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Squirrels.
They’re my arch enemies. Every single year they eat through the beautiful pumpkins my family selects at the pumpkin patch – mangling them before we’ve even had a chance to enjoy them in our planters or carve them.
Not this year, suckers! Nope. No way.
This year I’m using fake pumpkins in my fall planters. Squirrels do not like fake pumpkins. Therefore, I love fake pumpkins. The problem is they kinda look like modified basketballs when you get them fresh from the craft store – bright orange, super shiny, not realistic. But with just a little bit of paint, it’s easy to make fake pumpkins look real! 
So before we begin, let’s have a quick look at what a craft store pumpkin looks like. See what I mean about the modified basketball thing? It’s like a bright orange ball with some grooves in it.
The good news is that it doesn’t take long to get fake pumpkins looking more realistic. First, use a thin paintbrush to paint brown acrylic paint in some of the pumpkin’s grooves. 
Let the paint sit for a few minutes (but not long enough to fully dry), and then use a paper towel or soft cloth to smudge the paint. It’s good if it smears outside of the grooves, too. Once you’ve finished smearing a section, move to another section of the pumpkin and repeat the line painting/paint smearing process.
Once you’ve finished that part and the paint has dried, dot some more brown paint on spots that still look too “fresh.” Pumpkins are dirty, people! Give these fake pumpkins what they want – fake dirt! Smear this paint just as you did the painted lines.
Finally, dot some green and cream acrylic paint around the top and bottom sides of the pumpkin. Remember, pumpkins are not solid orange. They have a lot of color variation, so this step helps make fake pumpkins look even more realistic! Let the paint sit for a couple of minutes and smear it around and blend it in, just as you did with the other steps.
And there you have it – you now know how to make fake pumpkins look real! 
If you’re using these outside in planters or window boxes, I have a great trick for you to keep the pumpkins in place! I cut a small slit in the bottom of each pumpkin and stuck a wood shim into the slit. Then I stuck the shim and pumpkin into the dirt. It works like a charm! They stay in place and don’t blow away – even when it’s really windy! 
So what do you think? Will you be outsmarting the squirrels this year?
-Bre
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Kim~madeinaday says
This post is so clever! It’s sure to be a hit this season! Sharing Friday at the P3Party share! If you have any Halloween posts I’d love for you to link them up at my Halloween linky, weekly features in Oct. Have a great week!
Kim
Bre says
Hey, Kim! Awesome – thank you! I will check out your Halloween party – sounds fun! Thanks for the invite. Have a great weekend!
TwoPlusCute says
They do look real!
Loved the tip on keeping them in place; I always worry about strong winds.
Bre says
Thank you! Oh gosh, trust me, this tip works! We had the CRAZIEST wind in Chicago for four days straight last week, and my pumpkins didn’t budge! Meanwhile, one of the mums I planted flew straight out of the pot I put it in! 🙂
L. S. says
I made some faux pumpkins this year with solar lights at the top. I had removed the stick because it was too long. Then I used just the pointed end of the stick to secure it into my window box.
Bre says
BRILLIANT!!!
Raysie says
I love this idea and you did a wonderful job. Are the wood shims the same kind you can buy at Lowes in a huge plastic wrapped block or are they more like skewers for food?
Bre says
Hi, Raysie – thank you! And yes, I used regular wood shims that are narrow but wider than food skewers. You could also try paint stirrer sticks or kindling wood, if you have that on hand!
Sherri says
Hi! Love the idea to make the fake pumpkins look real. I actually carved a couple fake pumpkins for my husband and I to use year after year and added uncarved fake pumpkins to my fall porch arrangement. I’ll have to go back and add the paint….thanks for the idea!! BTW, I used dowel rods to “plant” the pumpkins in the bale of straw. It works to keep them in place too. 🙂
Bre says
Hi Sherri- thank you! Aren’t fake pumpkins the best? I am so happy they aren’t destroying my pumpkins this year! Great tip on the dowels, too! Thanks!
Virginia says
Love the idea. How do you keep the pumpkins on the porch or window boxes from blowing over and away? The pumpkins are ‘light’, no weight to them. If I made a pumpkin arrangement on my front porch, I would have to go down the street each day and retrieve the pumpkins. Have designers found a way to keep the craft store pumpkins ‘weighted down’?
Bre says
Hi, Virginia!! Great question – what I do is cut slits in the bottom of the pumpkins and then shove a stick or wood shim up into the pumpkin, with some sticking out the bottom still. Then I use that as a stake to hold the pumpkins in place. It works perfectly! They stay out there all season without blowing away.
Nancy says
If I am putting my pumpkin on steps I carve what I want into it, cut a small hole in the bottom for water drainage, then weight it down with small rocks. I then put a small flame less candles in it. I also have a really cool haunted house one I did that took so long I was not going to do it on a real pumpkin. I used a fake one and coated my finished product with a craft protection spray so I could put it outside.
Bre says
Nancy those are FANTASTIC ideas!! I would love to see your haunted house one! I wish you could post a picture here!
Helen says
I live it very much thank you
Bre says
Thank you, Helen! 🙂 Have a great day!
Cathey says
Bre, your designs are wonderful. I’ll bet the squirrels were surprised ! ! Thank you for sharing these ideas.
Bre says
Hi, Cathey! You are so sweet! Thank you so much for your note. And hahaha – I sure hope those squirrels were surprised. Get outta here!! 🙂