Faux Ceramic Scary Jack O’ Lantern

This cute little jack o’ lantern is a little more stylish with his new look. He’s gone from looking like inexpensive resin to pretty ceramic. Let me show you how!

A couple of weeks ago, I strolled past this cute scary jack o’ lantern in Lowe’s. Well, he was advertised as scary, but I didn’t think he looked all that scary. I liked that mischevious grin.

Even though I thought he was cute, I was looking for something to use indoors and wasn’t really down with orange. Then, I had a light bulb moment – it occurred to me that if I can paint solid faux pumpkins and real pumpkins, why couldn’t I paint a jack o’ lantern.

I put it in the buggy and went on my merry way, very pleased with my idea.

As you can see, these are not the same pumpkins. I got carried away and painted the first one before I took (before) pictures of it. So, I took photos of this one to show you how they looked before I painted them.

Here’s what I needed to give this jack o’ lantern a stylish look:

• Resin pumpkin (I got one of mine from Walmart and one from Lowe’s)
• White paint
• Clear Wax
• Paint sponges
• Wax brush

I love how this little fella turned out. Both pumpkins came are electric and light up, but the white makes the face stand out when it’s not lit up.

And in the evening you can light them up for a friendly spooky look. My grandkids love them. (I’m redoing things on the mantel, so I decided to stick him up there with some eucalyptus so you can see how he looks lit up late in the evening.)

Here he’s cozied up in a basket with a blanket and pillow on the hearth. I love that they look nice either way you use them – lit or unlit.

So how did I go about painting the scary jack o’ lantern?

Honestly, there’s not much to explain. I already had some white craft paint at home. I started by painting the edges of the mouth and eye openings. Then, I painted the entire surface leaving the stem unpainted. Two coats of paint covered all of the orange.

I was planning to add a coat of clear wax, but couldn’t find mine. I will probably go back and add that even though I wouldn’t need to because it looks great without it.

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How to Style A Not-So-Spooky Halloween Mantel
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I don’t want you to think I don’t like orange pumpkins, because I do. There are places I might use them around the house. I was just excited about painting these cute scary jack o’ lanterns to give you some inspiration.

So how do you like your Halloween decor? Do you find yourself painting things for a more neutral look, or do you like the orange? You know I would love for you to tell me in the comments!