Over 30 {No Carve} Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

You are going to love these No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for Halloween. If you are ready to add a little bit of no carve creativity and fun to your Halloween traditions, then you’ll want to check out this post with over 30 pumpkin decorating ideas from Halloween our school event…

No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

These ideas all came from our school wide Halloween event that was held last year. Families were asked to participate in a pumpkin decorating contest. As I was carrying our pumpkin into the hallway, I was blown away by everyone’s creativity.

Of course, I took several photos to share. Unfortunately, there won’t be tutorials or links to share on how to decorate these pumpkins – only inspiration and ideas for you to check out. I’m sure you’ll be able to run with the ideas and come up with your own pumpkin masterpiece.

What’s the Best Paint to Use on Pumpkins?

• Rustoleum spray paint can be used on pumpkins. Chalk paint is another paint that works well. A sealant can be used to help keep the paint from chipping. Puffy paint is great for detailing. If you are letting the kids paint the pumpkins, you might want to use a washable paint

How Do You Prep A Pumpkin for Painting?

• You should wash and dry your pumpkin to get rid of dirt and debris

Tips and tricks for working with  painted pumpkins…

• Wash and dry pumpkins
• Using oil based paints will help the paint stick longer – most spray paints are oil based
• You can use a sealant after painting
• Glues that work well are hot glue (used by adults). For kids, Fabri-Tac glue works well. It is really tacky and dries quickly. Another glue alternative is large glue dots. They are extremely sticky
• Don’t forget to protect your surface with a disposable plastic tarp or newspaper
• Glitter paint can be used to add a touch of sparkle. Use it over the base paint

 

Let’s get started on these cute pumpkin ideas…

Sonic The Hedgehog Painted Pumpkin 

Unicorn Pumpkin

Witch Pumpkin and Broom

Puffer Fish Pumpkin – This looks like it’s decorating with Hershey’s kisses, fortune cookies, rolos and green candies

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin – This would take some artistry from someone that likes to paint

Fox Pumpkin and Mice – It looks like felt was used to decorate the pumpkin and the mice were made from pom-poms

Crayon Pumpkin with Silhouette – I have seen these on Pinterest. I believe that crayons are placed on top of the pumpkin and a hair dryer is used to melt the crayons causing the wax to run down the pumpkin

Ariel Pumpkin – Blue paint to represent the ocean, glitter, beads and a crown

Pikachu Pumpkin – I believe that these were foam pumpkins that you can buy at most craft stores

My Little Pony Pumpkin – Painted with yarn and card stock or craft foam paper

Cheeseburger Pumpkin with monster hands – I believe the pumpkin is painted and seeds are glued to the top, craft felt or foam is glued to the sides to represent cheese, lettuce, beef and tomato

Candy Apple Pumpkin – Painted green and dark brown with glued on sprinkles and a wooden dowel inserted in the middle

Don’t Let the Children Drive the Bus – A book by Mo Williams – Painted Pumpkin

This pumpkin is painted light blue with paper plate wings, paper towel tube neck, and styrofoam ball head. Paper eyes and beak were added as well as a prop for the bus

Little Old Lady Pumpkin – Fiber Fill for hair, rollers, hair band, glasses, foil eyebrows, painted mouth and paper eyes

Owl Pumpkin – Felt cut outs glued onto pumpkin

Haunted Popcorn Pumpkin – black and white stripes, with cobwebs, popcorn and decorations

Dumbo Painted Pumpkin – painted with paper ears, and felt hat

Nemo Painted Pumpkin with glitter paper fins

Dinosaur Hatching Painted Pumpkin – with a dinosaur toy disassembled and then glued to the pumpkin

Popcorn Bowl Painted Pumpkin – with popcorn glued to the top

Haunted Fairy House Pumpkin

Forky (or Sporky) Painted Pumpkin – playdough mouth and eyebrow, googly eyes, pipe cleaner arms

Harry Potter Painted Pumpkin – with scarf as a prop

Little Princess Girl Pumpkin

Rapunzel Painted Pumpkin

with beads, ribbon, wig and tutu

Dunkin’ Donut Pumpkins

Mini pumpkins painted with sprinkles

Cactus Painted Pumpkin – toothpicks, flower and clay pot help set the stage for this fun pumpkin

Edwina the Dinosaur Painted Pumpkin – with craft foam

Cousin It – Yarn or even a mop would work for this pumpkin with glasses and a hat

Dog Painted Pumpkin – I don’t know what material the ears are made from. Shredded paper is added for fur

Cinderella Painted Pumpkin – This was our contribution. Another Cinderella pumpkin was also entered into the contest. Our competitors added a toy carriage and plastic horses which won the little girls over. I have to give them credit for thinking that one through. Even though our pumpkin didn’t place, I still think it’s pretty cool.

Technically this pumpkin is a butternut squash, but still so clever! This is Dog Man. He is a children’s book character. It looks like felt was stuffed and glued for the ears. The hat looks like it is blue fabric wrapped around an object and glued.

Caramel Apple Painted Pumpkin – This is painted with sprinkles, placed in tissue paper with a wooden dowel inserted in the middle

That’s it, everyone. I hope you found some inspiration from the photos.

If you need further instructions, you can probably find similar pumpkins on Pinterest that will help you achieve the pumpkin you want.

Happy Halloween!