Savannah stylist Liz Demos skipped the carving knife and went straight for a paintbrush to fashion these graphic pumpkins. "With a stark black-and-white palette," Demos says of her trio of bold designs, "you can make any pattern, even creepy insects, look downright chic."
HOW-TO For each version, start by brushing the entire pumpkin with a coat of white flat acrylic craft paint ($1.39 for two oz.; createforless.com); let dry for 20 minutes.
SPIDERWEB 1. Using a black fine-tip paint pen ($2.49; createforless.com), draw a circle around the top of the pumpkin, about two inches from the stem. Keep drawing a continuous line, spiraling around the perimeter of the pumpkin, as shown, until you reach the base.
2. Draw vertical lines in the pumpkin's crevices, starting from the circle near the stem and going to the bottom.
3. Let the paint dry for 30 minutes, then place one or two plastic spiders ($9 for a pair; areohome.com) on the "web."
BEETLE 1. Print the template from countryliving.com/oct-templates. Use a copier to resize the image so it fits your pumpkin.
2. Cut out the stencil as directed on the template and center it on the pumpkin; affix with stencil adhesive ($6.99; stencilease.com).
3. Paint the beetle within the stencil using three coats of black flat acrylic craft paint ($1.39 for two oz.; createforless.com). Let the paint dry for 30 minutes and remove the stencil.
WOOD GRAIN 1. Mix a small amount of clear glaze ($1.84 for two oz.; createforless.com) with black flat acrylic craft paint.
2. Demos applied this knotty-wood design freehand, but swears even a novice can pull it off. Using a fine-tip brush and this photo as a guide, begin painting several irregular circles around the pumpkin, as shown, spacing them at varying heights.
3. To complete the pattern, fill the rest of the pumpkin's surface with curving lines. Let the paint dry for 30 minutes.
