I started creating these Happy (Joyful) Pumpkin Pins twenty years ago, while living in North Carolina. I had received a Santa Pin (post to come soon) from a friend that said to me you could do this! These pins are made of Sea Shells. Yes, another sea shell craft! I started thinking of something I could create for fall and came up with this idea. So, the Happy Pumpkin & Ghost Pins were created, like the ones below.  These are the only ones I have left from years ago.

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Well, I have now reworked my Happy Pumpkin Pins (No, no Ghosts) to reflect Christ in our life. My best sister/friend, Marilyn, commented when she saw my design was the song “This Little Light of Mine I’m Gonna Let it Shine”! The triangle nose stands for the Trinity – Father, Son & Holy Ghost, and the cross shining bright from within represents Christ in our life. The name has changed too. I now call them Joyful Pumpkin Pins, because of the joy I have knowing I am saved by His grace.

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The way I start these pumpkins is looking for the shapes in the sea shells and putting those aside. Then it’s priming with white acrylic primer paint, to keep the color from dulling especially with the dark gray shells. Once they are primed, I paint with orange acrylic paint and the yellow face. After this, it’s all about creating the expression and doing the shading, accents and highlights. Letting the light shine!

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Below are the finished Joyful Pumpkins ready to be sprayed with a high gloss acrylic spray paint before adding the pin backs on them for sale. Each pumpkin takes me almost an hour to make from start to finish, with the layering of paint, shading, details and shadows. I am selling these unique one-of-a-kind pumpkins for $15 each.

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I hope I have inspired and blessed you with this post today. My Lord and Savior keeps blessing me with new creative inspirations. I feel so very blessed! I just want to share it and let HIS light shine in all of us.

Pumpkin Story

Here’s the story I think of when painting my Joyful Pumpkins. Hope it blesses you!

I’ll be selling these at the Art Show & Sale Nov. 6 & 7th at St. Peter’s (if I don’t sell out before then). I am not a member of this church, but have supported this event with my attendance in past years, because it supports the Washington County Boys & Girls Club.  Until my next post…… God Bless You!