better homes and gardens painted pumpkins

Caterpillar Painted Pumpkins

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Caterpillar Painted Pumpkins

Here, these cute painted pumpkins go to great lengths to form a caterpillar. Paint pumpkins melon green, and paint their stems black. Decorate the body with adhesive-felt dots, and denote the head with a pair of googly eyes and curled pipe cleaner antennae. Arrange the pumpkins in a creepy, crawling S shape.

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Chalkboard Paint Pumpkin

Chalkboard Paint Pumpkin

These chalkboard paint pumpkins are the perfect way to say, "Happy Halloween!" Simply paint, then use chalk to add a message, face, or eerie pumpkin pattern. Make them your own by adding a monogram or someone's name.
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Disco Pumpkin

Disco Pumpkin

Squares of silver paint shine on this disco-inspired pumpkin. Add even more sparkle by using sheets of silver leaf. Paint in a grid pattern—no need to make it perfect.
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Caterpillar Painted Pumpkins

Caterpillar Painted Pumpkins

Here, these cute painted pumpkins go to great lengths to form a caterpillar. Paint pumpkins melon green, and paint their stems black. Decorate the body with adhesive-felt dots, and denote the head with a pair of googly eyes and curled pipe cleaner antennae. Arrange the pumpkins in a creepy, crawling S shape.
- Shop sale Halloween decorations now!
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Pattern Play

Pattern Play

These black-and-white pumpkins are bold and beautiful. To create, simply mix patterns and word art incorporating one or two colors. Use a paint pen to get fine details and clean lines.
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Candy Corn Painted Pumpkins

Candy Corn Painted Pumpkins

Spray-painted pumpkins never looked so sweet! Too big to pop in your mouth, these candy corn-inspired gourds still look good enough to eat. Choose cone-shape pumpkins, and spray-paint with white and yellow to create these Halloween treats.
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Black Cat and Bat Painted Pumpkins

Black Cat and Bat Painted Pumpkins

A black cat and a bat: This duo of painted pumpkins is "spooktacular"! Spray-paint two pumpkins luscious matte black. Craft cardstock features, and pin in place. We carved the cat and bat faces, but you can cut them from cardstock, too.
- Get the bat cardstock patterns.
- Get the cat cardstock patterns.
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Painted Patchwork

Painted Patchwork

To create this patchwork design, paint your pumpkin with latex primer and let dry. Then apply a base coat with cream-color latex paint and allow to dry. Mark off squares with masking tape, or download our free pattern below. Paint an overcoat of khaki-color latex paint; let dry. Remove tape to expose cream-color paint. It's elegant pumpkin painting made easy!
- Download the Painted Patchwork pattern.
Video: Paint a Pretty Metallic Pumpkin

Video: Paint a Pretty Metallic Pumpkin

Spray-painted pumpkins look classy when you choose shades of metallic paint. Leave as is or embellish with glittery polka dots for extra flair!
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Bold Designs

Bold Designs

Add color and texture to your pumpkin painting with graphic stripes. First, paint the entire pumpkin black. When dry, create a design by scraping off the black paint to reveal the orange pumpkin rind beneath. To use the painted pumpkin as a vase, carve out a narrow hole in the center to fit an existing vase. Insert vase into the hole, then add flowers.
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Miniature Bats Painted Pumpkins

Miniature Bats Painted Pumpkins

Take miniature pumpkins to bewitching new heights with an aerial display. Draw bats on white pumpkins with a permanent marker, or use black paint. Cut a length of thick jute and knot one end to a large washer. Tie a loop in the other end. Punch holes in the top and bottom of the pumpkin, and use wire to pull the twine through the holes. (The washer supports the pumpkin's weight, and the loop attaches to the shepherd's hook.)
- Download a bat stencil.
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Best Face Forward

Best Face Forward

Give your pumpkin a different kind of face this year. Print a face profile, then cut it out. Trace around the cutout image with a pencil on your pumpkin. Paint the silhouette black, then spray the pumpkin with varnish to set the paint. Cut a length of black lace to encircle the silhouette, then pin it in place with pearl-head pins.

Editor's Tip: Create a patch of painted pumpkin faces, each one featuring a different member of your family.
- Download a free silhouette stencil.
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Pattern Play

Pattern Play

Use paper doilies as pumpkin painting stencils to create intricate lacelike designs around the stem and base of your pumpkins. Group a trio of these gorgeous gourds on a tabletop for a pretty Halloween decoration.
- Learn more about this project.
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Cat and Mice Silhouettes

Cat and Mice Silhouettes

Play a game of cat and mouse this Halloween with this set of pumpkin painting stencils. Download our free templates, then trace the cat onto a large pumpkin and the mice onto three smaller pumpkins. Fill in the outlines with black paint, or use a paint pen for a quick and easy alternative.
- Download the free templates.
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Creepy Crow

Creepy Crow

When summer fades to autumn and songbirds start to fly south, a birdbath becomes a perfect perch for a pumpkin adorned with a macabre silhouette. Choose any number of eerie shapes for your outdoor display: think crow, black cat, bat, witch, or spider. Apply a coat of varnish after the paint dries to protect the pumpkin from the elements. Tufts of garden moss help keep the pumpkin stable on its perch.
- Download this crow stencil.
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Tiered Pastel Painted Pumpkins

Tiered Pastel Painted Pumpkins

Like any culinary confection, this tiered treat has all the right ingredients. For pumpkin-painting ideas fit for a princess, select two pumpkins and a Cinderella squash that stack easily. "Ice" the pumpkins and squash in pretty pastel paints, embellish with lacy trims and adhesive gems, and stack.
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Fall Foliage

Fall Foliage

For easy pumpkin-painting ideas that span from Halloween to Thanksgiving, try a leaf motif. Find different types of leaves, trace the shapes onto the pumpkin, and paint.
- Download a free leaf stencil.
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Ring Round the Pumpkin

Ring Round the Pumpkin

Less is more when you stencil a pretty pattern around the circumference of a pumpkin. Draw attention to the pattern by perching the pumpkin on a color-coordinated pedestal.
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Color Change

Color Change

Pumpkin painting doesn't need to be limited to traditional hues. Paint a pumpkin your favorite color for a different approach to Halloween decorating. Sprinkle the wet paint with glitter to add some sparkle.
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Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

For some simple pumpkin painting ideas, chisel windows in a painted mansion and carve a moon behind. Candlelight from inside the pumpkin will bring the haunted scene to life.
- Download the Haunted Mansion pattern.
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Spine-Chilling Spider

Spine-Chilling Spider

The painted sinister spider dangling on its luminous web warns visitors to beware. Carve the lines of the web just deep enough to let the glow of the candle shine through the pumpkin wall.
- Download the Spooky Spider pattern.
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Halloween Tap Dance

Halloween Tap Dance

This witch has rhythm! Tall pumpkins set the stage for this soft-shoe scenario. All you need to keep in step are pumpkin-painting stencils, black paint, ribbon, and shallow carving.
- Learn more about this project.
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Bowled Over

Bowled Over

If you're looking for pumpkin-painting ideas, your dinnerware might just be the inspiration you need. Grab the paintbrushes and get crafty with these designs that use pumpkins as canvases. The simple graphic motifs, inspired by country decor, are a treat to display all autumn long.
- Learn more about this project.
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Pick Your Pattern

Pick Your Pattern

To get this patterned look, draw a template for your design (or create it on a computer). Trace the design onto contact paper, and cut out the interior of the design using fine-tip scissors. Adhere the stencil to the pumpkin. Using a lightly paint-coated stencil brush, apply paint with a bouncing motion. Carefully remove the stencil and repeat as desired.
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Friendly Halloween Cats

Friendly Halloween Cats

Create a litter of kittens with painted pumpkins. First, coat each pumpkin with matte-finish sealant to dull the waxy surface. To get the painted pumpkin faces, paint the pumpkins different colors, applying two or three coats of paint (let the paint dry between coats). Draw a nose, mouth, and whiskers on each pumpkin with a black felt-tip marker. For the eyes, draw eye-shape outlines and eyelashes using the marker. Paint the inside of the eyes white, let dry, then paint green irises outlined in black. Cut out ear shapes from crafts foam, and hot-glue them in place.
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Plaids on Parade

Plaids on Parade

Go mad for plaid! Painting pumpkins gets a rustic update when you use a plaid pattern for your design. Alternate overlapping thick and thin stripes in two different colors to get the look.
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Carnival Pumpkin

Carnival Pumpkin

Kids will love this pumpkin-painting idea that lets them get their hands dirty. The colorful dots on these cute painted pumpkins are made with fingerprints!
- Learn more about this project.
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