked the sizes and shapes.

I threw a few in the buggy and the wheels immediately started spinning. I headed to the spray paint aisle as I envisioned all of those gorgeous Fall tablescapes and vignettes you see on Pinterest. You know, the kind that are overflowing with gorgeous white pumpkins.

Clearly Fletcher-man didn’t share my vision or excitement for white pumpkins.

After leaving Walmart we walked next door to the DollarTree (what a life) to look for more pumpkins.

I found these 3-packs of mini pumpkin clips and these larger styrofoam pumpkins. I was a little skeptical on the styrofoam pumpkins but I have seen other bloggers make them look beautiful (examples here and here).

Painted Pumpkins: The Before

Here’s a closer look at the larger $5.98 white pumpkins from Walmart. I loved them just the way they were and didn’t have to do a thing to them!

My goal was to make all of the smaller pumpkins match the large white pumpkins.

Here’s an up-close look at the small pumpkins.

These 98 cent pumpkins were a little too yellow for my liking.

These size of these mini pumpkins is so cute!

I removed the clips but they would be perfect to clip onto garland or even a wreath.

I started by removing all of the stems from the pumpkins.

All of the pumpkins (except for the big orange ones) are styrofoam inside (they have an outer plastic layer), so I was able to wiggle the stems out without damaging the pumpkins. The stems on the big orange pumpkins are stuck in with a toothpick and easily slide right out.

Since the stems were already brown I was hoping I could just stick them back in after the pumpkins were painted.

On my same trip to Walmart I picked up a can of Rustoleum Chalked spray paint in the color “Chiffon Cream.” It is also available in regular paint.

I have used Rustoleum Chalked spray paint before to paint chandeliers, tables and lamps. It makes painting smaller projects so quick and easy, and I love the smooth, chalky matte finish.

It took me about ten minutes to spray paint all of the pumpkins and the paint dried almost instantly in the Georgia heat.

At least our diapers and wipes boxes were put to good use! : )

The stems popped right back into place perfectly.

*Pinterest fail: I quickly realized that spray paint was not going to work on the orange styrofoam pumpkins from the DollarTree. You could see the little “cicrles” of the styrofoam through the thin layer of spray paint. I do think you could paint these styrofoam pumpkins with a brush with chalk paint and that they would do just fine. I was in a time crunch so I didn’t try, but I did save them. More likely than not I will get curious and give it a try ; )