Alternative Pumpkin Decorating

By: Mallory Jordan, moderately crafty

I just went to Stuckey's and got my own pumpkin. I'm terrible at carving and have probably carved out the same pumpkin face since I was 10. I have found some alternative ways to decorate a pumpkin to make it look nicer on the porch; not like a 10 year old carved it.

One alternative way to decorate a pumpkin is to paint it. The best way to paint pumpkins is to tape a design or doily on the pumpkin and fill in the spaces with a small brush. It makes for a really simple and classy look.

Or, you can hot glue buttons or beads to make words and cute designs. Gluing glass frit or sequence
is another way to glitz up your pumpkin.

I am going to use spray paint, acrylic paint, and puffy paint to decorate my pumpkin. I found some inspiration on Pinterest, if you couldn't tell from my links.

FIRST, go to a pumpkin patch to get a nice, deep orange pumpkin of any size.

Make sure you clean off your pumpkin so that there is no dirt from the pumpkin patch. Gather your supplies, using colors that match your house. I used gold spray paint, gold glitter puffy paint, and metallica maroon acrylic paint.

To make a stensil for the spray paint, first cut a hole in the center that fits around the stem of the pumpkin. Then, fold the paper in half twice. Draw your design, making sure that you know what space you're cutting. DO NOT cut along the crease/folded lines.

Unfold the cut design. Put tape on the edges before putting it on the pumpkin so it sticks. Notice I altered the shape of the outside of the paper. Don't just create a border on the edges. Make shapes and designs grow from the edges so your whole design is shaped interestingly.

Slip the stensil over the stem and tape it down to the pumpkin. Apply the spray paint only to the top of the pumpkin as much as you can.

Once the spray paint is mostly dry, remove the paper stensil. Then, get the rest of the supplies to start decorating.

I outlined my leaves/flowers with the metallic maroon acrylic paint and painted some extra leaves on the pumpkin. I used the gold glitter puffy paint to outline the diamonds and add some whimsical dotted swirls sporadically.  I added a touch of blue puffy paint around the base of the stem as well.

Now, there is another pumpkin to add to the halloween spirited collection! No stressful carving needed.