Pumpkins are perfect for fall, and many people like cats, so I thought that a pumpkin kitten would be so cute! It is very simple and you need no talent to complete this project. Mine turned out uneven, but it was still super cute! For this DIY I used black and teal paint, but you can use any colors, try to make the colors a neutral and a vibrant or metallic or glittery, a color combo I also suggest is white and a light pink, or beige and a leaf green. I will be referring to the colors as black and teal because that’s easier, just make sure you’re keeping track of your colors!

Supplies

A pumpkin (preferably with a long stem)
2 colors of paint
Paper (an index card works fine)
Paint brush
Scissors
Glue (or any adhesive like hot glue, tape, etc.)

Step 1: Painting the First Layer; Whiskers and Eyes

For this layer, choose one of your colors, I used black. Shake up your bottles first, as it says on the backs of most paints. I am using acrylic paint because it dries fastest. Turn your pumpkin around, the stem will be the kitten’s tail. I first painted a small oval or leaf-like shape on half of the pumpkin, then mirrored it on the other half, the two leaf shapes are pretty close to each other, they are not perfectly even but that’s okay. Then, there’s the small circle on the middle of the bottom of the pumpkin, it will be the nose. A helpful trick if you are having trouble placing the eyes, you can use the nose as a guide to show where the middle is. I painted the outline triangle with rounded edges, and a small cat-like smile coming from it, you can choose the smile and nose shape you want to draw on your kitten. I added whiskers to the cat but they were very messy. I later took them off, though I might go back and re-paint them, I’ll edit this instructable later to let you know! Wait about 10 minutes (depending on how thick you layered your paint).

Step 2: Painting the Second Layer (with a New Color)

In this layer, I am using my teal color. I used this to draw the pupils of the cat, and you may be thinking that I should have used the blue for the first layer and make the black as pupils to make it more realistic, but I think that it looks more Halloween-like but you can do what you think. I drew round pupils to make my cat look more friendly, but you can draw slit eyes if you’d like. After you draw your pupils, feel free to fill in the nose. I later went over the nose with black to make nostrils. Set it aside for it to dry, and while it’s drying, do step 3.

Step 3: Creating and Adding Ears

Now, you will need your paper, I suggest a stronger paper that can still bend, like card stock. I used a blank (white on both sides) index card. I painted 2 triangles, they don’t have to be perfect, you can fix them when you cut them. Let them dry for around 10 minutes. Once the paint is dry, cut out the 2 triangles. To make them even, I suggest placing them on top of each other and cutting them perfectly then, The backs were left white but you can’t paint them if you’d like. I took my glue stick (remember, you can use any adhesive) and glued the back of the ear to my pumpkin. I repeated the prosses for the other ear. I glued the ears over the eyes and a little bit more to the side. You should probably do this before gluing the ears on, but I added some teal centers, like how most cats have.

Step 4: Finishing Touches! You’re Done!

When my pumpkin was drying, and when I was creating the ears, I accidentally knocked over my pumpkin and paint smeared all over it, if this happens to you, take some isopropyl/rubbing alcohol to clean up the paint, water probably works too, and dab some on a paper towel, then clean your pumpkin. I had to redo the eyes a bit and fix the smile, I wiped off the whiskers and forgot to re paint them as I stated earlier. So now, just go over all of your lines to make them as clean as possible, and if the paint is kind of streaky then go over it with a second coat. Keep doing this until you are satisfied. You can even paint the tail and add paws. Feel free to add more colors, I did 2 because I am trying to make this easy to make for people who have limited supplies. This was a fun project and I suggest you try this with other species. But for now, you finished your Kitten Pumpkin!