Painted Dollar Store Pumpkins | How to Get a Weathered Texture Finish with Fusion Fresco

 

Have you heard the buzz about the newest product in the Fusion Mineral Paint line?

 

 

It’s all about this . . . Fusion Fresco!  Fresco is a mix-in powder that changes the texture of the paint and can be used to create a variety of distressed and weathered textures.

I have been on the hunt for the right piece to try out the Fresco on, but just haven’t come across it yet. While grabbing some birthday party supplies at the dollar store the other day though, I spotted these $1 styrofoam pumpkins–and inspiration struck.

 

 

Yes, they are as bright neon orange in real life as they look like in the photo!

At $1 a piece, they were perfect for an experimental project.

The key to working with Fresco is layering different colors of paint, so here is the color combination I came up with for these pumpkins:  Champlain, Heirloom, and Linen.

 

So, do you think we can make these neon orange, styrofoam pumpkins look great?

Let’s walk through the steps:

First, you want to mix the Fresco into your base color, at roughly 2 parts paint to 1 part Fresco.  If you want the texture lighter, then mix a little less, and vice versa.

Measure . . .

Pour . . .

Mix . . .

You can see the Fresco stays a little lumpy in the mix, and that’s ok. You can work to smooth out as many of those lumps as you like for a smoother texture, or you can leave it clumpy.

And fair warning . . . Fresco has a stronger odor than the regular Fusion Mineral Paint does.  One of the reasons I love working with Fusion is because it doesn’t really have any odor at all, but adding Fresco does bring out that paint smell.

Don’t worry–Fresco is still 100% natural and has Zero VOC’s, just like the rest of the Fusion line–I just wanted to give you a heads up that you will notice a stronger smell than you are used to if you mix it into your paint.

The second step is to paint on your base color coat (with the Fresco).  For 2 of the pumpkins I used Champlain as the base, for the other I switched it up and used Heirloom.

Can you see the Fresco clumps on the pumpkin?  

As those dry, they get really hard, so you don’t have to worry about them flaking off over time. If you want a softer finish though, now is the time to go back over those lumps with your brush or a trowel to knock them back and smooth them out.  I chose to let them be.

After the first coat dries to the touch, then add the second color–Heirloom–right over the texture.  You don’t need to mix any Fresco into this second color.

I painted the Heirloom just onto the base, leaving the stem white with the Champlain.

After the 2nd coat dries, take some fine grit sandpaper (I used a 220), and lightly rub the pumpkin’s surface.  This will sand back the top coat, revealing the base color and texture.

For the last step, I dry-brushed on a little bit of Linen to add just a tad bit more color depth.

And you’re finished!

What do you think?  Did we succeed in making the neon orange pumpkins look great?

I think they turned out amazing 🙂 The addition of the Fresco to the base coat is what makes all the difference in this project.

One small tester size of each color and a small bag of Fresco is all you would need for this project. I think it would be fun to gather some friends and Fresco some $1 pumpkins together!

I now have the small, 75g, size bags of Fusion Fresco loaded for sale in my online shop.  

One small bag is enough to mix an entire pint of texture paint, which can cover a whole furniture piece (or a million dollar store pumpkins!).

What kind of creative ideas do you have for the Fresco? I would love to hear!