AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Sequin Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the third of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

This sparkling glittering specimen was inspired by one of Taylor's outfits,
and I've combined several elements to transform a styro pumpkin
into one worthy of the spotlight!

Read More for my easy tutorial...
Here's a close-up look at what we're making:

Yes, there ARE sequins in there - 
along with several glitters and some hand-cut glitter.

Inspired by:

The glitter + sequin jacket worn by Taylor
in Nanterre, France on her Eras Tour.

This tutorial has two parts:

First, we'll cover a pumpkin with sequin fabric.
Then we'll paint it and embellish it with glitter.

Part One Materials:

a dollar store styrofoam pumpkin (needs to be hollow)
fabric covered in sequins - or a shirt covered in sequins, like mine

NOTE: it's best to use fabric in the color you want your pumpkin to be...
you CAN paint it, but it isn't as sparkly. (ask me how I know....)

two heavy duty rubber bands . scissors . a champagne cork for a stem

Method:

1. I always remove the tiny stems from styrofoam pumpkins, and replace them with something more substantial. This faux chocolate pumpkin is one I already had, and a champagne cork stuck into a hole on the pumpkin top is the perfect scale.

* PHOTO MISSING* : Also cut a small @ 1/2 inch hole in the BOTTOM of the pumpkin, right in the center. You'll utilize this later.

2. Covering the pumpkin with the sequin fabric (in this case, a tank top I don't wear anymore) starts with sliding the pumpkin under the sequinned front of the shirt.

3. I pulled the shirt forward to completely cover the pumpkin, and adding in more fabric clearance to wrap all the way UNDER the pumpkin, too.

4. After the fabric was placed where I wanted it, I put the champagne cork back into the hole on top, to hold the fabric in place for the next steps.

5. Pick up the whole pumpkin and fabric bundle, grabbing the excess fabric that hangs below the pumpkin.

6. Hold two large thick rubber bands in the fingers of the hand holding the fabric...

7. ...then wrap the bands around the fabric bundle, right at the base of the pumpkin. You want the rubber bands on as tightly as you can get them, to hold the fabric in place.

8. As the rubber bands pull the fabric tight, it will hug the form of the pumpkin - showing off the ridges so it looks like a proper pumpkin. 

9. Lay the pumpkin on it's side, and use sharp scissors to cut off the fabric BELOW the rubber bands - leaving @ and inch of fabric below the rubber bands. 

10. The @ 1 inch of fabric left after cutting.

11. Using your fingers, push the fabric and rubber bands into the @ 1/2 inch hole in the bottom of the pumpkin. This helps hold the fabric in place and allows the pumpkin to sit level.

12. That last step also tightens the fabric, revealing even more of the ridges of the pumpkin.

NOTE: You can also use this method to cover a pumpkin with ANY kind of fabric - velvet, satin, burlap, crochet doilies!

Pumpkin done! Now you're ready for part two...

Part Two Materials:

orange spray paint if needed 
glitter:
fine iridescent white + fine copper/rose gold
 chunky copper/rose gold glitter or confetti
dark orange glitter glue . clear glue

Method:

Paint your pumpkin orange (or any other color you prefer)

(I painted all four of the pumpkins in this series at once,

with the same orange paint... it looks different on each one!)

Though the sequins show up in my photo above after painting,

they aren't as prevalent as I wish they were on the finished project.
My paint coats were a bit thicker than they should have been...
this is why I suggest using fabric with the color of sequins you really want!

1. First, I painted the 'stem' with my favorite gold paint - Folk Art Antique Gold. It covers like a DREAM!

Then I used hairspray as an adhesive to apply a thin coat of fine iridescent white glitter to the pumpkin top and sides. I spray one area at a time, add glitter, then move on to the next area. You can also use clear spray paint, or spray glue - though that dries much slower.

2. Next, a thin coat of fine copper/rose gold glitter was applied in the same way.

3. After the glitter adhesive was completely dry, I shook off any extra glitter. Then I added dots of orange glitter glue, placed randomly around the top of the pumpkin.

I also applied a coat of gold glitter glue to the 'stem' of the pumpkin. (It looked a bit plain and needed some 'zhooshing'!)

4. Once those were dry, I used clear glue to randomly apply some chunky hand-cut glitter that I made from metallic paper. Here's how I made that:

I started with a sheet of heavy copper/rose gold metallic cardstock,
and cut some thin strips.
A light orange watercolor marker was used to color the back side of the strips,

as they were white and would ruin the metallic look if seen.

Then I cut the strips into small squares -
it was easy to grab these out of a clear cup when I was gluing them onto the pumpkin.

Adding that chunky glitter really made a difference for the finished look:

To me, it looks much like the larger areas of Taylor's jacket that reflect light.

Displaying this sparkling girl with two vintage milk glass TOP HATS

just seems like the right way to pay homage to Taylor! 

For me, HOW I display things is just as important as what I am displaying...

it all has to tell a story. Kind of like Taylor's songs ;)

I can thank my 45+ years as a retail visual designer/stylist for that!

Next week, we're making a CONFETTI pumpkin!

Did you miss my last post? Find it HERE!

See my FIRST pumpkin post HERE!

Related Content:

Another Fabric-Covered Pumpkin: Beach Towels!

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