Autumn: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Sweet SPARKLE Sweater Pumpkin

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

And honestly, what OTHER kind of pumpkin
would you expect ME to start with - than a Sweet Sweater Pumpkin?!
Since creating the Originals way back in 2007,
I've come up with many versions of them over the years. 

This one is what I'd term an 'embellished' pumpkin,
because we're gonna' add an obscene amount of glitter to it
(along with a final detail that is SO perfect!) to make it spotlight-worthy!

Read More for my easy tutorial....

Here's a close-up shot of what we're making:

Inspired by:

The sparkling glittered ombre' orange skirt
worn by Taylor in Paris on her Eras Tour

Materials:

a sweater pumpkin . orange spray paint
a spray adhesive - I use clear spray paint or hairspray
several colors of fine glitter (I used 3)
@ 3 beaded / friendship bracelets

Method:

First, you'll need a sweater pumpkin! 
Make your own with my original tutorial here

Materials:

a sweater pumpkin . orange spray paint
a spray adhesive - I use clear spray paint or hairspray
several colors of fine glitter (I used 3)
@ 3 beaded / friendship bracelets

Method:

If you don't use an orange sweater to make your pumpkin,
( I didn't, I just used an old ivory one I had in a bin)
grab a can of orange spray paint and give it a good coating.

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

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

 I used very fine glitter in two shades (rose gold + iridescent white) 
and a larger light orange glitter.

To attach the glitter to the pumpkin,
I use either hair spray or clear spray paint.
(The bonus with hair spray is that I can use it in my studio...
spray paint isn't allowed in the house!)

The glitter is applied to the top of the stem + the top of the pumpkin,
TIP: I sit the pumpkin inside a shallow box for this step...

it helps keep the mess in one place!

Spray on a coat of the adhesive on the areas you want covered,
then sprinkle on one color of glitter at a time.
After the first color (iridescent) dried, I added the rose gold, 
topped off with the orange:

Next up, let's add some Taylor-style bling!

If you're a fan, you already know about the friendship bracelets...
they came about because of the line 

"So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it"
from her song 'You're On Your Own, Kid' from the Midnights album.

Fans started making friendship bracelets and swapping them with others

at Taylor's concerts, becoming a community activity to 
celebrate the shared experience of her music.
(Taylor even met her guy Travis because he made her a friendship bracelet!)

I had a few white beaded bracelets on hand -
not exactly 'friendship bracelets', but close enough for this project.

I used a small brush and a bit of orange acrylic paint
to add color to several of the largest beads on one of the bracelets
and to the tassel on the other one:

The tiniest 'bracelet' up there is just a piece of floral wire
with TINY white beads threaded onto it...
I made it small to be the first one to put on the stem:

From left to right, I placed the smallest one on first, 
followed by the larger beaded bracelet (doubled)
and the medium beaded bracelet last (doubled).

(Note: be careful when twisting the bracelets around the stem - 
it's really easy to break the thin elastic if you pull too hard.)

...and there you have it,
a Sweet SPARKLE Sweater Pumpkin to share with your bestie!
(Because you're NOT on your own, kid ;) ) 

Coming up next week,
create a painted GRAFFITI pumpkin with me!

Related Content:

Some of the 'Embellished Pumpkins' that I made + sold
at the Glitterfest Art Show in 2013:

Dress up your creations with Pumpkin Couture!

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