pumpkin painting

It's October, and in Laura Chapman's world, that means it's time to paint pumpkins.

My family painted pumpkins growing up, because the pumpkins last longer than they do when carved. This meant we could cook with the pumpkin after Halloween passed, and we sometimes used it for our Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.

I carried on this tradition into young adulthood. From my senior year of high school through this year, I've only missed one year of pumpkin painting. I typically make a big to-do of it, inviting friends over to try their hand at it.

I will have friends over for pumpkin painting next week, and I am brainstorming possible designs for this year's masterpiece. I frequently feature literary characters on my pumpkins, and I would like to follow suit this year.

Here are a few examples of past book character pumpkins:

Harry Potter (Fall 2004).

Arthur (Fall 2004 for my mom's elementary school class.)

Twilight-inspired (Fall 2010) front

Twilight-inspired (Fall 2010) back

So, what should I do this year? I have a couple of ideas in mind, but I will paint one pumpkin from a reader-submitted idea. This is your chance to have your feedback featured on a pumpkin!

I'll post pictures of what I come up with on the blog next week.