How to Paint Plastic Pumpkin Pail Planters (and a peek of my new door color!)
Hooray! It’s the first day of fall, and I fervently welcome it into my life to brighten my 2020! This year I bailed on any fall tours because with the kids home and our family, you know, living all over the house, I just could not manage to pull it together. However, there’s one space that I can do all the fun fall things to, and keep tidy, and that is our front porch! I spent last weekend getting it ready because I thought that my outdoor space blog hop was this week… but I am so disorganized this year that I was off a week, and you have to wait to see the full porch reveal. Oops. In putting my porch together this year, I did have a couple of little DIYs so I thought I’d at least bring one of those this week. (The other is my newly painted door!) Since we now have a 2 year old in the house who is fully aware of things that are too scary, this year’s porch is much more about pumpkins and fun! When I stumbled upon these plastic pumpkin planters at my local thrift shop, I decided to give them a fun and cheerful makeover and use them as planters. This playful project was so simple and so much fun- I am excited to share it with you today. (This post uses affiliate links through which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. I appreciate your support.)
A few weeks ago, Emmy and I spied these plastic purple pumpkin buckets at our local Goodwill for $1 each. Purple is pretty much my least favorite color, but I was feeling crafty and inspired and decided to take a few home with me to make into porch planters. The process was so simple and I am going to walk you through it today.
Materials Needed
- plastic pumpkin buckets
- Krylon fusion white spray paint
- drop cloth or cardboard to protect surface
- acrylic craft paint
- artist brushes
Note: These are the exact pumpkin buckets we used, but who on earth pays $12.50 for this?!?! Go to your thrift store and find them there please.
Instructions
- Using a damp rag, wipe your pumpkin bucket clean from any dirt or debris and allow to dry.
- Place pumpkin buckets upside down on drop cloth or cardboard and spray paint the bottom first. (Always paint the side you will see less of first).
- From about 10-12″ away, use your Krylon Fusion spray paint to coat evenly all around the bucket. Allow it to dry and then recoat as necessary.
- Flip your bucket over and repeat the process for the top. If you plan to use your pumpkin as a planter like I did, there’s no need to worry about the inside.
- Place your pumpkin buckets on a drop cloth on a stable surface, and now it’s time to be a little creative with your bucket! I am going to show you what I did with mine. First, use a small artist angled brush to paint cabana stripes on every other raised area of the pumpkin’s surface. Allow to dry and recoat as necessary. I gave mine two coats of leftover paint from my previous front door color, but you can use any exterior or acrylic paint.
- Using a small angled artist brush, paint inside the eyes, nose, and mouth of the Jack-o-lantern face on the bucket, leaving the teeth white. I chose a bright yellow acrylic paint to complement the pink and white.
- Place a rock or something else that will give your plant a little lift in the bottom of the bucket, and use a 4″ pot to drop right into your bucket, and boom… it’s a planter!
Note: We have since had several thunderstorms, high winds, and more, and these buckets on the steps are exposed to the elements. I am happy to report that the paint has withstood it all.
Pssst…. Do you spy that little peek of color on the front door? I had a craving for something different and decided to roll with it since it’s just paint. I will be sharing more about it next week when I show the whole porch!
For now, just enjoy these happy little pumpkins. And if you feel so inclined, I’d love it if you pinned and shared.
Speaking of little pumpkins, I thought I would share this photo of my little pumpkin because he brings me so much joy. Also, I have a great idea if you have a toddler and need to buy several pumpkins but are limited on hands…. use the stroller! 😉
Wilder loves to join me at the farmer’s market, but the weekends can be a little crowded so I need Chris with me to make sure Wilder doesn’t get into anything. During the week, it’s much quieter and he loves to come along. Honestly, he loves any outing from the house at this point! We hit the market this past week to gather pumpkins for the porch, and he had the best time helping me pick out the pumpkins you saw in today’s post. It’s a strange and confusing time for toddlers right now, and it’s a lot of work for guardians to keep them happy and engaged much of the time. I am extremely grateful for the small safe outings we are able to manage together as they break up our day, allow him to burn off some energy, and bring a smile to his face.
Now that you’ve seen a little peek of our fall porch, I hope it’s brought a smile to your face, and I can’t wait to share it all with you next week and show off the new door color. Have a wonderful week making note of and savoring those little moments that lift your spirit.
PS- If you are looking for more fall inspired ideas, you can check here and here. And if it’s more Halloween you are after, I’ve got you covered here and here.