Full Metal Jacket Pumpkin

Full Metal Jacket Pumpkin

Several people e-mailed asking how I made the Full Metal Jacket Pumpkin that was posted on Saturday's Steampunk Halloween Post.

I figured I'd post the directions here an answer them all at one time rather than individually to save time.

The first thing I did was to emboss several colors of metal foil (brass, silver & copper).  If you don't have colored foil you can always use silver and color it with Alcohol Inks or markers. 

I prefer to use the colors because sometimes when you try to cover the AI's it reacts with other mediums and it's harder to get the intense colors of the real metal colors.

I embossed the foils using Paper Studio's Gears embossing folder.

I then cut the embossed metal into small random shapes.

It's time to adhere the metal to a faux or real pumpkin.  I used a resin pumpkin I bought at the Dollar Store.   Now, you are not going to believe this but I tried 3-4 different types of adhesive trying to find the best and quickest way to adhere the metal to my faux pumpkin...  I tried various liquid glues, super glue, double sided sticky tape, etc.  The best adhesive I tried...My ATG tape!!!  I know you wouldn't think so but it is THE BEST!  Worked like a charm.

I simply applied the adhesive to the back of the metal pieces and stuck 'em on the pumpkin.  I slightly overlapped each piece so none of the orange showed through.   This is a bit time consuming because the pieces are small and you have to form each piece of metal to the contours of the pumpkin but I found it to be relaxing.  I was finished before I knew it.

Next I painted the entire pumpkin with a coat of burnt umber acrylic paint and immediately wiped it off with a dry cloth. I then randomly applied splotches of black acrylic paint and again wiped it off with a dry cloth.  This second coat just adds a bit more depth to the pumpkin.

(you can't really see the paint in the above photo because the flash washed to color out....it's too dark here to take it in natural light.)

That's it! 

That's all you have to do.

Very easy but the results are amazing!