You don’t need to get out the paring knife and get the kitchen all messy cleaning out and carving a pumpkin.
There are loads of fun and easy painted pumpkin ideas that are safe for little hands and a lot more creative than the standard Jack o’Lantern fare you’ll see on most porches and doorways.
As an added bonus, painted pumpkins will last from two to three months in outdoor temperatures of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or about a month at room temperature.
Choose Your Favorite Pumpkin And Create
There are about 30 varieties of pumpkins from which to choose, and they come in all sizes from tiny, three-inch miniatures to colossal giants weighing hundreds of pounds.
Pumpkins are available in a surprising number of colors. They run the gamut from every shade of orange, as well as a deep reddish color to green, blue, white and a mottled green and orange mix.
They also range from fat and squat to tall and cylindrical in shape. There are so many variations; you’ll be tempted to paint an entire pumpkin patch with these whimsical and fun decorations.
Pumpkins Make A Great Canvas For Various Paints
You can create all sorts of campy and festive pumpkin vignettes with paints, markers and stickers, so take stock of all your paint supplies – you may have everything you need right in your craft provisions.
You can pick up paints and embellishments at any craft store that you’ll use for lots of different projects, or you can buy a pumpkin painting kit that has everything you need.
Check out pumpkin painting kits here!
Painted Pumpkin Paints And Ideas
Paint a pumpkin with white acrylic paint. After it dries, take out your watercolors and go crazy with ethereal, watery washes in complementary or contrasting hues.
Use gold, bronze or silver markers on a white pumpkin. You can create an overall filigree design, a fancy monogram or perhaps write a phrase like Welcome, Trick or Treat or Boo! in an attractive font.
Paint pumpkins solid black or white. Use fine-line markers to cover the entire surface with your favorite Zentangle doodlings.
Let the kids use tempera paint to paint their own masterpiece. Since these pumpkins can last a long time, they don’t need to limit their subject matter to Halloween. Any fall/winter theme will be great from now until the New Year.
Acrylic paint is an all-around great product that’s used in so many art and craft projects. Use acrylic paint and painter’s tape to create pumpkins with patterns. Chevrons, plaids, stripes and zigzags are easy to do and can make an attractive, contemporary statement.
Paint your address numbers on the side of a pumpkin and sit on your front porch. You can even use fluorescent paint for that eerie, Halloween glow.
Paint a pumpkin with a fantasy color like cerulean blue or rose madder with acrylic paint. Sprinkle glitter over it while the paint is still wet. Glue embellishments like flowers or butterflies cut from glitter-dusted gold or silver paper and use a matching metallic marking pen to create tendrils, dots and scroll work.
Use metallic paint to highlight the natural indentations and ridges of a pumpkin, or paint simple geometric shapes to decorate the entire surface. Paint a group of various colored miniature pumpkins and mound in a bowl to create an eye-catching centerpiece.
Paint a cute design like a witch, ghost or owl on a pumpkin in black chalk paint. Your kids can finish the details with chalk and change it as often as they’d like. You can also coat the entire pumpkin with the black chalk paint and use it as a message center.
If you have a plain, orange pumpkin, whitewash it to give it a modern look and add some polka dots in a color that goes with your porch’s color theme. Finish it off with a lei of fresh or silk flowers.
Just dig through your craft drawers for sequins, glitter pens, stick-on shapes and other ephemera you’ve acquired over the years. You and your kids will have a blast creating cool and festive pumpkins you’ll enjoy throughout the rest of the year.
