Pumpkin Makeovers

Don't settle. That's today's lesson. Or maybe it's making lemonade out of lemons (or pumpkins, as the case may be).

There's a pharmacy chain here called Shoppers Drugmart. Over the past three years they've started coming out with some fairly impressive Halloween items. Even better, they have a reward program that actually lets you earn points pretty quickly and it's so easy to redeem points for goodies. My mother is a point gathering master and she was kind enough to let me pick out some Halloween decorations. Among the chosen were two large plastic pumpkins (about 17" in height) that light up.

The only problem was that the colours were flat and they looked like...well...large plastic pumpkins.

Solution? 30 minutes of my time and some paint.

A little brown in the creases. A wash in the eye cuts. Coating on the stem. And a lighter orange on the flesh. Voila. SUCH a difference!

So the next time you see a prop that is decently priced (those pumpkins were $20) but not quite up to snuff, don't pass it up so quickly. With a little time and a little love, you can transform it into a great display item.

Now if only I could make them smile less...