Carving pumpkins can be tough, and isn’t always family-friendly. These fun designs require no knives—just some paint and imagination.
Crafts developed by Morgan Levine
Dotted Pumpkins
How-to:
1. You’ll need acrylic paint and paint pens, available at most craft stores. Paint your pumpkin one solid color (we chose white so that all colors showed up easily!)
2. Choose a color scheme, and use a circular template to trace dots on the pumpkins. They can be different sizes for a more whimsical pattern, or the same size in a neat and organized pattern. You can even trace circles within bigger circles for a creative spin.
3. Fill in the circles with your paint pen, and display your pumpkin proudly!
Geometric Pumpkins
How-to:
1. You’ll need acrylic paint (or spray paint!) and paint pens. We like the look of metallic pens on white paint, but if you’d like something a little spookier, feel free to use black paint and orange or gold pens.
2. Paint or spray paint your pumpkin, and let it dry.
3. Because the pumpkin is round, it’s easiest to draw stripes or triangles free hand with paint pens.
4. After the paint pens dry, you can embellish corners or edges with thumbtacks or any other crafts you have lying around!
Push Pin Pumpkin
How-to:
1. Collect colorful or patterned pushpins. Paint your pumpkin with acrylic or spray paint, and let it dry.
2. Decide what pattern you want to follow—you can outline it lightly in pencil if you want the lines to be perfectly even.
3. Push the pins into the surface of the pumpkin. It’s a tedious task, but the outcome is incredibly cute.
Drip Pumpkins
How-to:
1. You’ll need paint, pliers, a long-reach lighter, and a box of crayons. You can stay within the Halloween color scheme, or use a rainbow of shades that will look festive all season long.
2. Paint your pumpkin, and let it dry. While waiting, remove the wrappers of each crayon.
3. Use the pliers to hold the crayon above the pumpkin. Then, use the lighter to melt the crayon down the side.
4. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect—the “splatter” effect is all about getting a little messy.
Metallic Pumpkins
How-to:
1. All you need is a can of metallic spray paint. This version is perfect for people who aren't as crafty, or just want a quick fix for a plain pumpkin.
2. Spray paint your pumpkin, and let it dry. An extra coat will give it a shinier finish.
3. The metallic look is special enough on its own, but if you want to draw over it, use paint pens to create your own design.
