Custom Painting the Viral Giant Pumpkin Nutcracker: A Whimsical Halloween DIY You’ll Love
- Tracey Bellion
- Sep 28
- 5 min read
About four years ago I was asked by a client to paint her giant Christmas nutcracker! I'd never seen it done before and I had no idea it would become so wildly popular!
Fast forward to today and now stores such as Walmart and Target have gotten smart and are producing these giant nutcrackers in a matte white - made for custom painting!
AND NOW.....they are making giant pumpkin nutcrackers for HALLOWEEN!
Meet the viral Pumpkin Nutcracker... and once again I am painting it for a client... and sadly not for myself! LOL!
See the DIY transformation of this giant pumpkin nutcracker from bright white to a whimsical MC inspired masterpiece!
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Unboxing the Giant Nutcracker!
The box is huge.....but lightweight.
Matt pieced it together easily just so we could get a good look at his size. However it is much easier to paint in separate pieces.
Supplies Used: Giant Pumpkin Nutcracker DIY
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To Prime or Not to Prime...
If you plan to use acrylic paints from a craft store, I highly recommend using a primer, such as Bonding BOSS, first.
However I am using a quality chalk mineral paint that has great adhesion and sticks to literally anything.... so I chose to paint directly onto the matte plastic.
I covered the entire nutcracker in Fluff - my favorite white. This was sort of like priming but I love to detail on top of the chalky finish that the paint has when dry... which was my main reason for using Fluff vs. a traditional primer.
Don't come at me over this....it works!
My Custom Painted Pumpkin Nutcracker!
My client asked for traditional Halloween colors such as black, white, orange with a bit of green.... and I threw in a little purple glitter as well!
The Pumpkin Head: The Most Challenging Part to Paint
The most challenging of the entire thing was this pumpkin head! I started with a true orange, but I really didn't like how the one color flat orange looked at all. So I began to layer oranges.
I painted over the Florida Orange with swatches of Terracotta.... just to deepen the crevices of the pumpkin.
I then painted another semi-solid layer of Florida Orange over that.
I then brought in a bit of a bright orange acrylic that I used to highlight out the center of each pumpkin hump. I spritzed with water and used a synthetic brush to blend all these shades together in a more organic pumpkin look!
I am very pleased with how it turned out!
The Rest: A Giant Blank Canvas
The rest is up to you! It's just a giant blank canvas that you get to choose colors and patterns for!
You can go as plain as you want....or as wild as you want!
NOTE: The only limitation is the jacket on this particular Walmart version has a built in texture that would make it difficult to paint any type of design on. Most that I've seen painted have a solid jacket and I believe this is the reason.
I chose Caviar black and Fluff white for my patterns, such as the harlequin hat, the checkered shirt, and striped pants.
I used a blend of the bold Tree Frog Green and Limeade for the bow tie.
The shoulder epaulette and jacket lapels are Tree Frog Green and Amethyst. I used Clear Coat Satin to apply the purple glitter over the Amethyst. I just painted a thick coat and sprinkled on the glitter......let dry and shook off the excess.
And my favorite part of the entire nutcracker is the candy corn colored jabot! I couldn't help myself.....candy corn is my favorite Halloween candy and the triangular shape just took me there immediately!
Finishing Off with Gold Accents
The very last color needed was GOLD! I painted that Liquid Leaf everywhere that made sense!
All trims, buttons and buckles oh my!
Creative DIY Halloween Furniture and Decor Ideas: From painted pumpkins to a moody furniture flip, these projects are sure to guide you toward that spooky vibe! See all my Halloween inspo projects HERE!
The Finished Look: DIY Giant Pumpkin Nutcracker
To protect my hard work AND my clients investment, I chose the Clear Coat Gloss as the final coat. I carefully applied two thin coats for an amazing shine!
I LOVE this guy! And I especially love him here in my entryway!
I've decided I need a Christmas nutcracker just like him in this same spot!
How about you?? Have you considered painting one? It really wasn't difficult.....but it is no doubt a commitment of time and patience! But just look at him....the reward is BIG!
More Inspiration: Fun Halloween Home Decor!
I love decorating for Halloween! So much so that I have countless Halloween blogs from past projects that I'm excited to share! I hope you can use them to draw inspiration for your upcoming Halloween project. Here are the additional designs for your inspiration:
Painted Halloween Coffin - a fun DIY Halloween show stopper!
Thrifted Halloween Painting - converting old portraits into Halloween decor
Whimsical Urn with Halloween Decor - convertible for every season
Whimsical Checkered Skull - gold leaf eyes make this a must-see decor item!
Of course, visit my Whimsical Home Decor Ideas blog for many more fun home decor ideas!
And don't forget to get a jump start on Christmas and see my Giant Christmas Nutcracker.
Click on any photo below for more up-close photos and all the design details
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