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If you’ve been searching for a fun and easy fall craft that looks impressively homemade, you’re going to love this pumpkin pie door hanger. It’s cute, cozy, and the perfect way to welcome guests this season!

The best part? You don’t need to be a hand lettering expert for this one. In this tutorial, we use a lettering template and simple painting techniques that you can follow along with at any skill level. So grab your supplies, roll up those sleeves, and let’s create a pumpkin pie door hanger you’ll love for years to come!

Sweeter Than Pumpkin Pie Door Hanger Supply List

Basic Materials

• Round wood cutout (11¾ inches): Find these at your local craft store, or place an order online for a round wood blank in the shop!
• Graphite paper
• Printed lettering template: There’s a PDF you can download and resize if needed. Find it in my fall lettering bundle here!
• Small rubber clamps: Dollar Tree has these for $1
• Decorative charger plate (optional): I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.99!
• Hot glue gun or E6000 adhesive

Paint (The Good Stuff!)

• Waverly Chalk Paint in Snow White: Provides more coverage than white acrylic paint
• Folk Art Country Twill: A beautiful khaki/tan color
• Folk Art Vintage White: Softer than stark white
• Waverly Chalk Paint in Pumpkin: The coverage is amazing
• Folk Art Metallic Gold: Adds the perfect warmth
• Opal Glitter Medium from Hobby Lobby: Who doesn’t love a little sparkle?

Brushes and Tools

• Foam sponge brushes: The firmer, the better
• Chip brush for the texture technique
• Angled brush for painting details
• Size 4 liner brush (I love Master’s Touch brand)
• Pencil for tracing
• Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen (dual tip preferred): I’ve been using these since 2016 and have made literally hundreds of thousands of signs with them. They’re THAT good!

Step #1: Paint the Base

Here’s a trick that’s going to save you so much frustration: use a foam sponge brush instead of a regular brush for your base coat. Game changer! It’s faster, and you won’t get those annoying heavy brushstrokes that make lettering difficult later.

Apply a thin coat of Waverly Snow White chalk paint to your wood round. I know it’s tempting to glob it on thick, but resist! Think about painting your nails — a thin coat dries faster and looks smoother than one goopy layer.

Here’s my process:

1. Apply a thin layer of paint
2. Dry it completely
3. Apply a second thin layer
4. Dry again

Step #2: Add Texture

Here’s my favorite texture technique that makes everything look more professional and interesting.

Creating That Linen Look

1. Pour just a little Folk Art Country Twill (tan) onto your palette
2. Dip only the very tips of a chip brush into the paint
3. Lightly sweep the brush horizontally across your sign
4. Work from the outside edges toward the center
5. Rotate your sign and repeat going vertically

Why outside to inside? If you sweep from one side straight across, one end gets too dark while the other fades. Working from the edges gives you that even look!

You’ll get a feel for how much pressure to use after a stroke or two. There’s no right or wrong here — just do what looks good to your eye!

Layer On Some Vintage White

After your tan texture dries, do the same technique with Folk Art Vintage White. This:

• Softens that stark white base
• Adds gorgeous depth
• Creates a warmer, more inviting feel

It’s amazing how this simple technique adds so much dimension without being overly complicated!

Step #3: Transfer Your Template Onto the Door Hanger

Even though I’m a hand lettering artist, I STILL use templates all the time. Why? Because they take all the guesswork out of spacing and placement, I can focus on making my letters smooth and beautiful.

Here’s How to Trace Like a Pro

1. Center your printed template on the wood round
2. Slide graphite paper underneath (gray side down)
3. Clip everything in place — we don’t want it shifting!
4. Only trace the pie shape and the words “of” and “the” right now
5. We’ll add “pumpkin” and “pie” later (after we paint the pie slice)

A smart shortcut I learned the hard way: Cut out the bottom pie shape from your template first. The first time I made this, I didn’t do that and got everything lined up wrong. I had to erase and start over — not fun! Learn from my mistakes, friend!

Step #4: Paint Your Pie Slice

Now we get to bring that pumpkin pie to life!

The Pie Filling

Grab that Waverly Pumpkin chalk paint and an angled brush. Try to match your brush size to what you’re painting — don’t use a tiny brush for a big area or you’ll be there forever!

Carefully fill in your pie slice. The chalk paint covers beautifully, so you won’t need multiple coats. I love this orange — it’s just perfect for pumpkin pie!

The Crust

Switch to Folk Art Country Twill (the same tan we used for texture) and paint the crust outline. 

The Whipped Cream

Use Folk Art Vintage White instead of pure white. This helps it blend with your textured background and looks more natural.

Step #5: Add Dimension with Highlights (This Makes It Look 3D!)

This technique might seem a little scary at first, but it’s easier than it looks!

Highlighting the Crust

1. Dip just the corner of your brush in Vintage White
2. Drag it along the inner edge of the crust
3. Dip back into tan and gently blend

That’s it! See how it suddenly looks curved and three-dimensional? Beautiful!

Highlighting the Orange Filling

Same idea here — use white paint to outline where light would naturally hit the pie. Follow those “slice lines” we traced. Then blend with a touch of orange to soften it.

PRO TIP: Always work with wet paint when blending. If your base is dry, the new paint just sits on top instead of blending naturally. That’s why I sometimes add a little extra base coat right before highlighting — it makes blending so much easier!

Highlighting the Whipped Cream

Add some tan along the edges, then blend with white. This stops it from looking flat and helps it pop against your background.

Step #6: Add Hand Lettering

With your pie all painted and gorgeous, it’s time to trace the words:

1. Line up your template using that cutout pie shape as your guide 
2. Clip it securely
3. Slide your trusty graphite paper underneath
4. Trace your letters slowly and methodically! You’ll get there eventually. 

Step #7: Add White Highlights to Letters 

This is one of my favorite tricks! These little white accents:

• Soften that harsh black-on-white contrast
• Distract from any wobbly lines (we all have them!)
• Add gorgeous dimension
• Just make everything look more polished

Grab your size 4 liner brush and vintage white paint. Add thin white lines through each letter — not continuous lines through everything. Vary where you place them for a more natural look.

Step #8: Pull It All Together with Border Accents

These final touches tie everything together beautifully.

Gold Accents

Use Folk Art Metallic Gold to:

• Go over those white highlights in your letters (tones them down and adds warmth)
• Add touches around the outer edges
• Bring everything together

Because the gold is translucent, you can go over the white, and it just adds this gorgeous glow without covering it up completely.

Black Outline

Here’s something that might feel scary: add a soft black outline around the whole border. I know, I know — but trust me! It pulls everything together.

And here’s the best part: it doesn’t have to be perfectly even! Varying thickness actually looks more natural and takes way less time.

Orange and More Gold

• Bring some pumpkin orange around the outer edge
• Add one more pass of gold to blend everything

See how it all comes together? Each layer adds to the last one!

Add Some Sparkle

Opal Glitter Medium from Hobby Lobby is my secret weapon. It’s not harsh glitter — it’s translucent and subtle, adding just enough sparkle without being overwhelming. Because who doesn’t need a little glitter in their life, right?

Apply it:

• Around the edges
• Lightly over letter centers (careful not to hit the edges where you might smear the ink!)
• Anywhere you want shimmer

Heads up: This takes a while to dry, so be patient!

More Ways to Use This Pumpkin Pie Design

The best part about learning how to paint a door hanger design like this? You can transfer these skills to just about any project:

• Greeting cards
• Hand-paint this design on bags
• Scrapbook pages
• Customize it with other pie varieties: Change “pumpkin” to “apple,” “pecan,” or “sweet potato”
• Pie tins: Paint this design on actual pie tins for rustic decor

Want More Designs Like This? Meet The Template Library!

If you loved how easy it was to create this door hanger using a template, imagine having access to hundreds more designs just like it. The Template Library is my collection of traceable hand lettering designs that takes all the guesswork out of creating beautiful signs and door hangers.

What You Get with The Template Library

For just $15 per month, you’ll unlock:

• Instant access to over 400 original hand lettered designs (and I’m constantly adding more!)
• Brand new templates every single month, so you’ll never run out of fresh ideas
• Downloadable worksheets and traceable designs you can use for practice or trace directly onto your projects

Using traceable templates means you can skip straight to the fun part — actually creating beautiful things you’re proud of! You’ll spend less time erasing and redoing, and more time enjoying the process and making projects you love.

Learn more about the Template Library here!