All of the poor, brassy light fixtures left in piles at the thrift stores make me sad. I’m always checking them out at our local Restore, wondering what I can do to retell their stories. I picked one up for $5 the other day, thinking I’d use the “guts” of the light for another project. This glass piece was left abandoned on the work bench until it caught my eye and begged me, Please! Please! Make me a pumpkin!

Since I fancy myself a Fairy Godmother of Goodwill, I waved my magic paint brush and DRIPPITY-DROPPITY-DO!

It was a pumpkin. No, a Junk-in. I added a vintage doorknob and some lock and keys because a junk-in wouldn’t have just any old stem and vine.

Want to  make your own? Here’s what you’ll need (affiliate link included for your convenience):

Builder-basic lantern with the lighting elements removed
Martha Stewart Frost Paint in Maze
Sponge Brush
Doorknob, keys or “junk” to use for decoration

1. If you haven’t already, remove all of the lighting elements from the lantern. You can save them for another project!
2. Clean the glass then apply the frost paint with a sponge brush. You will need to do several coats until you achieve the color you want.
3. Add your junky details! I used the existing holes to add the doorknob and keys.

I think a trio of these lanterns would be so cute for Halloween! There is a pre-existing hole in the bottom of the lantern so you could set it over a battery-operated candle for a pretty glow.

What do you think? I was tempted to do a blue or gray pumpkin. You think that would be pretty?