Decorating Pumpkins

If you don't want to carve a picture into your pumpkin or you want something a bit more unusual for Halloween, then why not try decorating it or doing something a little different.
Please Note: When lighting the pumpkins please please use an artifical light like fairy lights or a purpose made pumpkin light. DO NOT use a candle, some of the decorations for the pumpkins can be a fire hazard or burn hazard if a candle is used. Thank you ....

Idea 1. Fairy Light Pumpkin

What you need: A medium to large pumpkin, a drill, fairy lights

What to do: Scoop out the pumpkin, drill holes all over the pumpkin shell. Poke fairy lights into the holes from the inside. I cut the bottom out of the pumpkin so that is sits flat and you can thread the lights up into the pumpkin without having to make a large hole for the plug to go through ! You can use all the same colour lights, multi coloured lights or for a lovely effect chaser lights. These pumpkins make a lovely centre piece or do lots of smaller pumpkins along your pathway to light the way for the "trick or treaters"

Idea 2 Pumpkin Snake

This is a great idea, this one I did for a Kids Halloween Party to light the pathway.
What you need: Lots of small pumpkins, 1 medium pumpkin. a rope light; any colour, a small knife or carving kit.

What to do: Scoop the pumpkins out, cut a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin big enough to thread a rope light through; Leave one pumpkin with it's bottom intact, this will be your tail. Drill holes all over the small pumpkins. For the medium pumpkin you need to cut a mouth with two fangs the opposite end to the scoop hole. Take a rope light, I chose red, and thread all the pumpkins on to it starting with the tail pumpkin and ending with the mouth pumpkin. If a little of the rope light hangs out of the mouth not to worry, it will look like a tongue when alight in the dark.

Idea 3 Marbled Pumpkin

What you need : A Pumpkin, A drill, Several coloured glass marbles or beads and an artifical light.

What to do:Scoop out your pumpkin and drill holes all over it or in a pattern. Insert coloured marbles or beads into the holes … Please note: these must be made of glass NOT PLASTIC or they will melt !! You can use a candle but please be careful as the marbles will get very hot. The best light to use is an artificial one.

Idea 4 Painting Pumpkins

What you need: A Smooth Pumpkin, acrylic paints, brushes, permanent marker and plenty of newspaper.

What to do: Decide what picture you want to paint, this could be from a simple face to a more detailed scene. It might be useful to draw the picture on paper first. Using the paints, paint your design. When the paint is dry go around the outlines with the marker pen to tidy up the edges.

Idea 5 Glittery Pumpkins

What you need: A small pumpkin with a stalk still intact , PVA glue, a glue brush, glitter ( I use the powdery glitter you can get from craft stores, the normal glitter that you get for children’s art and around Christmas time does work but you won’t get the “pretty , magical” effect) and plenty of newspaper.

What to Do: Make sure your pumpkin is dirt free and dry. Place the pumpkin on the newspaper. Paint the pumpkin with PVA glue, making sure you do not paint the bottom of the pumpkin to the newspaper! Holding the stalk of the pumpkin sprinkle the glitter over the pumpkin, rotate the pumpkin using the stalk to get an even coverage.

Idea 6 Cookie Cutouts

What you need: Any size pumpkin; scooped out. Metal Cookie Cutters (have a look in stores around Halloween for themed cutters) and rubber mallet or hammer.

What to Do: Place the cutter on the pumpkin and bash it all the way through the flesh using the mallet. Continue around the pumpkin either randomly or making a pattern. Light with a candle or artificial light.

Idea 7 Pumpkin Heads

What you need: A pumpkin and other vegetables of your choice. Cocktail sticks, a hat and some straw
What to do: Using the vegetables as facial parts attach to the pumpkin using cocktail sticks. E.G: Carrot for a nose, peas for eyes, small squash for ears, runner beans for lips ……. The options are endless. You can put a hat on your pumpkin head with straw for hair.