Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is a fall tradition, but there are far more creative—and less messy—ways to get crafty with the big orange fruit (yep, a fruit). From converting a pumpkin into a planter for your mums to wrapping them in yarn for cozy fall decor, these DIY Halloween pumpkins put a fun twist on the seasonal staple. Break out the crafting supplies and spend some quality time with friends and family while you bring a few of these fun pumpkin projects to life.
Festive Pumpkin Creatures
Dane Tashima
Craft your own DIY disco-fever pumpkin creatures using metallic party streamers. Don’t forget to add fake eyes, a nose, and a mouth to the little monsters. Place the pumpkins on your steps in a group to give tricker-or-treaters a spooky yet silly welcome this Halloween.
Pumpkin Owl
Brie Williams
Craft a friendly owl using pumpkins and seeds. Use one large pumpkin for the owl’s body, two mini pumpkins for its feet, two fabric pumpkins for eyes, and painted seeds to mimic feathers. Make sure to use foam pumpkins if you want your DIY owl to last for years to come.
Plaid Pumpkins
Brie Williams
Create a classic plaid design on your pumpkins using yarn. Or, place fake spiders on the pumpkin to mimic the look of spiderwebs. To make the vertical lines, attach pieces of yarn to the pumpkin stem with brads and tape the yarn at the bottom of the pumpkin. For the horizontal lines, place a brad every few inches to attach the yarn to the pumpkin, making sure to use a brad at every vertical and horizontal intersection.
Dried Flower Pumpkins
Marty Baldwin
Create stunning DIY Halloween pumpkins with dried flowers for sophisticated homemade fall decor. This craft is easy to match with your fall decor color scheme—just look for dried flowers in similar shades. Use hot-glue to attach the dried blooms, and finish the look by gluing on a dried pumpkin stem if your fruit is missing one.
Yarn-Wrapped Pumpkins
Blaine Moats
A stack of yarn-wrapped DIY Halloween pumpkins adds a cozy touch to your fall decor, and the craft is quite simple to make. Wrap faux (or real) pumpkins in yarn using various colors and wrapping arrangements. Once you’ve mastered the process, try mixing yarns and ribbons for added texture, and experiment with different stitching techniques for an intricate touch.
Pumpkin Animals
Paul Brissman
Turn plain pumpkins into forest animals with craft paper and glue. Foxes, owls, deer, and bats are all great options. Gather the kids and help them draw and cut out animal facial features from different colors of paper. Then, glue the pieces onto the pumpkins, adding multiple paper layers to give the faces more dimension.
Pour-Paint Pumpkins
Brie Passano
A pour-paint pumpkin is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—a pumpkin with paint poured on it. All you need for these DIY Halloween pumpkins is acrylic paint in a few vibrant colors. Alternate paints as you pour them over the top of the pumpkin, turning and wiggling the decorative fruit back and forth to spread the colors as they drip down.
Stick Pumpkin Wall Art
There are ways to make DIY Halloween pumpkins without having actual pumpkins, and this stick art craft is a great example. Gather sticks of all different sizes then arrange them in a pumpkin shape on canvas or wood backing. Start with shorter sticks on the edges and use slightly longer ones toward the center; feature a wide and sturdy piece of wood for the stem. Once you’ve planned the shape perfectly, hot-glue the sticks in place to complete the fall-themed wall art.
Use any extra gathered sticks as kindling for a cozy fall fire after your crafting session.
Lacy Pumpkins
Matthew Benson
These DIY Halloween pumpkins look like they take much longer to paint than they actually do. To create these delicately decorated pumpkins, simply find an old lace doily or a scrap of lace fabric, and use it as a stencil on your pumpkin. Attach the lace to the pumpkin with tape, and use a foam paintbrush to dab paint onto the pumpkin. Continue around the base or top of your pumpkin until you’ve reached your preferred look.
Faux Pumpkin Planters
Jacob Fox
Transform an artificial pumpkin into a gorgeous planter in just a few simple steps. Hollow out a faux pumpkin, carving a hole in the top as you would for a jack-o’-lantern. Fill the cavity with hearty fall flowers like mums, or add fresh herbs like rosemary for an aromatic feature.
Instead of planting your flowers directly into the pumpkin, place a potted plant inside the cavity and remove it once the season ends to make sure you can save your planter for next season.
Pumpkins with Ribbon
Matthew Benson
DIY Halloween pumpkins can be as simple as gluing on ribbon. Choose a ribbon that matches your fall color scheme, or stick with black and white for a classic Halloween look. Attach the ribbon with hot glue in an alternating pattern, starting at the stem.
Nail Polish Pumpkins
Michael Piazza
Put down the carving knife and decorate these DIY Halloween pumpkins with nail polish. The no-carve pumpkins are crafted using water and fingernail paint for a mesmerizing marble effect. Try making a batch of pumpkins using glitter or metallic polish—or both!
Pumpkin Place Settings
Marty Baldwin
This easy pumpkin craft is perfect for your next Halloween party or Thanksgiving tablescape and can be used for several seasons with proper storage. Spray paint small foam balls orange to mimic pumpkins, then arrange faux fall flowers in each ball by sticking the stems in the foam. Add a charming rustic touch by creating nametags with mini chalkboards hot-glued to wood dowel rods.
Crepe Paper Pumpkins
Matthew Clark
Consider crafting crepe paper pumpkins if you’re looking for DIY Halloween pumpkins that will last several seasons. Use dyed crepe paper and paper stripped of color to create different textures and color schemes, gluing strips in a pumpkin-like shape around foam balls, balled-up newspaper, or a similar base. Glue a foam block or molded newspaper in the shape of a stem atop each pumpkin, then cover them with solid crepe paper.
Pumpkin Serving Bowl
Kritsada Panichgul
Create a creepy but cute spider serving bowl with a few fresh pumpkins. Cut the top off a large pumpkin, hollow it out, and insert a plastic serving bowl into the cavity. Place the pumpkin bowl in a grapevine wreath decorated with faux spiderwebs, then add a smaller smiling jack-o’-lantern in front of the large pumpkin for the spider’s head. Finish the Halloween craft by bending jumbo black pipe cleaners into legs and gluing them to the sides of the pumpkin bowl.
Tie-On Pumpkin Tags
Kathryn Gamble Lozier
Wish friends and family a happy fall with a sweet note tied to a tiny pumpkin. This adorable pumpkin gift makes a great Halloween party favor or token of appreciation. Tie on our free printable tag with a sprig of seasonal greenery for a quick and easy pumpkin craft.
Floral Pumpkin Centerpieces
Marty Baldwin
This gorgeous fall centerpiece idea starts with a plain white pumpkin. If you’re using a real pumpkin, cut the top off and scoop it out to form a vase. To make the centerpiece with a faux pumpkin, use a knife to cut the top off the same way. Place a flower vase inside the pumpkin to avoid water leaks, fill the vase with soaked floral foam, and finish with cut seasonal flowers and greenery. Stick to fall colors like orange, red, and cream to create a look similar to the pictured arrangement.
Paper Pumpkins
This cheap Halloween craft is another project that’s excellent for kids. Create sweet paper pumpkins in minutes using scrapbook paper cut into 1-inch paper strips. Form the strips into a circle, beginning with a piece of paper attached end to end with glue or tape. Continue forming loops with the strips, crisscrossing the paper rings over one another until you’ve formed a globe. Fashion leaves from scrapbook paper for the top of each pumpkin, using patterned paper to create visual texture.
Kitschy Antiqued Pumpkins
Werner Straube
Create kitschy DIY Halloween pumpkins using antique silverware for a rustic decor moment. Head to your local thrift store and pick up an assortment of small forks, spoons, and knives to spell a fall-themed message. Attach the flatware to a pumpkin using floral pins or a dab of hot-glue and display your finished pumpkin craft with bittersweet branches and a buffalo check pillow for a pretty fall porch display.
Melted Crayon Pumpkins
Jason Donnelly
Creating melted crayon pumpkins is fun for all ages, but the craft is especially exciting for kids. Secure pieces of crayons sans paper wrapping along the top of a pumpkin using a hot-glue gun, then melt the crayons down the pumpkin with a hairdryer. As you heat the crayons, wiggle the pumpkin to and fro to help the crayon wax spread across the top of the pumpkin and down the sides of the fall fruit.
A craft heat tool instead of a hairdryer will accelerate the melting process. If you’re doing this project with the kids, let them hold the hairdryer or heat tool while you wiggle the pumpkins.
Pumpkin Piñatas
Another kids’ Halloween party activity with a pumpkin theme is a DIY piñata. Start this fall project with a cardboard sphere (available at crafts supply stores) and embellish it with colored crepe paper. Finish the piñata with a green crepe paper topper and a cardstock jack-o’-lantern face. Don’t forget to tuck treats inside!
Pumpkin Punch Bowl
Among the clever DIY Halloween pumpkins that double as serving receptacles is a pumpkin punch bowl. This party table centerpiece starts with a perfectly round pumpkin that’s wide enough to fit a ladle and deep enough to hold a party’s worth of punch, but not so deep that the utensil can’t reach the bottom of the makeshift bowl. Cut the top of the pumpkin and clean out the seeds and “guts” as thoroughly as possible; you don’t want your guests ladling up any stringy floaters. Pour your punch into the hollowed pumpkin just before your Halloween party guests arrive!
Mood Ring Pumpkins
Combine art and science with these unique DIY Halloween pumpkins! Thermal paint, applied over a layer of black paint, reacts with heat to create changing colors on the pumpkin’s surface. The color scheme changes every time it’s in new hands like a mood ring, which kids will find particularly thrilling.
Gratitude Pumpkins
Creating gratitude pumpkins is a fun family activity that captures the meaning of the fall season. Have loved ones share what they’re grateful for and use a metallic paint marker to write the sentiments on a white pumpkin. This is a great activity to help teach kids the importance of giving thanks, and the DIY pumpkin decor will serve as a physical reminder to practice gratitude throughout the season.
Hedgehog Pumpkins
Carson Downing
Delight animal-loving kids with these no-carve DIY Halloween pumpkins that resemble hedgehogs. The adorable craft uses candy corn—very seasonally appropriate—to mimic spikes and felt to fashion the hedgehog faces. The unique pumpkins take less than an hour to make and add charming character to any porch or mantle display.
Spooky Pumpkin Terrariums
Cameron Sadeghpour
Think terrariums are just for summer? Think again! Use a faux pumpkin to create a captivating fall centerpiece or handmade Halloween decoration. First, cut an oval at the front of an artificial pumpkin, then fill the interior with sand and cover it with moss. Draw houses and trees on cardstock, cut them out with scissors or an X-acto knife, and glue them to the moss to create a spooky scene. Add decorative items like tiny pumpkins and tombstones to finish this adorably eerie DIY terrarium.
Cozy Sweater Pumpkins
Brie Goldman. Set Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
Upcycle worn-out sweaters this fall by fashioning them into ultra-cozy DIY Halloween pumpkins. Cut the sleeves off your old sweater at the seam, then cut the sleeves in half to create two tube-like pieces. Pull a sleeve section over a small pumpkin and hot-glue the fabric around the stem, bunching it as necessary to eliminate gaps. Pull the fabric taut under the pumpkin and glue it in place, cutting off any excess. Wrap twine around the stem for a rustic finishing touch.
Use faux pumpkins if you want to keep your craft for more than one season.
Polka Dot Pumpkins
Michael Piazza
A cute take on witchy warts, this painted pumpkin craft involves repurposing the gourd’s guts on its outer skin. Paint your pumpkin a shade that contrasts with its natural orange appearance and let it dry. Once the paint is no longer wet, cut off the top of the pumpkin to grant access to the inside, then use a melon baller to scoop out bits of the rind. Hot-glue the rind chunks to the outside of the pumpkin, and keep them from rotting by coating them with petroleum jelly or WD-40.
Sugar Skull Pumpkins
Matt Clark
Día de los Muertos begins at midnight on October 31, and sugar skulls are one of the most iconic decorations used to celebrate the holiday. These beautiful DIY pumpkins double as Halloween and Day of the Dead decor, and they’re a lot of fun to make. The craft involves creating a flower crown, carving a pumpkin, and painting a sugar skull face for a vibrant decoration that pays homage to loved ones who have passed.
Pumpkin Party Game
Reed Davis
Transform a plain orange tray into a simple Halloween party game. Use black washi tape to add a cheerful jack-o’-lantern face to the center of the platter. Place the tray on the ground and toss bean bags onto it for a cornhole-esque game. The person who gets the most bags on the tray wins!
