Pumpkin Ideas

The pattern gives it an aztec look - as if it came from an ancient civilization, appearing only over halloween, like a mysterious relic. Ok, maybe that's a bit much of a description, but it sure is neat!

Rather than use a textured fabric paint, this idea uses a phosphorescent paint that was brushed around the pumpkin. The eyes and mouth were left untouched, and outlined for emphasis.

Starting off with a colorful base coat can really make your glowing patterns stand out in different ways. With such an array of phosphorescent colors available to paint with you can create a color scheme that can truly stand out and impress.

You can do a lot with a using masking tape as a stencil. This one is a silhouette of a wolf against the moon. First the entire pumpkin was painted with Krylon fusion white spray paint. Second a circle was painted with blue glow spray paint, by using a round cutout template that was pressed against the pumpkin. Third, a black vinly cutout of the wolf and trees was pressed into the circle. The end result is awesome!

By painting teeth you get this awesome effect of glowing teeth on your jack-o-lantern. It's a fun way to integrate glow-paint without having to paint everything, and just one little detail.

Once you've mastered traditional jack-o-lantern faces, why not try a more detailed scene like a tree with it's own face? To make your tree stand out you'll want to cut out an open backdrop to let light accent all of your trees limbs

Grab some fresh leaves, gloss sealer glue, a foam brush, and parchment paper to do a fall themed design like this - perfect for thanksgiving or to ring in the season. Try different leaves, or different colors of leaves to make it your own unique design. The time of year determines what color of leaf you have available. Oak and Maple tree leaves would be interesting to try, with their intricate shapes. Delicate and thin leaves will be easier to glue, while thicker and stiffer ones will not.

With the right proportioned pumpkin and a little creativity you can have a fun design like this. A base pink coat along with a painted on bedazzled bra makes this an attention-getting design that is sure to bring awareness.

Rolling straight out of the Star Wars universe is this stacked pumpkin design that will tickle both new and old fans. A large pumpkin makes the base and a smaller one is the head. Add a little tilt to bring your BB-8 character to life.

Create a fun mummy this year by doing something different. Rather than cutting complex or difficult edges, you can cut in horizontal slices, creating layers that when offset a bit creates a fun visual effect. A white pumpkin will really make your mummy stand out. Use dry beans as eyes and tongue.

This design can be a very unique way to decorate a halloween pumpkin. A porcelain pumpkin was used to make this professional looking pumpkin-diorama, but a diorama setting would look great in a live one.

A creative, unique way to decorate for fall is this set of pumpkins that spell FALL with cute lights.

This design wins points for being both unique and creative. Spray painting a pumpkin black and then carving out one of the most recognized constellations in the night sky will surely win some votes. Yeah, there are many other constellations, but would it work as well using Orions Belt? Probably not!

This plaid pumpkin works great as a fall flower vase and decoration. If you want to bring the decorations inside the home as a way to tastefully decorate for fall, then this idea is for you.

Using multiple pumpkins with a similar theme is a great way to bring scope to your display. This one accomplished 'scope' by using multiple flame carvings to create the appearance of a larger flame. And carving flames isn't even difficult - all you'll need for this is multiple pumpkins and some time.

The creativity and simplicity of this design is one those looking for something unique and easy to do this year can appreciate. Drilling holes the size of marbles is all it takes to create this design. Smaller marbles will be easier to drill holes for, while larger ones may require larger and harder to find drill bits.

If you don't wan't your kids to do too much carving, or know they'll lose interest in carving quickly, then these emoji pumpkins are for you. It's a great way to bring to life the emojis you most frequently use, identify most with, or are known for.

Decorating porcelain pumpkins is a popular way to create a long-term pumpkin carving that can be reused year after year. This one was decorated with drill drilled holes, giving it a more artistic aesthetic.

Etching can create just as ineresting designs as carving, but without the mess. Etching fall like shapes into the sides creates a great fall decoration that will last much longer than a carved one. You may need to practice your carving skills before completing intricate designs like this one. The general rule is to use the outer layer of the skin to create dimensional designs.

Having one of these outside your home is a great way to welcome visitors and set expectations for more fall decorations. Larger house numbers will take more patience, as you may have to carve skinnier numbers, which takes careful carving.

The thin angled lines in this design give these painted porcelain pumpkins a modern, sleek look. If modern design is your taste then this may be for you liking

A few carefully carved lines and toothpick-attached pieces are all it takes to create a cute cat to light up the night with. Use a small knife to create thin lines.

Unleash your families spirit animals with this creative no-carve way to decorate pumpkins. A carefully cut stencil is used to preserve the orange, and shape of the animal as the rest of the pumpkin is spray painted black. The contrasting black and orange makes for a really sharp display.

If you have a spare doily that you won't miss then this is a simple way to repurpose it into a creative pumpkin decoration. Spray painting it silver makes it sound out, and cutting lines around the edges will allow it to lay flat on the surface of your pumpkin. Attach a spider and you've got a spider web. This simple design doesn't take long at all.

Multiple pumpkins are needed for this design. When you lay them on their side and attach long black legs to them you get a giant pumpkin spider. It takes no carving to create this spider, so if you have a few pumpkins and don't feel like carving, you should give this a try. Great for kids or family that wants to make something together.

Stacked designs are a fun way to make larger-than life displays for halloween. This one takes 3 pumpkins, and no carving at all. It's great for kids because they get to cut out the eyes and ears and fold paper plates - all things little ones can do. When it's done they'll be whoo'ing in celebration of the creation they helped design.

Cheescloth can be used for a lot of things, even a curious looking pumpkin mummy. Wrapping cheescloth around a pumpkin and leaving room to expose some of the eyes gives your pumpking the look of a mummy. You can paint the area for the eyes black, or use black construction paper if that's too much work. Small pieces will do just fine and can be held in place with tape or glue. You can cut the eyes out using scissors once you are done wrapping. It's a very simple carvless design that kids (and parents) can enjoy.

Give your pumpkins antlers to make a fun reindeer. The horns can be cut out of cardboard and spray painted gold to give them a nice shimmer. A red dot of paint in a circle turns it from reglar pumpkin with antlers to the most famous rendier of all! This is a great design for November.

There's something about putting candles in pumpkins that pleases the eyes and warms the heart. If spooky looks are too much for you then this decoration is a fitting way to both brighten an area and bring Autumn into the home. This would look great as a thanksgiving dinner centerpiece too!

Some white yarn and a few plastic black spiders is all it takes to make a creepy-crawly webbed design. Anyone can pull this design off, and can increase it's creepyness by adding more spiders. Children will love decorating their pumpkin with a web. It's even something that could be done over the top of a carved pumpkin for extra character.

Who knew balloons could be used to decorate pumpkins? If you want a brighter swatch of colors in your home other than the regular Autumn favorites, then this would be a good one to try. You can use up all those old party balloons taking up space in that one drawer you can never find anything in.

You've undoubtedly seen a ton of painted pumpkins by now, but have you seen anything as wild like this? It's like it was painted on a windy day, or one of those mistakes that actually ended up looking great. Unlike mistakes, you can actually recreate this design using a drip painting technique.

Some people are too creative! This golden, rich design really brightens up the home. A white base coat and golden sequins is all that is needed to pull off this design. It's easy and fancy, which for the time-concious designer is a win. The most difficult part may be finding enough sequins, but if you like shopping then that may be your type of challenge.

There's a trick to getting perfect letters on pumpkins, and it makes use of something you may have never heard of - tattoo paper. It's the paper those temporary tattoos use, that get applied to kids skin at fairs. Apparently they also work on pumpkins! If you are looking for something different, or a love for puns, then this design is for you.

Mmmmmm, donuts. You may have to put up a notice alerting others that they are pumpkins and not real donuts if you do this painted design. Or, the sign may need to tell them they are donuts if the paint-job doesn't turn out that great. This is one of those designs everyone can appreciate.

If you paint a pumpkin yellow you get the perfect canvas for emoji faces. This is perfect for families and/or the person whose life is one giant emoji. They are a universal language now too, so everyone will "get" it. It's like painting an inside joke that everyone can appreciate.

Everyone has a favorite disney movie. If Frozen is a favorite in your neck of the woods, then give this Frozen-inspired design a try. It has all the elements a true fan will appreciate, like glitter, crowns, and sparkly gems.

This paint-job works great on faux pumpkins, and isn't really something you'd do with a live one. It looks too good to let spoil on a live one, so use a porcelain one and use it as a decoration year after year. You'll need nail polish to accomplish this look.

Chalkboard paint is great for transforming boring walls into giant chalkboards. But what about pumpkins? It isn't exactly cheap, so you probably won't want to use a live pumpkin for this one. Instead, grab yourself a faux one so you can reuse it every year. It makes a great long-term display that can be customized with whatever written messages you want. Just use chalk to write a message and a cloth to wipe it away. It's a stylish and creative way to showcase messages to your visitors.

Temporary tattoos are quick and convenient way to turn skin into a canvas for whatever art or message you want to put on it. It's also a great way to decorate a pumpkin without having to be a super skilled artist. No airbrush or tool required. With a little water and a quick application of the tattoo paper and you have yourself a highly decorated pumpkin that looks like someone spent a long time designing.

Some people use their own artistic abilities to create sugar skulls like this on pumpkins, while other use stencils! This one uses a stencil and looks like the real deal. If you have access to puff paint then you might want to give this a try. You can use glow in the dark fabric paint so your design can hauntingly glow at night!

This stylish design looks mighty sophisticated, but it's actually quite easy and fun to do. The hat is the only thing made from scratch, while the lettering and ribbons come from a store. You can use a faux pumpkin for this so you can reuse it every year, or a live one if you are ok with it departing after a season. The hat can always be reused.

If you have the talent for this then here's the design for you. It gives normal pumpkins the highly sophisticated look of precious tableware. You might even forget it's a pumpkin!

Who knew the sides of a pumpkin could be used as a canvas for such beautiful artwork? This design is for advanced users, that are familiar with pastel painting. Dare I say, it might even be too beautiful for a pumpkin, and better off on a faux porcelain pumpkin that will last.

Bright colors on pumpkins? People will wonder if you've raided Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and stolen prototype candy pumpkins if you leave these outside.

It may look that way, but it isn't real gold growing out the bottom of these pumpkins - it's actually gold tape! Carefully cut tape to be exact. It's a smart design really, that only takes a white base coat and careful application of gold tape strips.

You saw how great a painted pumpkin looks with painted flowers and floral designs on it, but you already know you can't paint it yourself. Well, there's an easier way. You can simply cut out a floral pattern and apply it to the outside of a pumpkin - kind of like it's an easter egg.