Here in the Sierras, carved jack o’ lanterns begin to mold within days of being exposed to freezing temperatures outside and the varying humidity by the wood stove inside. As an alternative, my 4 year-old daughter and I decided to paint our pumpkin this year, hoping this would add to the longevity of our squash friend.
We started by drawing a skull outline on the skin of the pumpkin using a charcoal pencil. Second, we painted two layers of white primer onto the pumpkin within the outline. Once dry, I painted black eyes, teeth and a nose. We each then started painting our own skull on the pumpkin. I went for a more traditional Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) design, where my daughter had a blast adding in gobs of paint among little dots. I added a purple outline afterwards for a bolder effect. Below is the fun result.
