40+ Painted Pumpkin Ideas

Brushes at the ready, boos. This Halloween, skip the mess of carving and paint your pumpkins, instead.

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Pumpkin Painting Ideas

Fun and festive, painted pumpkins are the perfect way to get crafty this scary season. Not only are they an interactive Halloween kids' craft idea, but they also double as personalized Halloween decor for both indoors and out. From floral blooms and buffalo check patterns to frightening classics like vampires and bats, we have a painted pumpkin idea for every style. Get inspired by these no-carve, creative ways to gussy up faux and real gourds for fall decorating, and prepare to have the best pumpkins on the block all season long.

Watercolor Bloom Pumpkin

Skip the ghouls and goblins and give your pumpkin the garden treatment with a halo of brilliant, blended blooms. Artist Amy Moffat started with a matte aqua base and used bold, imperfect strokes of pink and orange paint to create pretty, peach posies. The floral pumpkin is made complete with dimensional emerald leaves and a shining, gilded stem.

Charming + Checkered Pumpkin

Nothing spells fall quite like cozy checkered tops, plaid throws and buffalo-print tablecloths. Celebrate the season with painted pumpkins that match your favorite flannel. Not only are our DIY buffalo check pumpkins crazy-cute but they’re simple to recreate at home and can be customized with colors of your choice. Get the full how-to and a list of materials to get started in the link below.

GET THE HOW-TO: 3 Stylish Painted Pumpkin Ideas for Fall

Color-Block Pumpkin

Disco balls and painted pumpkins? Kailo Chic's Kara Whitten created the perfect bright and shiny Halloween pairing. To recreate this look, tape off the top half of your pumpkin and paint the bottom a bright, energetic hue. Once dry, remove the tape and paint the top a complementing (or contrasting) color for a groovy display.

Turn Pumpkins Into Pets

Get your household excited for fall with some sweet seasonal craft projects. Your kiddos will love recreating our fun, feathered and furry farm pumpkins. Add an inauspicious kitty to the porch, a bright-eyed chickadee to the fireplace bench or a floppy-eared rabbit to the foyer table with our easy-to-follow instructions, linked below.

GET THE HOW-TO: Halloween Kids’ Craft: Adorable Pet Pumpkins

Oh My Gourd Pumpkin

Chalk-style paint and a gorgeous hand-painted cottagecore floral pattern add rustic texture to any boring old faux pumpkin for a display you can enjoy for years to come. Grab the step-by-step instructions below.

GET THE HOW-TO: Paint Farmhouse Pumpkins With Homemade Chalk-Style Paint

Stocking Stencil Pumpkin

This no-carve technique is as easy as it gets. First, paint your pumpkin black and let it dry completely. Then, wrap a decorative lace stocking or pantyhose leg around the pumpkin and add a coat or two of silver spray paint. Let dry, then remove the stocking to reveal a spooky-chic, lacy pumpkin design.

Chinoiserie Pumpkin

Bring your blue-and-white obsession into autumn with a cheery chinoiserie pumpkin. Charlotte-based artist Amy Moffat starts with a crisp-white base and weaves cobalt and aqua blue paint to create her motif. A gilded stem crowns the gourds and rounds out the glamourous design. See more of Amy's creation on Instagram @AmyMoffatArt.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Make a Chinoiserie Halloween Pumpkin

Mini Painted Pumpkins

Sugar and Cloth blogger Ashley Rose painted (and carved!) an array of mini pumpkins in shades of pastels. Then she stacked them on her staircase for a layered Hallo-cute look.

Set the Scene Pumpkin

Location, location, location! Carolina-based artist Amy Moffat sets the tone for autumn on the coast with this swoon-worthy, low country motif. A cream pumpkin serves as a blank canvas for winding waters and grassy banks. Follow Moffat’s lead and create a coastal or custom landscape pumpkin for your fall porch.

Shimmery Shibori Pumpkin

We’re starry-eyed over this dark and dreamy painted pumpkin. Get the look at home by painting your pumpkin a deep, midnight blue hue. Once dry, use metallic gold paint and a detail brush (or pen) to create shimmery, Shibori strokes. Leave your stem bare for natural balance to the otherwise glam design.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Paint a Mudcloth-Inspired Pumpkin

Bewitching Green Pumpkin

Looking for a painted pumpkin project that will spook trick-or-treaters? Create this nosey witch pumpkin from start to finish with items from the craft store. Use a pea green hue to create a perfect, petrifying complexion and add foreboding features with black paint and a detail brush.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Make a Bewitching Halloween Pumpkin

Punchy Pastel Pumpkins

Orange, pink, turquoise and lime — this funky Halloween porch is piled with vibrant pumpkins that promise a wicked time. Creator and Dixie + Twine shop owner Amber Vanee paints her pumpkins in electric, unexpected hues and clusters pumpkins with like colors together to maximize the visual impact. Follow her lead and throw a few white-and-black pumpkins into the mix to balance the color and add movement in the design.

Swoon-Worthy Swirl Pumpkin

We’re losing our marbles over these swirling, statement-making pumpkins. The trendy marble pattern is way easier to recreate than you’d expect. All you need are a few of your fave paint colors and our helpful how-to guide, linked below.

GET THE HOW-TO: Halloween Teal Pumpkin Jack-o-Lantern Ideas

Sophisticated Silhouette Pumpkin

Bring spooky sophistication to your Halloween decor by embellishing a pumpkin with an elegant, black-and-white silhouette. Print a random stencil from the internet or throw you and your whole crew into relief with our easy instructions, then trace your profiles onto white pumpkins.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Make a Silhouette Pumpkin

Purrr-fect Porch Pumpkins

Welcome trick-or-treaters and Halloween guests with a litter of black cat pumpkins. These carve-free kitties are easy to craft, making them a fun project for older children or small kids with a little help from a crafty adult.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Make Black Cat Pumpkins

Chic + Splattered Pumpkin

The secret to recreating these chic splattered pumpkins? Leave your perfectionism at the door and don’t overthink it. Pick up some mini, orange and white pumpkins from the farmer’s market (or dollar shop) and give them a fresh new look with a few slaps (yes, slaps!) of metallic paint. Pro tip: Use metallic gold on orange pumpkins and metallic copper or silver on white and cluster them together to create a luxe, layered display for your foyer demilune or dining room table.

Pretty-in-Pink Pumpkin Wreath

Design blogger Michele Strauts proves pink is always in season with this gourd-geous DIY pumpkin wreath. The wreath forgoes fall foliage and florals and instead makes a seasonal statement with miniature pumpkins in a punchy, bubblegum hue. Recreate the lively design with a store-bought wreath and pink spray paint or give your gourds a personal twist with your own, unexpected paint color.

Boho Pumpkin

Let your bohemian style shine throughout the season with a set of modern, mud cloth-inspired pumpkins. Use matte, neutral hues like black, cream or gray as your base and use a paint pen or detail brush to add the dainty, geometric details synonymous with the decorative textiles. Find our step-by-step guide and a full list of materials in the link below.

GET THE HOW-TO: 3 Stylish Painted Pumpkin Ideas for Fall

Rainbow Pumpkin Display

Ashley Wilson of At Home With Ashley used PVC pipes and colorful spray paint to create this darling (and daring) rainbow arch and pumpkin mantel display.

Playful Folk Art Pumpkin

Saturate your stoop with a fanciful, folk art pumpkin. This fresh take on a no-carve pumpkin starts with a bright-white base and comes to life with playful patterns in rainbow hues.

GET THE HOW-TO: Easily Craft a Folk Art Pumpkin

Candy Corn Pumpkin

Get in the spirit of the season with a set of sugary-sweet candy corn pumpkins. Recreate this design using a classic orange pumpkin as your canvas. Brush on a rich, marigold hue along the bottom third of the pumpkin until it dries opaque. Allow the natural orange rind to serve as the center of the candy corn and apply a vivid-white paint to the top of the pumpkin and stem to round out the design. Allow the paint to fully dry, then polish off the design with a hefty coat of gold spray glitter.

Inky Pumpkin

Rule number one to pumpkin painting? Never underestimate the power of a little black paint. This spooky stack styled by design writer Maria Conti features glittery gold gourds surrounding a painted, black-striped fairytale pumpkin and a pint-sized pepo with an inky stem and checkered motif. Get the same screech-worthy look with white plastic or natural pumpkins, black acrylic paint and a detail brush. Short on time? A black permanent marker will achieve the same results in a pinch.

Metallic Pumpkin

Miniature pastel pumpkins pair with a gleaming, metallic gold fairytale gourd to create a fresh and unexpected fall tablespace. Create a similar look on your table by layering matte-painted pumpkins with gleaming metallic gourds to add dimension and drama to your table, mantel or porch.

Pretty Polka-Dot Pumpkin

"Craft pumpkins, spray paint and ChromaLabel stickers make for a cute (and easy) DIY," says Kate Dreyer, Kate Decorates blogger. "Just spray paint the pumpkins, let the paint dry and add stickers in the shape and color of your choosing. The best part about this project is that it's completely customizable — mix and match paint colors and stickers for a look that blends with your everyday decor style."

Glitter Leaves Pumpkin

Pretty enough to display from Halloween until Thanksgiving, these glitzy pumpkins are a snap to make using just leaves from the backyard, glue and metallic glitter.

GET THE HOW-TO: Easily Glam Up Your Fall Decorations With These Glittering Leaf Pumpkins

From: H. Camille Smith

Mini Bat Pumpkin

Attack your mantel or bookcase with a brigade of beady-eyed bats. All you need for this pest infestation are petite plastic pumpkins, black cardstock, white chalk and inky chalkboard paint. Coat the gourds with two coats of paint and wait until fully dry before adding spook-tacular faces with white chalk. Can't find any chalk nearby? Get the same creepy-cute results with white paint, a steady hand and a detail brush.

GET THE HOW-TO: Mini Bat Pumpkins

Piled + Pretty Pumpkins

Painter Amy Moffat proves more is undoubtedly more with this stunning patch of pattern-clad pumpkins. Moffat creates a head-turning porch display with a backdrop of glamorous gild-dripped pastel pumpkins, layered with bold chinoiserie gourds and finished with flirty, floral pepos, front and center. Build a dreamy, dimensional pumpkin patch of your own by using three unique patterns in a coordinating color palette of no more than five shades. Adhering to a consistent color palette will create a sense of cohesion that ties the otherwise unique gourds together for a polished pumpkin display.

Dainty Detailed Pumpkin

Little details can make or break any project — and pumpkin decorating is no exception. Show off your subtle style by painting tiny details around your pumpkins' stems. Add pink dots, tiny green stems or a white pattern of vines and leaves.

Striped Pumpkin

Classic, clean and timeless, black-and-white stripes are always a good idea in our book. Add a flash of contemporary contrast to your pumpkin vignette with a set of striped, black-and-white pumpkins. This inviting porch design is rich with fall flair and features a symmetrical display of autumnal blooms, candle-clad lanterns and natural orange, copper, and graphic-striped pumpkins for a polished, preppy display.

From: H. Camille Smith

Fresh White Pumpkin

Stylist Kim Stoegbaurer proves there’s no need to go with bold or bright hues to create a head-turning, painted pumpkin display. Give your gourds a fresh new look with a clean coat of white paint. Once the pumpkins are fully dry, add seasonal flair by adding spare ribbon, twine and earthy autumnal accents to their stems.

SEE MORE: 5 DIY Decorations That Transition From Halloween to Thanksgiving

From: Kim Stoegbauer

Powder Blue Pumpkin

Bye-bye, black! Halloween gets a new, cool color scheme on this lively copper-and-aqua porch. Painted to match the rustic wheelbarrow, powder blue pumpkins are a dreamy complement to turquoise pinecones and copper autumn accents.

Swirly Sophisticated Pumpkin

Give your Halloween decor a fairytale-worthy update with this creative pumpkin project reminiscent of Cinderella's magical carriage. All you need is some paintable caulk and white spray paint to whip up this whimsical design.

GET THE HOW-TO: DIY Halloween Decor: Make a Modern Swirly Pumpkin

Vampire Bat Pumpkin

Set the spooky mood with a larger-than-life vampire bat pumpkin display. Create the killer creature by coating two pumpkins with several coats of black, high-gloss paint. Once the gourds are fully dry, attach pointy ears, glittery wings and gruesome fangs to complete their blood-sucking transformation. Try it at home with our step-by-step guide and full materials list, below.

GET THE HOW-TO: Easily Craft a Vampire Bat Pumpkin

Ichabod Halloween Pumpkin

Give a simple, cream pumpkin sophisticated style by painting it to resemble an antique European grain sack.

GET THE HOW-TO: How to Make a Lettered Pumpkin

From: Marian Parsons

Sugar Skull Animal Pumpkin

Celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, by painting your favorite garden critter like a sugar skull, embellished with flowers, vines and leaves. Paint your pumpkin a solid color and, once the paint is dry, use a permanent marker to draw the critter of your choice. Add color with paint or markers to finish your design.

Striking in Silver Pumpkin

Put a modern twist on your fall display with a slew of striking, silver-topped pumpkins. Paint your gourds a solid color of your choice and once dry, coat the top half (including the stem!) with a heavy coat of metallic spray paint. We’re obsessed with the orange, yellow and inky pumpkins pictured above and imagine this technique would look just as amazing on bright colors and pastel hues, too.

Jack-O'-Lantern Painted Pumpkin

Whip up these high-contrast jack-o'-lantern pumpkins in a flash with just a few coats of bright white paint. Once dry, use our free printable templates to create felt jack-o'-lantern faces and apply silvery metallic paint on the stem to round out the chic, smiling design.

From: Kim Stoegbauer

Monogram Pumpkin

Turn your family's last name, or just the first initial, into a totally personalized pumpkin with the help of metallic leaf. Sketch, then paint your design onto the pumpkin with metal leaf adhesive, then place the leaf over the glue while it's still wet. Once it has dried completely, brush off any excess leaf for a perfectly pretty monogram design.

Painted Pumpkin Wreath

Craft a festive fall front door decoration with a collection of miniature painted pumpkins. These petite plastic gourds are dressed to impress with matte gray-blue chalk paint, then wired into an existing fall wreath. Best part? The entire patch came straight from the dollar store.

Donut Pumpkins

Craft paint, glue and multicolor bugle beads are all you need to turn cream-colored mini pumpkins into calorie-free lookalikes of your favorite sugary snack.

Glow-in-the-Dark Paint Pumpkin

They say nothing good happens after dark — but they obviously never saw this phosphorescent-green pumpkin paint. Dream up a spooky scene and express it with paint that glows bright all night, leading trick-or-treaters right to your door.

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40+ Painted Pumpkin Ideas

Related To:

Shop This Look

Pumpkin Painting Ideas

Watercolor Bloom Pumpkin

Charming + Checkered Pumpkin

Color-Block Pumpkin

Turn Pumpkins Into Pets

Oh My Gourd Pumpkin

Stocking Stencil Pumpkin

Chinoiserie Pumpkin

Mini Painted Pumpkins

Set the Scene Pumpkin

Shimmery Shibori Pumpkin

Bewitching Green Pumpkin

Punchy Pastel Pumpkins

Swoon-Worthy Swirl Pumpkin

Sophisticated Silhouette Pumpkin

Purrr-fect Porch Pumpkins

Chic + Splattered Pumpkin

Pretty-in-Pink Pumpkin Wreath

Boho Pumpkin

Rainbow Pumpkin Display

Playful Folk Art Pumpkin

Candy Corn Pumpkin

Inky Pumpkin

Metallic Pumpkin

Pretty Polka-Dot Pumpkin

Glitter Leaves Pumpkin

Mini Bat Pumpkin

Piled + Pretty Pumpkins

Dainty Detailed Pumpkin

Striped Pumpkin

Fresh White Pumpkin

Powder Blue Pumpkin

Swirly Sophisticated Pumpkin

Vampire Bat Pumpkin

Ichabod Halloween Pumpkin

Sugar Skull Animal Pumpkin

Striking in Silver Pumpkin

Jack-O'-Lantern Painted Pumpkin

Monogram Pumpkin

Painted Pumpkin Wreath

Donut Pumpkins

Glow-in-the-Dark Paint Pumpkin

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