Easy Blue Crackle Pumpkins

This time of year brings a parade of creatively embellished pumpkin decor to fit any style out there.  I have posted on SBLC’s facebook fan page some of my favorites over the past week, eluding to my recent pumpkin painting marathon.  This project was inspired by Beth at Home Stories.  Here is her version, using crackle medium.  Today I will share with you an alternative way to create this faux crackle effect with using stamps.  The result is beautiful with fewer steps involved, and greater control over the amount and placement of the cracks.

Supplies:

• Fake or real pumpkins, gourds; I got my pumpkins at dollar tree and the gourds from my garden
• Spray primer
• light blue acrylic paint for the pumpkin, black for the stem
• Staz on jet black ink pad
• Flexible crackle texture stamp

Instructions:

• Remove the stems from the plastic pumpkins and spray on white primer.  When that is dry, paint over primer with light blue acrylic paint.  I used Martha Stewart craft paint in Sky Blue.
• While that is drying, paint the stems you black.
• When pumpkins are dry (I used a heat tool to speed this along), ink up your texture sheet and randomly apply crackle stamp to surface.  You can go for just a little crackle, to a heavy effect.  If you go overboard, you can always paint over the stamp with blue.  The flexible stamp allows you to get into the curves and depressions.

That is it!  I thought up this technique after a botched attempt using crackle medium, and I am thrilled with its simplicity and effectiveness.  What do you think?  What are you doing with pumpkin decor this year?