How to Make Elegant Chinoiserie Pumpkins – Part 2

This is Part 2 of Elegant Chinoiserie Pumpkins, an easy craft project for beginners.  It’s a simple DIY craft anyone can make. 

You can find Part 1 ◄ here.

After decoupaging the chinoiserie napkins onto the pumpkin and securing the beading, prepare the clay pieces.

Decorative Clay Pieces

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I used a Baroque polymer clay mold and paper clay to create some decorative pieces around the stem.  Make one curlicue and one reverse impression.  Then, use Tacky Glue to glue the two back-to-back.  Thin some of the clay with water and fill in the cracks along the edge where the two pieces meet.  

Repeat for all the pieces you want to use.

Baroque Polymer Clay Mold

Apply Tacky Glue to the back of the clay piece.

Top with the matching piece.

Additional Molds

After making these clay pieces with the Baroque mold, I realized I needed some other pieces.  The picture below shows two other molds in my stash.

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The first mold is Decor Moulds – In the Garden.  I used the leaf mold in this one.  The second mold is Decor Moulds – Italian Accents.  

Drape the wet clay pieces over the pumpkin top where you plan to glue them, so they take the shape instead of lying flat.  Allow the clay pieces to dry.  If necessary, use an X-Acto knife and an emery board or fine sandpaper to clean the edges.

Painting the Pieces

I started by painting ivory acrylic craft paint over some of the clay pieces, back and front.  Then I dry-brushed a blue shade over the raised areas.

It looked a little too bold.  So I dry-brushed some of the ivory over the blue to tone it down. 

Don’t be intimidated here.  If you don’t like what you’ve done, paint over it.

Paint a coat of ivory acrylic paint over the entire piece. Then, dry brush blue paint over the raised areas.

Paint with a mix of white, blue, and gray.

I wanted to create variety in the painting, so I didn’t use the same technique for all of the pieces.  For some of the curlicues, I combined white, primary blue, and charcoal gray. To highlight the indentations, I mixed blue and black paint with water to create a diluted solution.  I also painted some of the clay leaves with ultramarine blue, then applied a light gray wash over the details to soften the color.

Ultramarine Blue base with a light wash of light gray.

DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Clear Glitter Paint

Then I highlighted the details with a dry-brush application of white paint.  After painting the pieces with acrylic craft paint, I used clear DecoArt glitter paint sparingly to accent raised areas.  The glitter doesn’t show up well in my pictures but adds a nice sparkle.

Gluing the Pieces to the Pumpkin

Lay the largest curlicues around the base of the stem.

Begin adding the clay leaves.

You can use a glue gun for attaching the clay pieces to the pumpkin if you like.  I am a fan of Tacky Glue.  It gives me a minute to reposition, and once it dries, it holds really well. 

Lay the largest curlicues around the stem base.  (These are the ones you laid wet on the pumpkin and let dry to take the pumpkin shape.)  Once you have an idea of how you want the painted pieces, glue them in place.

Layer and glue the leaves on and around the curlicues.

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