DECORATING GUIDE

No-carve pumpkin ideas: paint, pins, tape and more

A no-carve pumpkin skips the knife and the mess, and because the skin stays whole, it usually lasts weeks longer than a jack-o'-lantern. Below are practical ideas, what each one needs, how long it holds up and which ones work for small kids.

At a glance

Before you start

Wash the pumpkin with mild soapy water, rinse it and let it dry completely. Dirt and moisture are the main reasons paint and tape peel off. Pick a firm pumpkin with no soft spots and a solid stem; how to pick a pumpkin covers what to look for. Smooth, light-colored pumpkins, including white ones, take paint and tape best. Cover the table with newspaper or an old sheet.

The ideas

Paint it

You need: acrylic craft paint, a few brushes, and clear spray sealer if it will live outside. Paint pens are handy for faces and lettering.

Paint the whole pumpkin one color, or leave it orange and paint a face, a pattern or a picture on one side. Two thin coats look better than one thick one. Acrylic dries quickly, so small kids can do a base coat and come back for details after lunch. For crisp shapes, use a printed stencil as your outline, as described below.

Chalkboard paint

You need: chalkboard paint (brush-on or spray) and chalk.

Coat the pumpkin, let it dry fully as the can directs, and hand out chalk. Kids can draw a new face every day and wipe it off with a damp cloth. It also works as a sign by the door. Indoors it lasts as long as the pumpkin does; outside, rain will wash the chalk away but not the paint.

Decoupage

You need: printed paper napkins or tissue paper, a decoupage glue such as Mod Podge, and a soft brush.

Napkins usually have two or three layers: peel off the printed top layer and use only that. Brush glue onto the pumpkin, lay the paper on, and brush another coat over the top. Small pieces handle the curve better than one big sheet. It is slow, careful work, so it suits older kids and adults. Keep it out of the rain.

Washi tape and stickers

You need: washi tape, electrical tape or stickers.

Run stripes from stem to base, wrap tape around the middle, or build a face from black tape strips. This is the easiest idea on the list and very little can go wrong. Tape can lift in damp weather, so press the ends down firmly and expect to redo a few pieces outdoors.

Glitter

You need: craft glue or spray adhesive, fine glitter, and a tray or box to catch the spare glitter.

Brush glue on the whole pumpkin or just the stem or the bottom half, then sprinkle glitter over it. Spray adhesive gives an even coat but should be used by an adult, outside. Work outdoors or over newspaper and pour the spare glitter back into the jar. A coat of sealer reduces shedding.

Push pins and thumbtacks

You need: a box or two of push pins or flat thumbtacks. Gold and silver heads stand out well on orange.

Press pins into the skin in rows, spirals or the outline of a shape. A design filled with pins packed close together shines in porch light. A single shape takes more pins than you might expect, so start small. The holes are tiny, so a pinned pumpkin still lasts close to as long as an uncut one. Pins are sharp and small, so this is for older kids, and count them back into the box afterward.

Drill holes with a power drill

You need: a cordless drill, a few bits of different sizes (spade bits or hole saws for big holes), a scoop and a battery LED light.

Cut an opening in the bottom or back and scoop out the seeds, as you would for carving. Then drill holes in a pattern: a starry sky, polka dots, a spiral or the outline of a face. Lit from inside, it glows like a jack-o'-lantern with much less cutting. Hold the pumpkin steady on a towel and keep hands away from the exit side of the bit. Adults drill; kids can mark the dots. Because the pumpkin is open, it spoils more like a carved one, so see how to make a carved pumpkin last longer.

Stacked pumpkins

You need: three or four pumpkins in falling sizes, and paint if you like.

Put the largest on the bottom and work up. If the stems get in the way, an adult can cut off the stems of the lower pumpkins so the next one sits flat. Paint each one a different color or pattern. Stacks are good on a front step, but keep them where nobody will knock them over.

Pumpkin characters

You need: craft supplies: googly eyes, felt, pipe cleaners, yarn, old hats and scarves, and a glue gun for an adult.

Turn the pumpkin into a person, a monster, an animal or a favorite book character. Yarn hair, felt ears and a pipe-cleaner smile go a long way. Kids can choose and place the pieces while an adult handles the hot glue. Keep googly eyes and other small parts away from toddlers.

Use a carving stencil as a painting template

Any carving stencil makes a good outline for painting or pins, and it saves freehand drawing. Our 107 free stencils come as Letter and A4 PDFs. Simple shapes like the classic jack-o'-lantern face, bats and moon, ghost, moon and stars and spider are the easiest to paint.

1. Print the stencil and trim the paper close to the design.
2. Tape it to the clean, dry pumpkin. Cut a few short slits in from the edges so it lies flat on the curve.
3. Poke a pin through the paper along every edge of the design, a few millimeters apart.
4. Peel the paper off. Join the dots lightly with a pencil or washable marker if that helps.
5. Paint inside the dots, or press push pins along them.

Which parts to paint: on our stencils, the black areas are the parts you would cut out on a carved pumpkin. To paint, fill in the black areas with black or another dark color. For a pumpkin that looks lit up, do the reverse: paint the black areas yellow or white, and paint the rest of that side dark.

Our free stencils print at 180 mm (about 7 inches), which fits the side of a medium pumpkin. For carving, always print at 100% so the thin strips stay strong enough. For painting, nothing has to hold together, so you can print smaller or larger to fit your pumpkin.

Want your own dog, cat or kid on the pumpkin? CarveKin makes a pattern from your photo for $4.99, and it works the same way as a painting template. How to carve a pumpkin from a photo explains the steps.

Making it last

• Keep it cool, dry and out of direct sun. Heat and wet are what make pumpkins rot.
• Set it on a mat or piece of cardboard rather than wet ground, and bring it in before a hard freeze.
• Seal painted or glittered pumpkins that sit outside.
• Check the bottom now and then. A soft spot there is usually the first sign it is going.

If you decide to carve after all, start with easy pumpkin carving ideas or the step-by-step pumpkin carving guide. Carving with little ones? Pumpkin carving with kids lists safe jobs for each age.

Questions

Browse the free stencils ↘