Fruit. Slice. Umbrellas. I’m thrilled to share this bright, easy project where ordinary umbrellas become oversized fruit slices. Using ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and fabric-safe craft paint, I transformed plain umbrellas into a lemon, a watermelon and a kiwi—because the little kiwi deserves some love too. These make cheerful, practical accessories for rainy days or photo shoots.
Supplies:
– Umbrellas (plain, light-colored fabric)
– ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Original Multi-Use (2090)
– Fabric-safe craft paint in desired colors
– Scissors
Below are step-by-step instructions for each fruit design. Pick your favorite or try them all.
Lemon Slice
Steps for the lemon:
1. Tape off one wedge at a time: start at the umbrella’s peak and widen the taped section toward the edge so it’s about 2″ across at the bottom.
2. Paint inside the taped wedge with a pale yellow or white base. Remove the tape while paint is still tacky to keep edges crisp.
3. Repeat for each wedge, working one section at a time to avoid tape overlap at the top.
4. Create the white rind by placing a strip of tape a few inches from the bottom edge of each wedge, curving the tape slightly if you like.
5. Paint everything below that tape white and remove the tape for clean rind lines.
6. To soften the wedge corners and add realism, use a small brush to hand-paint slight curves at each corner and around the peak.
7. Add a thin yellow strip along the very bottom edge to mimic the lemon peel’s rim. Let dry completely before closing the umbrella.
Watermelon
Steps for the watermelon:
1. Tape a strip a few inches from the bottom of each section to mark the green rind area. Paint below the tape with green paint and remove the tape.
2. Once dry, define the white inner rind by placing a piece of tape just above the green edge and another an inch above that. Paint the band between those strips white and remove the tape.
3. For seeds, create small adhesive stencils by layering tape and cutting a seed shape with scissors. Separate the layers to make several stencils at once.
4. Position each stencil and paint seeds in black. For balanced placement, start near the center of each wedge and work outward—two rows per wedge look natural.
5. Let paint dry fully before handling or folding the umbrella.
Kiwi
Steps for the kiwi:
1. Mark and paint an inner circle around the umbrella peak as the kiwi’s core. To make a guide, poke a hole in a paper plate, slip it onto the umbrella top and trace. Fill the circle with white or a light green base.
2. Make small seed stencils from tape as described for the watermelon. Paint seeds in black around the inner circle—three seeds per wedge creates a balanced look.
3. Finally, tape about an inch from the bottom of each wedge and paint the outer edge brown to mimic the kiwi skin. Remove tape and allow to dry thoroughly.
These umbrellas look charming both open and folded—just be sure the paint is fully dry before collapsing them so nothing creases or sticks.
All photos by Jeff Mindell for Studio DIY
I’d love to try a full citrus set—orange and lime would be great additions. Which fruit would you paint on an umbrella? Have fun making colorful, weather-ready pieces you’ll smile at in the rain.
I am proud to be a 3M sponsored blogger and had the chance to evaluate ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape for this project. The opinions expressed here are my own and I selected the other products used.