Bowled Over

For design inspiration, just look to your kitchen. Yellowware bowls inspired the striped design on this pumpkin, which gets its aged appearance from antiquing stain. Paint the pumpkin with latex primer; let dry. Base-coat the surface with a pale golden yellow latex paint; let dry. Use an artist's brush or paint pen to freehand-paint concentric rings with a creamy-white acrylic paint; let dry. (If you're not comfortable painting the stripes freehand, use pin-stripe tape to mask off the design before base-coating the pumpkin. When the base coat is dry, remove the tape to reveal the primed surface. If needed, touch up the stripes with creamy-white acrylic paint.) Brush an antiquing stain on the pumpkin to mimic antique pottery.