36 Pumpkin Designs

This Halloween, make your stoop the pride of the neighborhood with a parade of pumpkins that will delight trick-or-treaters.

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Updated:: Nov 28, 2016
Original:: Oct 1, 2012

Pumpkin Decorating Extravaganza

You've hit the jack (o'-lantern) pot! From scary spiders, to chic chevron print, to your favorite team's helmet -- check out all of our fun and fabulous pumpkin design ideas.

Clown Around

Paint a large white circle on the center face of the pumpkin, let dry. Paint two pale pink circles on either side of the white circle for cheeks and glue a large red pom-pom in the middle as a nose. Use a black permanent marker to draw eyes.

Circus Tricks

Paint a medium pumpkin and three empty toilet paper rolls gray; let dry. Cut a sheet of gray construction paper in half and glue to the sides of the pumpkin for elephant ears. Take one toilet paper roll and use scissors to make a horizontal slit (to look like a smile!) in the roll about halfway down the roll -- be sure not to cut all the way through! Glue this "trunk" to the center of the pumpkin. Cut circles out of black or dark gray construction paper and glue to pumpkin as eyes. Cut the remaining toilet paper rolls in half and glue them to the bottom of the pumpkin for legs.

For the ball: Paint a mini pumpkin in white, let dry, then use painters or electric tape to section off the pumpkin into stripes (follow the natural lines of the pumpkin). Paint the exposed portions of the pumpkin red, let dry and remove the tape. Balance the elephant on top.

Wildcat

Paint black elongated triangles as stripes around the pumpkin, leaving the face orange. Paint a tan circle on the face, let dry, and then draw a brown triangle nose and eyes with a marker. Glue on brown pipe cleaners for whiskers. Cut two circles out of black felt, then two slightly smaller circles out of red or pink felt. Glue the red/pink felt onto of the black circles, fold slightly and glue to the top of the pumpkin as ears.

Orange Freeze

Cut off the top third of a large pumpkin, then scoop out the flesh and seeds. Paint a design, like skull and crossbones, or "Cheers!" onto the front of the pumpkin using paint or permanent markers. Place a bowl filled with ice inside the pumpkin, then add bottles.

Disco Fever

Spray-paint a pumpkin and its stem gold. Cut gold-foil cardstock into squares, then glue the squares onto the surface of the pumpkin, covering the pumpkin entirely.

Tune In

Hollow out a pumpkin and line the interior with plastic wrap. Poke holes through the flesh in concentric circles, like the shape of a speaker. Use a thin wooden skewer as an antenna and poke into the top of the pumpkin. Glue on buttons -- or use small wooden rounds and draw black volume controls onto them -- onto the front as dials. Place your mp3 player inside the pumpkin and play -- it really amplifies the sound!

Lined Up

Cut artist's tape into 3-inch strips. Beginning at the top of the pumpkin, alternate colors by row, placing the tape in a zigzag pattern around the pumpkin.

LOL

Hollow out a pumpkin and stencil your favorite emoticon onto the face -- keep it sideways like it would appear in an email! Then carve all the way through the pumpkin and illuminate with a votive candle.

Checkmate

Using a marker, draw a grid onto a pumpkin. Paint the squares alternatively black and white, let dry. Use hot glue to attach plastic chess pieces onto your board.

In Stitches

Find a cross-stitch pattern you love online or in a workbook and tear out or print. Tape the pattern onto the surface of a hollowed out pumpkin. Use an awl to etch the design into the surface of the pumpkin (you will have to poke through the paper and entirely through the flesh of the pumpkin). Remove your pattern from the pumpkin, then thread yarn through the holes on the pumpkin to create the pattern.

Go Mod

Paint the pumpkin a solid color; let dry. Use electric tape or vinyl letter stickers to create patterns over the pumpkin, then paint the entire surface in a different color. Let dry and remove the tape.

Bedazzled

Paint the entire pumpkin silver; let dry. Stencil any design you like -- letters, numbers or shapes -- onto the pumpkin, glue rhinestones into the stenciled design (we chose the number 50!).

Eye Spy

Paint pumpkins entirely in black matte paint, let dry. Draw large eyes on the face of the pumpkin, then paint the eyeballs in one coat of white paint followed by a coat of glow-in-the-dark paint. Use black paint for the irises. Group your pumpkins together outside and watch them glow at night! (Keep them hidden in the bushes for extra spook factor!)

Forbidden Bite

Carve a standard jack-o'-lantern, then cut two fang-shaped holes at the neck (near the base of the pumpkin) and drizzle fake costume blood from the bite mark.

Good-Night Light

Use stickers to create a bedtime scene on a hollowed-out white pumpkin. Follow the sticker borders to carve out the shapes. Line the inside of the pumpkin with tissue paper to diffuse light, then illuminate with a low-watt electronic candle.

Stargazing

Paint a hollowed out pumpkin in dark blue or black, let dry. Print a constellation pattern and trace the pattern onto the pumpkin. Use different-sized drill bits to make holes in the flesh, then thread glow-in-the-dark string through the holes. Illuminate with a candle.

Lighten Up

Drill medium-size holes (large enough for a tapered candle) entirely through mini pumpkins. Paint the pumpkins in two-tones (use electric tape or painters tape to keep lines clean), let dry. Stack the pumpkins and stick tapers through the holes to use as a candlestick.

Black Widows

Paint pumpkins black; let dry. Apply black pipe cleaners to each side, bending them to form legs. Glue googly eyes to the front.

Bright Idea

Hollow out a large pumpkin and carve a light bulb shape onto the surface. Illuminate with a low-watt electric candle.

Stocking Stuffer

Wrap a pumpkin with a patterned stocking. Pull the hosiery tightly and tie at the base, cutting off any excess fabric.

Roundabout

Hollow out a pumpkin and drill holes through the flesh. Push a colored marble snugly into each hole, then illuminate with an electronic candle.

Light Bright

Cut off the stem of a flat mini pumpkin. Use a spoon to make a hole, about 1-inch deep, then tuck a tea-light candle inside.

Candy Corn

Divide a tall pumpkin into thirds; paint it white on the bottom and yellow on the top.

Sweet Skulls

Use a white pumpkin or paint the pumpkin white, let dry. Carve out large eyes, a heart-shaped nose and "hollowed" cheeks. Use E6000 craft glue (available at craft stores) to apply candy: use M&Ms and candy corn around the eyes, red licorice ropes as outlines, and square white gum for teeth.

City Lights

Hollow out three large pumpkins and place them side-by-side. Paint a solid, black skyline across all three pumpkins, painting your skyscraper on the middle, tallest pumpkin. Let dry. Drill holes into each building for "windows" and illuminate with an electronic votive candle.

For the planes: Decorate small pumpkins with silhouettes of planes, clouds, helicopters or birds, then hang by their stems. For bonus points: hollow out the small pumpkins from the back, then drill holes for the windows of the planes.

Hanging Out

Cut a medium pumpkin in half vertically, then scoop out the flesh and seeds from one half, scraping as much out as possible. Drill two large holes into the top portion of the pumpkin, then stick branches in the holes as "antlers," use hot glue if needed to secure. Glue a piece of pumpkin stem or a small piece of round wood to the center of the face of the pumpkin as a nose, and glue two acorns on as eyes. Add autumn leaves -- either from real leaves or construction paper -- to the sides as ears, use glue to adhere. Firmly adhere the pumpkin to a craft store mount with hot glue and wire (string around the stem and antlers). Let dry before hanging. Bonus: You can try this with a craft-store pumpkin to keep all year round!

To the Letter

Stencil address numbers or letters onto pumpkins -- one letter or number per gourd -- then prick fabric studs along your outline into the flesh of the pumpkin. Stack the pumpkins on top of each other or display side-by-side.

Punk-ins

Add temporary tattoos, chains, spiked necklaces and felt Mohawks to a pumpkin. Draw on faces with black marker.

Topiary Toppers

Paint two small-to-medium pumpkins green, let dry. Use craft glue to cover the entire surface of each pumpkin in green sequins or confetti, let dry. Place floral Styrofoam into a clay pot and stick a thick dowel into the center. Cut holes on the top and bottom of each pumpkin, making sure they align in the center, and slide each pumpkin over the dowel, leaving space between the two. Use hot glue and wire to keep secure as needed.

Team Players

Paint a helmet in your team's colors on a large pumpkin, let dry. Cut a small hole where the ear in the helmet would be. Use gray cardstock paper to create a facemask and glue it to the pumpkin, using a thumbtack as a "hinge" by the ear. Repeat on a second pumpkin in an opposing team's colors. Apply a team decal -- use a car bumper sticker or peel-and-stick decal -- on the side of each helmet.

For the football: Paint a thin white line around the top and bottom of a small pumpkin. Glue kitchen twine or yarn in the center of the pumpkin in a football stitch pattern.

Sticky-Sweet

Paint the top third of a small pumpkin in glossy red, let dry. Cover three-fourths of the pumpkin in "caramel" brown paint, making sure to add multiple layers and lots of drips of paint, let dry. Cut off the pumpkin stem and glue a small wooden dowel onto the top of the pumpkin.

Bedtime Buddy

Paint two small-to-medium pumpkins a shade of "monster" green. Hot-glue mini bean bags (or make your own felt pouches) for toes and place the gourds just under a bed or sofa so the feet peek out.

Weight and See

Tie twine around the stems of mini pumpkins, then tie it to the ends of your tablecloth to hold it in place.

Hairball

Cut wig hair or fuzzy boas into several sections. Use craft glue to create beards, mustaches and brows. Glue on googly eyes for the face.

Pumpkin Toss

Hollow out three pumpkins -- small, medium and large -- then cut large holes into the front of the pumpkins and paint a ring around the border of the hole. Paint point values onto the face of each pumpkin. Place them at different distances and use a beanbag to play!