How to keep a white pumpkin white?

Did you know that white pumpkins don’t stay white?

 

 

Above are several of the white pumpkins that I purchased for my fall mantel and tablescape that I shared about in my post White Pumpkins and Pinecones seen here and here.

 

 

As you can see…they are not very white anymore. Although the one on the left seems to be OK…the other two look well past their prime! Not only are they turning yellow, they also seem to be getting age spots (unfortunately - I can relate!). I have even had to throw a few away that actually began to grow mold…yuck!

 

 

So…how do you keep a white pumpkin white? Well, you paint it, of course!

 

 

 

 

The larger pumpkin shown above started out as a regular orange pumpkin…but with a couple of coats of white chalk paint, it now looks happily white and bright. I think the paint even helps preserve the natural pumpkins since I have had these since early October and they have not shown any signs of age spots or mold.

 

 

These artificial pumpkins started out in a strange shade of metallic green…

 

 

 

 

The only place you will find pumpkins like this is in the dollar bins at Target, not outside in the patch…

 

 

 

 

After a few coats of white spray paint and removing the shiny green stems, they are looking much better…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To replace the stems with a more natural looking option, I just went outside and grabbed a couple of twigs from the yard and pushed them into the top with a little bit of spanish moss for texture…

 

 

 

 

Just push the twig right into the foam pumpkin…no glue necessary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much better! And, these pumpkins will last year to year! Do you think chalk paint will work on my age spots too?

Sharing at...House of Hepworths, Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Uncommon Designs, Savvy Southern Style