Pumpkin Cutting Board Fall Craft DIY

Create my pumpkin cutting board fall craft DIY and end up with a unique seasonal item to add to your fall decor.

If you’re a regular on Pinterest then you’ve probably seen all sorts of objects being turned into pumpkins. Well, let’s join in on the fun! I’ve got two tutorials for you to learn how to turn wooden cutting boards into really cute pumpkins.

Since I have an overload of cutting boards to makeover, I made two different pumpkins that are color coordinated to display together in my kitchen.

I used two different craft painting techniques to make my fall pumpkins. The first was using the crackle technique which has been on my list to try for a while now, and the second was painting a buffalo plaid check. I’ve used the same check design before on a wooden cutting board makeover that I made a while back.

PUMPKIN CUTTING BOARD FALL CRAFT DIY

The larger of the two kitchen boards was given to us from a new neighborhood builder as a welcoming gift years ago. It had the builder’s name engraved on it so I simply sanded it off to make a smooth surface for my fall pumpkin craft.

I have no idea why I even kept it as we never used it because of the engraving. Well, now it’s turning into a big ole pumpkin!

It’s time for the “Do It Over Designer” group to share our newest DIY craft and decor makeover projects with all of our wonderful readers. At the end of this post, you’ll find links to view 11 more awesome projects. Be sure to visit each link! Our group hostess is Ann from The Apple Street Cottage.

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SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• FOR BOTH PUMPKINS:
• wood cutting board with handle
• acrylic craft paints
• jute twine
• glue gun / glue sticks
• faux fall leaves
• heat gun or hair dryer
• scissors
• FOR CRACKLE PUMPKIN:
  • paint brush assortment
  • Elmer’s school glue
• FOR CHECK PUMPKIN:
  • artist brushes
  • painter’s tape (Frog is my fave)
• OPTIONAL:
  • Mod Podge
  • spray sealer

HOW TO TURN A CUTTING BOARD INTO A PUMPKIN

• 1st TUTORIAL – CRACKLE PUMPKIN
• 2nd TUTORIAL – PLAID PUMPKIN

STEP 1 – PAINT A BASE COAT

Apply a base coat in a darker shade of acrylic paint than the top coat will be. I used a brown shade that would peak through the cracks of the orange paint.

If you’re new to crackling, I suggest practicing with a small area on the back of your board or another piece of wood to try out this technique before starting.

STEP 2 – APPLY ELMER’S GLUE

Once the base coat is dry, use a soft brush to sweep on Elmer’s glue. Apply it in one direction only.

TIP #1 – Apply the glue liberally if you want to see wide cracking results and if you don’t want much of the base coat showing through then use a light coat of glue.

I let my coat of glue air dry for about 20 minutes before applying the orange paint since I used a thick coat. Don’t let the glue dry completely.

The objective is to apply the orange paint in one full stroke from top to bottom and then move over to make the next stroke top to bottom and continue on like so. You don’t want to make a back and forth motion. Just apply one stroke each time.

TIP #2 – For quicker drying time use a hair dryer to see the crackle sooner.

Ignore the varying colors seen on the board below. I was just experimenting and it didn’t work out in the end.

STEP 3 – WRAP THE HANDLE WITH JUTE TWINE

Run a bead of hot glue at the base of the handle on the back side to begin the wrapping process. I only applied glue on the back side for each wrap around so that the front would not show a bunch of dried glue on the jute.

Once you get to the tip of the handle, you’ll start glueing on top of the tip as seen in the photo below.

The completed handle below looks neat and free of dried glue on the front side.

STEP 4 – ADD THE EMBELLISHMENTS

I purchased the tin leaves from the Dollar General. To get the green paint to stick to the slick surface, I use 2 coats of chalk paint for the base coat. I painted 3 coats of green acrylic paint on the leaves, and once that was completely dried I applied Mod Podge.

There’s a variety of other embellishment you can add if you can’t find the tin leaf ornaments. Try adding other types of leaves you may find at Dollar Tree or craft stores like faux green foliage leaves or colorful fall faux leaves.

By not glueing the jute twine on the front side of the handle it’s easier to slide some leaves up and under the jute like I did.

If you want to get more fancy with your embellishments, experiment with adding ribbons and raffia to make a messy bow and tie it on around the base of the handle.

PUMPKIN CUTTING BOARD FALL CRAFT WITH A PLAID DESIGN

STEP 1 – PAINT A BASE COAT

Paint the cutting board with two coats front and back. You can use a hair dryer to speed up drying time.

STEP 2 – TAPE OFF AND PAINT THE PLAID DESIGN

Find the center of the cutting board and place a strip of painter’s tape on the center. Place a second strip of tape next to that center piece. Consider the second strip as the spacer. Then add a third strip beside the spacer tape strip. See the photo below for reference.

Remove the spacer strip and place it on the opposite side of the very first painter strip you placed down at the center. Continue like so for the rest of the cutting board.

TIP – I always run my fingernail along each edge of the tape to make sure there will be no paint bleeding under the tape.

Now, paint the exposed areas with orange acrylic paint. You probably will need 2 to 3 coats. Remove the tape before it dries.

Once the orange stripes are completely dry, you’re going to begin taping off just like you did in step one, but you’ll be placing your tape in the opposite direction. See the photo below for reference.

Find the center of the board and place a strip of tape on top of the center measurement. Use a spacer strip once again next to that center piece of tape, and then place a third strip beside the spacer. Continue like so for the remaining strips.

Paint the exposed areas using orange paint again. You may need 2 to 3 coats. Do not remove the tape. Keep the tape in place and let the orange paint dry completely.

You’ll be able to see where previous tape strips were used before and this is where you’ll be putting down the new strips of tape. See photo below for reference. Use a deep shade of orange to paint the exposed areas with 2 to 3 coats. Remove all of the tape.

You’ll now see your awesome plaid design! Touch up any areas that have bleed through or fix mistakes, like my missing square lol, and then add your embellishments as discussed during the crackle pumpkin tutorial.

If you want to protect your painted wood pumpkins, you can either use Mod Podge or a spray sealer. I chose not to use either.

I hope you’ll enjoy making your own pumpkin cutting board craft! Let me know in the comments which pumpkin is your favorite.

RELATED: THRIFT STORE UPCYCLED WOOD PUMPKINS

VIEW 11 MORE AWESOME MAKEOVER PROJECTS BELOW!

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Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Southern Sunflowers (that’s me)

Unique Creations by Anita

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Vintage Style Gal

The Apple Street Cottage

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