faux food 'caramel apple' pumpkins

a recent rainstorm and cool temps (that have long since vanished!)
spurred my 'fall feels' - and my taste buds for all things caramel.
it's my favorite fall flavor, and i love indulging it...
from scarfing down Werther's Original caramel cremes
to sipping a caramel apple martini on a cool but sunny late afternoon.

with those thoughts already swirling in my head, 
seeing a photo of a green apple being dipped into melted caramel
inspired something else... this fun 'faux food' bit of sweet fall home decor!

how it started:

i knew that a method i had previously used to make faux honey
would work for the glossy dimensional caramel effect,
so i proceeded with this project as i had with that one.
(my faux honey jar is linked below this post)

... continue reading to see how it's going, and how you can make them, too!

dwk

how it's going:

combining caramel apples with pumpkins is crazy, i know.
but i like crazy. creativity IS crazy - and i love following where my 'muses' lead!

how to make them:

photos from left:

*i bought two small green pumpkins at Dollar Tree - they come with attached floral elements.

* i simply pulled the florals off by hand.

*the plastic base piece holding the florals was very securely attached to the pumpkins,

*so i grabbed some small needle-nose pliers and pulled those pieces out.

*yes, it left a big ol' obvious hole in each pumpkin - but paint can fix that!

i chose green apples, but they weren't the right green.
so, i proceeded to paint the apples greenER:

top row, from left:

*leaf green and chartreuse green paint was mixed to approximate a green apple hue.

*a short wood skewer was inserted into each apple top,
making it easy to hold while painting.

*the paint dried darker than i had expected - but it's fixable!

*adding a bit of golden yellow paint to the existing green will achieve the color i want.

bottom row, from left:
*the newly mixed green is much more yellow in tone.

*using a wide flat brush, i swiped that intense green onto the raised parts of the pumpkins,
then blended it out over the existing paint for a sheer layer of color.

*the difference between the first coat of green (foreground)
and the second light coat of yellow green (background) is obvious!

*the second pumpkin got its second layer of paint.

after all of the green paint dried completely, i moved on to the 'caramel':

top row, from left:

*using my photo of the apple in the caramel as reference,
i mixed mustard yellow and golden brown paint -
and then added a touch of orange to get the right tone to match the caramel color.

* i painted the bottom two-thirds of each apple with the caramel color,
making the top edge wavy and uneven, as melted caramel would be.

*two coats with a very soft brush (less texture) covered the green.

bottom row, from left:

*in preparation for the final phase, i flattened two white paper cupcake liners

*then painted the centers of them with the 'caramel' colored paint.
you'll see why in the next step!

now, we break out the hot glue...

top row, from left:

*a circle of hot glue in the center of each cupcake paper liner
holds them securely to each pumpkin.

*i carefully placed hot glue around the base of each pumpkin, filling in the areas
where the pumpkin ridges caused spaces between the pumpkin and the paper liner.

*after that hot glue dried, i painted it with the 'caramel' color paint - 
this created the 'puddle' of caramel at the base of each pumpkin.

now to add dimension to the caramel, making it look real!

bottom row, from left:

*starting at the top, curving edge of the caramel color paint section,
i applied heavy lines of hot glue onto the pumpkin - 
starting at the top makes the hot glue flow downward, toward the base.

the glue is clear - but the caramel color paint beneath it makes it look like caramel!
as it drips down the pumpkin, it will cover the painted glue at the bottom,

giving the appearance of puddled caramel.

*after the hot glue dries completely, a quick touch-up of white flat paint with a small brush
covers errant paint marks on the white cupcake paper liner.

*the final step is a quick spray of gloss clear lacquer on the entire pumpkin
to give it all some extra shine.


my plan was to replace the wood skewers with new ones (no paint marks)
but then i spied a container of yellow striped paper straws in my studio - 

and they popped over the existing skewers perfectly!

pretty bows add the finishing touch
(along with a ribbon for these award-winning concoctions!)

while i think these would be darling in a kitchen on a scale or a tiered tray,
mine are currently sitting on my studio mantel with yellow pumpkins...
making me VERY hungry!!!

pssst: i've created many 'faux food' decor items in the past - 
check them out below!

related content:

hot glue 'honey' pot

more faux food creations


shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycled ideas #698

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna!

creatively beth | team creative crafts linky party #168

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Beth!

southern sunflowers | home matters link party #453

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