Ideas for Decorating with Pumpkins

With paint and a few accessories, you can give a pumpkin a makeover. Paint the whole pumpkin white. Then add a rainbow mane and some long eyelashes. Glue on a horn and you’ve got a cute unicorn.

• For a purr-fect looking pumpkin, leave it orange. Then paint on a cute kitty face, add some pipe cleaner whiskers and some cat ears made of foam or cardboard.
• With some pink paint, you can create a pumpkin piggie. Turn the pumpkin on its side. The indention on the bottom of the pumpkin can become the pig's nose.

• Turn a display of three pumpkins into a monogram by painting an initial on each one.
• Spell out a short Halloween message like “Boo” or “Treat” with multiple pumpkins. Painting one letter on each pumpkin and then line them up to form the word.
• Having a party during the spooky season? Paint your house numbers on a set of pumpkins. Set them on your porch or by the walkway to your front door to let guests know they’ve arrived at the right place.

With chalkboard paint, you can create a pumpkin that you can write on or decorate again and again.

• Apply colorful chalk to customize your painted pumpkin. When you’re ready for something new, erase the pumpkin's message and start over.
• Use a stencil to sketch a spooky midnight scene on a pumpkin covered in black chalkboard paint.

Get your pumpkins ready for a night on the town by giving them some shine.

• Cover your workspace with a cloth or layers of newspaper to catch the extra glitter.
• Use a paint brush to cover the pumpkin in a coat of glue. Pour glitter onto the pumpkin before the glue dries. Add another coat of glue and glitter once the first layer has dried.
• Once the pumpkin has been completely covered in glitter, paint the stem with a metallic paint or a contrasting color. You can also try painting the pumpkin and then adding glitter to the stem only.

Tip: If you think a DIY glitter project might be a little much, look for faux pumpkins decorated with glitter or sequins.

Keep your pumpkin candy bowl inside and ready for guests before Halloween. If you won't be home on Oct. 31, you can set it out for trick or treaters.

Make an artsy, colorful pumpkin using some crayons and a hairdryer.

• Take the paper wrappers off an assortment of crayons. Break the crayons into small pieces.
• Place the crayon pieces around the stem of the pumpkin.
• Melt the crayons with a hairdryer on low heat.
• As the crayons melt, move the pumpkin around to direct the drips as desired.
• Allow the pumpkin to dry completely before putting it on display.

Carve out your pumpkin and turn them into planters for a simple way to decorate for fall. These pumpkins look beautiful filled with seasonal arrangements of flowers, edibles and other plants, such as vines. Or use your pumpkin planter for succulents.

Pumpkin planters look amazing in your outdoor space or as a festive centerpiece for a console or dining table. Try decorating for fall with pumpkin planters and a cluster of other types of pumpkins and gourds in a corner nook of your porch or by the hearth of your fireplace.

A cluster of small pumpkins and gourds creates a quick and easy centerpiece for a console table, dining table, coffee table or mantle.

• Add variety with painted pumpkins, ribbons, evergreen swag, pinecones and succulents.
• Try filling large glass vases with stacks of tiny pumpkins for an elegant centerpiece.
  

Refresh your front porch with a variety of pumpkins to welcome your guests. You can never have too many when you're decorating with pumpkins. Faux options work just as well. Don’t forget colorful mums and a bale of hay to really embrace the season.

Turn your porch into a Harvest scene with a rustic scarecrow surrounded by pumpkins and pots of colorful mums.

In true scarecrow tradition, think about creating your own upcycled and repurposed materials. Make the skeleton of yard sticks, get its wardrobe from the thrift store and use a plastic, pumpkin-shaped candy bucket for a head.