Primitive Halloween Centerpiece

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I found the cutest little metal wagon at Michaels! I couldn’t wait to get it home and paint it. At only 9″ long, it was the perfect size for a Primitive Halloween Centerpiece. Primitive Art, or at least my version of it, is my theme for the holidays this year. When I taught kindergarten and first grade in the public schools, I always had a theme. Having a theme helps me to stay focused and on track.

Materials for the Primitive Pumpkin Centerpiece

• 9″ orange wagon from Michaels ($12.99)
• flat screwdriver- remove the wheels before painting the wagon.
• pumpkin and cat patterns- Right click on the pictures below and select open image in new tab, then print. You may have to resize them. If the original patterns below are too large, change the print selection so that more are printed per page, which makes the patterns smaller.
• pencil
• colored chalk
• paints- Apple Barrel Gloss 20409E Black, 20408E White, 20651E Real Green, 20637E Hot Rod Red, 20366E Dark Gray, 21396E Sublime Lime, 20359E Pumpkin Orange, 44845E Light Yellow
• brushes- 1/4″ flat brush, liner brush
• 2X Ultra Cover Clear Gloss

Transferring the Pattern

It’s always a good idea to have a pattern for the things you paint. It will make things easier if you’re painting more than one item, selling your items, or painting two-sided items like this wagon. Even the great masters sketched their ideas before picking up the brushes. Once your patterns are printed, cut them out, leaving just a little bit of white paper around the edges. Place the cat pattern to the left of the pumpkin stem. You may want to attach the two patterns with a little piece of tape. Rub colored chalk on the back. Find the center of the wagon and the center of the pattern, then align them together.

Trace over the basic outline with a pencil. When you take the paper away, you will have a perfect, removeable chalk pattern.

Painting the Primitive Halloween Centerpiece

First, I mixed Light Yellow and Hot Rod Red to get a mellow orange color. Feel free to use Pumpkin Orange instead of mixing the paints. Fill in the pumpkin with your paint mixture and the cat with Dark Gray. It will take several coats with the 1/4″ flat brush. Use a blow dryer to hurry things along. With acrylic paint you have to let one coat dry before adding another-unless you are blending colors. I used Gloss and Multisurface paint with this project because the wagon had a slick finish.

Paint the pumpkin’s eyes and stem with several coats of Sublime Lime using the liner brush.

Paint the mouth and go around the eyes with Black and the liner brush. Add a pupil with Black and the liner brush.

Highlight the eyes and make teeth with White and the liner brush. Shade the left side of the pumpkin with Hot Rod Red and the liner brush.

Highlight the right side of the pumpkin’s face and the stem with Light Yellow and the liner brush. Write your initials and the last two digits of the year with Light Yellow and the liner brush. I painted both sides of the wagon but put my signature on one side only.

It’s time to paint the gorgeous cat. My silky cat, Meg, was my inspiration for this piece. Shade the cat and paint a little triangle for the nose with Black and the liner brush. Highlight and make the eyes and whiskers with White and the liner brush. You will need a few more coats of paint for opaque eyes.

Paint the irises with Sublime Lime and the liner brush. Trace around the eyes and make the pupil with Black and the liner brush.

Paint a Real Green squiggle and six haunted vines beside the stem with the liner brush. Use the liner brush and a mixture of Sublime Lime and Light Yellow to make tiny alternating leaves on the vines. Make a few more squiggles around your painted design with Real Green and Sublime Lime and the liner brush.

When everything is nice and dry, take the wagon outside and spray it with two coats of Rust-oleum 2X Ultra Cover Clear Gloss spray. Let it dry in the sun between coats.

You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed my not-so-scary Primitive Halloween Centerpiece tutorial.

Happy Fall,

Kristie

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