50 Pumpkin Decorating Projects

Pumpkins add stylish, creative and fun touches to fall decorating. Try our techniques for creating pumpkins with personality!
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Spooky string

Jazz up painted pumpkins using crafts nails and string for a spooky spiderweb effect.

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Welcome pumpkin

Put together a Halloween outdoor display like this one-featured on a Midwest Living® cover-using a weathered wheelbarrow as a base.Stuff the bottom of the wheelbarrow with newspaper. Add a mix of pumpkins, gourds, fall leaf branches and bittersweet vines. Paint a friendly message on your pumpkins, if you like.

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Posh pumpkins

A black-and-white color scheme gives any decorating project a bold, sophisticated look that pops against fall's bright oranges. Download our free templates and instructions to create tissue-paper patterns for the pumpkins, then group decorated pumpkins with a vase of winterberry as an accent.

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Setting the season

Vibrant dahlias in carved-out mini pumpkins delight at place settings. (We used a candle carver-a small tool that removes candle-size chunks from fruits and veggies.) Insert a votive holder as the "vase" for water and blooms. For the centerpiece, a row of cake stands raises pumpkins decorated with tisue-paper leaf silhouettes. Download our free instructions and templates for the silhouettes.

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Succulent pumpkin display

Top a pumpkin with sphagnum moss and an assortment of succulents for a striking, long-lasting display. Click  for step-by-step instructions for this project.

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Corn husk covers

For clever pumpkin art, attach slightly damp corn-husk strips at the stem and base of pumpkins with clear-drying gel glue. Buy packs of dried corn husks (used to make tamales) in the international foods section of a grocery store or at Walmart for this fall decorating idea.

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Woodland scene pumpkins

Put woodland-theme pumpkins together with seasonal accents, such as gourds, mums and a colorful blanket, to create a scene like the one on the cover of a previous Midwest Living  issue. Click for instructions and free downloadable templates to make a variety of painted, carved and etched woodland pumpkins.

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Pumpkin stack

To create these pumpkins as pictured on one of our October covers: Choose three flat-bottomed pumpkins in graduated sizes and different colors. (No need to hollow them out.) Using a ¾-inch hole-saw bit, drill circles in desired pattern. Switch drilled plugs between pumpkins of different colors. We pushed the plugs slightly below the skin for a 3-D effect. Using a wood-carving gouge or tip of a vegetable peeler, cut random swirls.

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Stylish pumpkins

Trendy animal-print ribbon and duct tape dress pumpkins in fashion-forward style. For this easy fall craft, we applied stripes of black electrical tape and zebra duct tape on a white gourd. Tiger- and leopard-print ribbon segments fit between grooves to form a checkerboard (applied with fabric glue) on our larger pumpkin.

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Black magic

Create black-and-orange etched designs on three or four pumpkins for a bewitching display. Carve out one to hold a vase full of flowers.To start, spray-paint the pumpkins a matte black finish. (Protect the stems with tape.) When the pumpkins are dry, use a paring knife to scrape away the painted surface in vertical or horizontal lines. Or etch a simple shape or pattern, such as the sunflower or a zigzag.

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Fanciful pumpkins

Jason Donnelly.

Fluttering butterflies alight on pumpkins in this attractive fall centerpiece. For this easy fall craft, we spray-painted faux butterflies from a crafts store all black for a sophisticated look and then trimmed their wires to press into the pumpkins' skin. A harlequinlike mask adds whimsy.

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Orange-and-white centerpiece

White pumpkins encircled by bittersweet vine and set along an orange table runner create a striking table arrangement.

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Sew fun

We got the notion to do some pumpkin decorating during a trip to the local fabric store. A warty gourd took on black spots when we hot-glued on assorted sized buttons. Other buttons march down a white pumpkin like a fancy shirtfront; white bead-head straight pins secure them and color coordinate the look. Those same pins daintily trail down the sides of a small orange pumpkin; while measuring tapes and rickrack pair for measureless possibilities on another when attached with glue or pins. But we really love our last idea: We pinned on a zipper and removed the "lid" of a large pumpkin to create its unzipped look.

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Leafy centerpiece

Display your favorite fall foliage colors with simple decoupage (gluing flat objects or pictures to a surface). Real leaves applied to a white pumpkin set a sophisticated scene.For this easy fall craft, first set leaves between paper towels and flatten them under a book for at least five days. Then brush decoupage glue on a white pumpkin. Arrange the leaves on the pumpkin's surface. Cut small slits along the edges of the leaves as you go, so they'll fit the pumpkin's contours. To finish, coat the decorated surface in decoupage glue.

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Creepy mantel

We can't resist a little skin-crawling fun! Plastic spiders wander over pumpkins draped in ripped cheesecloth. "Hairy" cording feels a bit like a spider's trail on another. Add a faux crow, and you've set the proper spooky mood for Halloween.

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Midwest-theme stencil pumpkins

Cast a distinctly regional spell on your Halloween pumpkins with designs that represent some of our favorite Midwest icons!Our online collection includes the barn, maple leaf and lighthouse pictured, plus stencils of a log cabin, ear of corn, deer, eagle, pinecone, sunflower and wheat -- all designed specifically for Midwest Living. Use a combination of cutouts and etchings for your designs. Download free patterns.

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Trick or treat pumpkins

Create a striking pumpkin grouping with traditional orange or white pumpkins and black paint.Use masking tape to create desired patterns (cover areas you want to remain the pumpkin color). Spray-paint pumpkins black; remove tape to reveal design. Paint your favorite Halloween sayings between stripes. Create dots in black-painted areas by drilling holes with a cup drill bit.

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Fall display

An assortment of cattails, leaves, seasonal berries and orange tulips creates a memorable fall display for a sideboard or table centerpiece. Posing the cornucopia in pretty white Lumina pumpkins adds a sophisticated surprise.Remove the tops of the pumpkins and hollow out the insides to make fall vases. Place a watertight container inside each pumpkin to keep flowers fresh and prevent pumpkins from getting soggy.

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60-Second Video: No-Carve Pumpkins

Get crafty using these ideas for pumpkin decorating-from creepy to classy-without a mess.

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Tabletop 'Mumkins'

Combine two fall favorites by turning a pumpkin into a bursting-with-mums flower arrangement in this DIY fall craft.Begin carving as you would with a jack-o-lantern. Carefully cut a lid (keep the stem!) and remove the seeds and pulp. Using a drill or nail, poke small holes around the shell, just wide enough to insert flower stems. Select mums in oranges, reds and golds. Cut the stems about a half inch from the flower head, long enough to poke into the hole. Space holes so adjoining flowers cover the pumpkin flesh. Start at the top, and work your way down until the pumpkin is covered.The number of mums you need depends on the sizes of the blooms and your pumpkin. Keep the inside of the pumpkin moist; flowers will last two or three days.

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Tissue paper pumpkins

Don't let these pumpkins fool you; the designs may look painted, but the patterns are actually created with tissue paper. Download our free patterns for instructions and templates.

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Birdbath buddy

A painted crow makes an appropriate Halloween appearance in a birdbath lined with twigs or a grapevine wreath in this easy DIY fall decoration.

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Message tower

Send your guests a spooky message with this towering display.Sketch the outline of the letters freehand, then scrape off the pumpkin skin to highlight each letter. Stack the pumpkins on a dowel near your entryway.

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Knock-out design

Whimsical dots create a two-tone or multicolor design with season-long appeal.Use a plunger-type apple corer to punch out circles from an assortment of pumpkins and winter squash. Tapping the plunger with a rubber mallet helps push the corer through tough pumpkin shells. Then re-insert the circles in contrasting-color pumpkins. Mix and match the circles from different pumpkins to create polka-dot patterns, or discard circles to let light glow through your design.

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Pumpkin panache

Go all-out for a party with imaginative displays of pumpkin-inspired fall decorations. The next slides show how to craft the projects shown at left and other pumpkin party creations that will impress your guests.

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Inner glow

Miniature Baby Boo, Jack-Be-Little and Sweetie Pie pumpkins become perfect candleholders when hollowed out for votives. We used old pitchforks, rake heads and an antique apple picker as simple wall sconces. (Note: Never leave burning candles unattended; if you prefer, substitute battery-powered candles for safety.)

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Painted leaf art

Painted designs put the spotlight on your unusual squash or pumpkin cultivars, like this striking blue-green Jarrahdale pumpkin. Start with one that is clean and dry. Lightly sand the surface and apply paint sealer to prevent flaking. Create a design with stencils and acrylic paint, such as the leaf stencil and orange and white paints used here, then finish with a top-coat sealer.

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Patchwork pumpkins

Like working with a three-dimensional quilt, you can mix and match cut shapes from different-colored pumpkins for a custom look. At left, orange squares make a checkerboard pattern in a white Lumina pumpkin.This DIY decorating idea is an easy fall craft. Simply scoop out the insides, then cut identical shapes out of two pumpkins. Switch the pieces.It's important that pieces to be exchanged are of the same size. For a precise edge, you can use tools such as metal cookie cutters, biscuit cutters and an apple corer to help with your cutting. For a more handcrafted look, design your own template.

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Create a patchwork and paint display

Set a seasonal scene on your porch or patio using our patchwork and paint techniques to create a beautiful grouping of pumpkins. Add flowers, fall leaves, small pumpkins and fresh vegetables to embellish your inspiring display.

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Keyed pumpkins

Use antique keys (secured with long straight pins) to create seasonal messages, such as fall or eek, on your pumpkins for an easy DIY fall decoration.

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Go batty

Painted bats (or bats cut from black construction paper) look spooky on your doorstep or inside.

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Window dressing

An assortment of mini pumpkins and fresh fall leaves creates a pretty fall window swag.Knot your fall bounty on a length of rustic twine, and swag across your panes to frame a pretty fall view.

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Elegant white

Pair all-white or orange-stripe pumpkins with white tableware for a soft, elegant look.All-white pumpkin varieties include 'Lumina', 'Baby Boo' and 'Moonshine'. Try 'Lil' Pump-Ke-Mon' for a miniature pumpkin with creamy color accented by bright orange stripes.

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Rickrack style

Give pumpkins a dash of extra color with rickrack or ribbon from your local fabric shop for an easy DIY fall decoration.

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Simple stencil

A simple but elegant painted stencil decorates this pumpkin.

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