paper 'paint chip' pumpkins

these happy pumpkins sprang into my head one night,

and i couldn't wait to get into my studio the next day to try them out!

last spring, i shared a few projects that are based on paint chips.

although the first project - hearts - was made from real paint chips (from a client's decor project)
i then came up with a way to make my OWN paint 'chips': paint them on paper!

not only is it a perfect way to get the right colors for a specific use,

it also assures that i always have as many as i need if a project expands
(frequently!) or needs a do-over (sometimes!).
.
continue reading for details on making your own painted paint chip paper

AND the things i've made with them this year!

i paint my own color combinations using plain old craft paints, mixed as i wish...
for these pumpkins, varied shades and tones of orange/coral/peach suffice.

i mark the lines (i made two sizes, shown above) and apply paint to heavy paper -
these are white kraft paper shopping bags,
left over from when i was selling my Sweet Sweater Pumpkins at shows.

my quick and easy tutorial for these is linked below this post.

my first project was large flat pumpkins, as wall art...
to give the paint chip paper more 'body', i glued it to a piece of poster board.
then i drew pumpkin shapes on the BACK side of the poster board, and cut them out.
they didn't actually look like pumpkins at that point, so i drew white lines to designate the 'ridges'. 
still no good. so i grabbed the scissors and cut the pumpkins apart ON those 'ridge' lines,

and then re-assembled them on white paper:

okay, THIS i liked!

the details:
i simply re-assembled the cut-up pumpkin shapes,
leaving some space between each cut piece.
this gives them a more modern, artful look than the plain white painted lines did.
i glued each piece to the white background paper,
then glued on a strip of green paint chip paper as stems - they stick up off the paper a bit,

for dimension.

once dry, i clipped the paper to two of my gift-wrap covered clipboards,
and hung them up. easy-peasy!

i also created two more for a larger piece of wall art, on an old bulletin board - 
you can see that behind the clipboard in the top photo on this post.
i just covered the bulletin board with white gift wrap paper,

then glued on the cut-up pumpkins, and added the lettering.

then i cut the paper into a few strips - just like the 'real' paint chips - 
and formed them into small pumpkins: 

wanna' know a trick? wrap the paint strips around cookie cutters!

this makes it easy to create the right proportion in your shape.

simply apply a dot of glue or a staple to hold the strip in place 

(after you slide it away from the cookie cutter)
i added green paint chip stems to these, too, so they would coordinate with the others.

with not much effort, i have a group of happy, colorful, fun pumpkins!

any one of these would be an easy project for kids...
 you could do this using regular construction paper or gift wrap paper, too.
and i'd bet they'd love THIS idea:

add a happy little face to the pumpkins!

i've just completed another pumpkin project inspired by paint chips -
watch for that one in an upcoming post!

links to previous posts mentioned above:

painted paint chip paper tutorial 

more paint chip paper projects

gift wrapped clipboards 


shared online:

funky junk interiors  | diy salvaged junk projects #544

thank you for featuring my project, Donna!

creatively beth / creative crafts linky party #8

 

thank you for featuring my project, Beth!

fall, fall decor, fall home decor, pumpkins, papercrafts, fall pumpkin decor,
paint chip crafts, paint chip pumpkins, crafting, fall crafts, orange decor,
diy, diy home decor, diy fall decor, Halloween decor