Why have a plain and simple Teal Pumpkin when you can have a whimsical Glittery Polka Dot Teal Pumpkin!?
I am so excited to make my Glittered Polka Dot Teal Pumpkin this year! I heard about The Teal Pumpkin Project last Halloween, but we didn’t really decorate or have many trick-or-treaters. This year, though, we’re in a neighborhood full of kiddos and I’m betting some of them have food allergies.
While none of my own children have to deal with life-threatening food allergies, I have known plenty of friends with children who do. I can imagine Halloween presents quite a challenge for them! Their children want to dress up and trick-or-treat, too. So why not grab some fun, non-food treats to hand out to these sweet kids? Read below to see some suggestions on what you can get. I found mine at Dollar Tree and Target’s Dollar Spot, but Amazon has tons of options, too.
I wanted my Teal Pumpkin to be fun, glittery, and whimsical so I decided to go with glittered polka dots in different sizes and sparkly ruffled ribbon. I know, it’s super girly, but when you live in a house full of boys, you have to go for girly when you can!
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Glittered Polka Dot Teal Pumpkin Materials
- Craft Pumpkin or Real Pumpkin
- Teal Acrylic Paint
- Teal Acrylic Glitter Paint
- Paint Brush
- Glittered, Teal Ribbon
- 3-Piece Foam Stipple Set
- 18 Gauge Floral Wire
- Wire Cutters
- Scissors
Glittered Polka Dot Teal Pumpkin Steps
1: Lay down some paper or plastic to protect your surface. Paint the pumpkin teal. It will take a couple of coats to block out the original color. I used three coats for my white pumpkin, but a black one would probably be fine with only two.
TIP: Sit the pumpkin up on something plastic to dry between coats so it doesn’t stick to the paper.
2: Once the teal paint is completely dry, use all three sizes of foam stipplers to dot the teal glitter paint randomly, all over the pumpkin. 
Do this for two coats of glitter paint. You’ll be tempted to stop after just one. You’ll think, “oh, this looks great!” Two coats look much better.
Remember: you can’t have too much glitter!
Sadly, photos rarely seem to capture just how sparkly glitter looks in person. When the light hits these glitter polka dots, though, they sparkle for days.
3: Use your wire cutters to cut fourteen, two-inch pieces of 18-gauge floral wire.
TIP: If you don’t have floral wire, you can use large metal paper clips. If you don’t have wire cutters, look in your toolbox–needle-nose pliers usually have a wire cutter in their base.
4: Bend all the two-inch wire pieces into U shapes. If you have trouble bending them smoothly, try wrapping them around something about the size of a Sharpie marker.
5: Take the glittery teal ribbon and fold over one end about one inch like the photo below.
6: Place the folded end of the ribbon on the top of the pumpkin, close to the stem, and press the U wire into the pumpkin.
You’ll want to press it all the way to the top of the “U” so that it is pressed in as far as it will go.
7: Loop and twist about five to six inches of the ribbon and pin again, about an inch away from the first pin.
Continue looping and pinning around the top of the pumpkin to form a circle.
Don’t worry about making all the loops being the same size. You want them to be different sizes like with the polka dots for that whimsical look.
That’s it! You can use your imagination and creativity with this Glittered Polka Dot Teal Pumpkin project. I encourage you to try different options like using a different shade of teal paint for the polka dots instead of glitter paint. You could even go with a different pattern, for glitter or regular paint, to make stripes, waves, or chevrons, whatever strikes your fancy.
You can even choose something spooky instead of glittery ribbon to adorn the top like Halloween bats, black flowers, or eyeballs. My original intent for showing you how to make this Teal Pumpkin is to inspire you to take the idea of the Teal Pumpkin Project and channel it into a creative project.
I think it’s important for us to teach our kids that not everyone feels perfectly safe trick-or-treating and that by making this a part of your family’s holiday traditions, those children who need to be extra careful can participate in all of the fun Halloween offers for kids. And honestly, even little ones without any allergies or restrictions get really excited about these non-food treats, almost as much as the candy! Try it this year and you’ll see!
I think that by making your own Teal Pumpkin Project craft, especially with kids, it helps make this gesture even more meaningful.
If you’re strapped for ideas on what types of non-food treats to hand out on Halloween, these goodie bundles from Amazon are perfect and will be a huge hit with trick-or-treaters!
And here are some other suggested non-food treats you could get:
If you’d like to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project, but really don’t want to make one, no problem! Simply print out this FREE Printable Flyer and stick it to your front door to let families know you have non-food treats to hand out: Teal Pumpkin Project Printable Flyer
And be sure to check out my Teal Pumpkin Project Topiary tutorial if you want to take your pumpkin crafting up a level!
Or if pumpkin crafts really don’t inspire you, you can make this DIY Teal Pumpkin Project Sign instead!
I love the glitter polka dots! Hopefully I will have time to make a teal pumpkin before Halloween! Pinned for later :).