5 Easy Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

Photo by: Helen Norman

Get Creative with Pumpkins

Paint, etch, and tack your pumpkins for instant seasonal decor. It’s simple to decoratie pumpkins with just a few supplies from the hardware or crafts store.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Adorn Them

Festive party decorations, these flower/pumpkin combinations add a happy touch.

Materials: carving or soft-skinned pumpkins, awl (pointed tool), mum plants or cut mums

Instructions:
1.) Poke a hole in the pumpkin using the awl.
2.) Cut a stem from the mum plant, and place in the hole.
3.) Repeat until pumpkin is covered.

Tip: To help extend its life, keep it in the refrigerator until party time.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Stack Them

Topped with silver serving pieces, pale gray and green pumpkins add interesting height to your buffet.

Materials: heirloom pumpkins with flat tops, small saw, serving pieces

Instructions:
1.) If necessary, remove the pumpkin stems with a small saw.
2.) Balance plates and trays on flat tops of pumpkins.
Tip: Choose from both tall and squatty pumpkins for a variety of heights.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Paint Them: Rectangles

Group painted pumpkins by the fireplace for some added shimmer.

Materials: smooth, flat-skinned pumpkins, rectangular stick-on labels, gold metallic paint, paintbrushes

Instructions:
1.) Stick rectangular labels onto the pumpkin in a grid pattern, and paint the areas around the labels with gold metallic paint.
2.) When paint is dry, peel off the labels.

Tip: For best results, work outside on a clean, flat surface on a dry day.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Paint Them: Circles

Materials: smooth, flat-skinned pumpkins, round stick-on labels, gold metallic paint, paintbrushes

Instructions:
1.) Stick round labels on the pumpkin, and trace the shape of the labels onto the pumpkin.
2.) Remove labels, and paint inside the traced circles with gold paint. (For another effect, apply labels to pumpkin, and then cover entire pumpkin in paint. Remove labels when paint is dry.)

Tip: For best results, work outside on a clean, flat surface on a dry day.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Paint Them: Stripes

Materials: smooth, flat-skinned pumpkins, black acrylic paint (if desired), gold metallic paint, paintbrushes

Instructions:
For black pumpkins, first cover with a basecoat of black acrylic paint and let dry.
1.) Using the lines of the pumpkin as your guide, paint stripes with gold paint.

Tip: For best results, work outside on a clean, flat surface on a dry day.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Etch Them

Announce your address in style by cleverly etching your house number (or your initials or name) into a pumpkin.

Materials: carvable pumpkin, number stencils or house numbers, pumpkin carving/etching set, petroleum jelly

Instructions:
1.) Trace the shape of the numbers onto the pumpkin.
2.) Using pumpkin-carving tools, etch out the numbers by removing layers of the pumpkin, being sure not to cut all the way through the shell.
3.) Rub the design with petroleum jelly to seal the cut skin and keep the design looking fresh.

Tip: Pile a combination of traditional and heirloom pumpkins on your front steps, and top with your etched design.

Photo by: Helen Norman

Tack Them

Upholstery tacks easily give a graphic look to plain white pumpkins.

Materials: white pumpkins, awl (pointed tool), upholstery tacks in assorted shapes and sizes

Instructions:
1.) Map out your design by pricking the pumpkins with an awl.
2.) Stick the upholstery tacks into the pumpkin in the desired pattern.

Tip: Mix up the sizes and shapes of the tacks to create different patterns. Also try creating numbers or your monogram.

5 Easy Ways to Decorate Pumpkins

Get Creative with Pumpkins

Adorn Them

Stack Them

Paint Them: Rectangles

Paint Them: Circles

Paint Them: Stripes

Etch Them

Tack Them