Transform Your Pumpkins With Temporary Tattoos

This weekend fall finally arrived in my neck of the woods with cooler temps, heavy rains and strong winds.

Making it an indoor kind of long weekend.

Which gave me tons of time to play with all my autumn craft supplies. 


Since fall is one of my favorite seasons to craft in, I have a lot of things planned, but this weekend, I jumped right in by combining my homegrown white pumpkins with temporary tattoos.

Yup. It's a craft I've seen a number of times over the years, and while I've decorated pumpkins in a ton of ways, I've never tried this one.

I guess it's because I'd hadn't ever seen tattoos that fit my style. Or more likely, because I thought it'd be difficult to get a tattoo to stick to all those bumps and ridges on the surface of the pumpkin. 

I mean, I remember trying to get a perfect tattoo application on my kids when they were little and it was kind of a struggle.

But honestly, I couldn't have been more wrong.

This was, hands down, the easiest, yet the most outstanding, pumpkin crafting I've ever tackled. Much easier that decoupage pumpkins or using stickers.

So today I want to share the process with you...but don't blink or you'll miss it.

It's a super simple DIY to decorate real or faux pumpkins in any color.

How To Decorate Pumpkins With Tattoos

I started with this set of temporary tattoos.

Floral, red, totally cottage style. They had my name all over them.

FLORAL TEMPORARY TATTOOS

I also grabbed a few of the white pumpkins we grew this year and dusted them off. 

Then I simply followed the directions on the back of the package.


I chose a design and peeled the cellophane paper away from the tattoo.


I placed the pattern face down on the pumpkin and covered it with a wet paper towel.


I did position my fingers in the grooves of the pumpkin to make sure the tattoo pattern made contact with all surfaces.

Then, after about 10 short seconds, I gently peeled the backing paper away revealing a lovely floral addition to my previously plain pumpkin.

That's it.

Just a few tips:

Now, I didn't bother to seal my pumpkins with Mod Podge or a spray, but if they were faux and I was going to keep them for the long haul or I were to put them outside, I definitely would add that step to protect them.

Also, there are two other things I'd like to mention. First, just like crafting with furniture transfers, sometimes the pattern is a little stubborn in one or two areas. 

When that happened, I put the tattoo back down and let the paper towel sit for another few seconds. It only happened once during my process, but I thought it was worth noting.


Second, caught up in all that pumpkin tattooing excitement, there was one time when I forgot to remove the clear cellophane sheet before I wet it.

And I ended up transferring the tattoo onto it instead of my pumpkin. Total fail.


Ah well, crafting mistakes happen...but it doesn't mean the results won't be fabulous.

Even with that those teeny, tiny bumps in the road, my plain white pumpkins were totally transformed in seconds.

Ready to decorate my kitchen.

The dining area.


And to use in colorful, fall centerpieces.


Best of all, my gorgeous new tattooed pumpkins will last until Thanksgiving.

Making them the most ideal DIY home decor for fall.

Inside or out.

Not bad for a few bucks.

And 10 seconds.

😉

What do you think? Would you tattoo your pumpkins?

Looking for more simple pumpkin crafts?

• Give Thanks Painted Pumpkin
• Simple Pumpkin Vase
• Bootiful Floral Pumpkin
• Ghost and Jack-O-Lantern Gourd

Happy Crafting, Friends!