Pumpkin Patch & Pumpkin Painting

Me, AJ, Anna, Belle, & Kara Perry Farms -2010 

It is such a delight and blessing to be able to spend quality time with my nephew Anthony and my niece Belle. They are both growing up so fast and I just love to capture all the moments that I can with them at this age. A couple weekends ago we went to the pumpkin patch and picked out some great pumpkins. The kids had so much fun looking at all the different sizes, shapes, and even the smashed ones. Well, actually I think that spent most of the time looking for the smashed ones. Their little faces were glowing with excitement. I truly cherish these times because I know that it is only a matter of time before they are going to hit the 'i'm too old for that' years. Being an Aunt or as they say Tati (ta-tee) has made me realize that the heart of a child is so pure and innocent. Spending time loving on them and investing in their development, and growth is something that  I will always hold near and dear to my heart. 

insistent on getting pictures with the smashed pumpkins

AJ the scarecrow & Belle the pumpkin

Got a great wagon for the pumpkins

After much consideration of what kind of project we should do I decided instead of doing the traditional pumpkin carving we would do pumpkin painting. Carving can be fun, if your idea of fun is digging into a pumpkin scooping the guts (super gross!!), and then tediously etching a face into the front. I have never really been into pumpkin carving. And in being 100% honest it is probably because I have never really been good at it. But, after trying the pumpkin painting it will be a must every year. Not only was is less time consuming but the mess was pretty easy to contain and to pick up. Also, depending on the age the work can really only be done by the adults or kiddos that are old enough to work with sharp objects safely. This is not to slight anyone that has the tradition or love of pumpkin carving...But for those of you that want to try something different of be creative with color I definitely recommended pumpkin painting. 

Supplies needed: 


Pumpkins 
10 pack of Crayola Washable Paint 
3 piece Absorbent paint brush 
mini or regular muffin pan 
2-3 garbage bags 
 scotch tape 


I picked up the paint and brushes at Michaels for under $10, the washable paint is highly recommended easy to clean off kids. Absorbent paint brushes are a must for young kiddos, the paint stayed on the brush and it was easy to switch colors without them mixing. I used the muffin tin to keep the colors separate. Using the household garbage bags I cut them open and then scotch taped them to the table to less mess and easy overall clean up. 


*overall cost will vary depending on pumpkins selections and what you have at home 

Belle & I - first year of pumpkin painting

A special "boy" colors  pumpkin for AJ