The Best Ways to Decorate a Pumpkin, No Carving Knife Necessary

10.08.2020

It’s the season of fall festivals and pumpkin picking! That also means you might be gearing up to carve your annual jack-o’lantern. But these creative DIY ideas might convince you to put down the carving knife and do something different this year.

Crayon Drip Pumpkins [Good Housekeeping]

This customizable craft gives you tons of artistic license over your pumpkin. You can leave the pumpkin in its natural orange state or paint it white, black, or really any color. Just make sure the color of the pumpkin canvas goes well with whatever crayons you have on hand! After the paint dries, unwrap the crayons (leftover stubs work, too) and situate one near the stem of the pumpkin. Use a hairdryer to melt it and send the wax drips artfully cascading down the pumpkin. Repeat with as many crayons/colors as you want!

Yarn-Wrapped Pumpkins [Two Shades of Pink]

Here’s a fun way to put extra yarn or twine to good use: wrap your pumpkins in it. This tutorial showcases a few different ways that you can swathe pumpkins or gourds in any shade of yarn. Simply loop the yarn around the pumpkin horizontally, continuing to stack up layers until you reach the stem, or twist the yarn vertically and weave it back and forth from bottom to top. Then wrap the stems in some string of a different color as the final flourish.

Gingham Painted Pumpkins [Kelly in the City]

If you love the sweet, classic look of gingham, this might be the DIY for you. In true farmhouse-chic fashion, the tutorial creates checkered pumpkins that are much more stylish than a jack-o’-lantern. Start by painting the entire pumpkin white. Once the white base dries, add vertical stripes in the hue of your choice. Choose a darker shade of the same color to create vertical stripes and achieve that cute gingham effect.