Pumpkin Painting Ideas Tips and Tricks

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My kiddo loves all things pumpkin so these pumpkin painting ideas are perfect for getting the best of both worlds this no-carve pumpkin decorating mama and my craft all the holidays kid!

Pumpkin painting is awesome because it is perfect for all ages and all skill levels. But there are some tricks for keeping the mess to a minimum and getting long lasting results!

What We Love Pumpkin Painting

There are a lot of things we love about painting pumpkins.

• There are painted pumpkin ideas that appeal to all ages and all artistic skill levels. This means it’s a fantastic activity for families or groups with a range of different types of people.
• Painted pumpkins are cheap and portable especially is you use the small jack-be-little style. This makes the activity perfect for classrooms or Halloween parties or Fall festivals.
• Unlike carved pumpkins, you can paint pumpkins way ahead of time and enjoy their beauty for weeks or even month. We even had one last past Christmas!!
• If you do it right the mess is minimal and parent involvement can be minimal if your little ones are trust worthy with paint. No one is gonna cut or stab themselves with those hard to use carving knives. And even if your bunch aren’t trustworthy with paint, I have some tips for setting yourself for success!

More Fall Projects You’ll Love

There’s so much to love about fall including awesome crafts and delicious recipes here are just a few of my favorites but I’ve got entire categories of Halloween projects and Thanksgiving creations too!

• Tons of Pumpkin Painting ideas – want ideas of what designs to paint on pumpkins? Here are awesome ideas and tutorials with everything from cool pumpkin painting ideas to cute painted pumpkins to Disney pumpkin painting ideas.
• Fall Pillows – these quick and easy pumpkin pillow cases will pull their weight all fall, through Halloween and Thanksgiving!
• Best Fall Soups – one of my favorite things about Fall are all the yummy and easy soups you can make. Here are some of my favs!
• 10 Great Fall Reads – cozying up with a great book as the weather turns is one of my favorite things in the world. Here are some fabulous books to add to your fall reading list!

And for even more painted pumpkin ideas and crafts make sure to scroll to the bottom for tutorial for all these awesome crafts from my friends!

What You Need for Pumpkin Painting

If you’re mildly crafty you should have most things for pumpkin painting right at home. Just grab a few pumpkins and you’ll be good to go! Have fun coming up with lots of different painting pumpkin ideas.

Supplies for Making the Best Painted Pumpkins

You can be as creative as you want but I have found the best paint for painted pumpkins is acrylic. This stuff holds up well! It lasts. It is weather proof. It is relatively cheap and easy to buy and you can definitely mix paints to get more shades and colors. More than that it comes in some super cool finishes like my current favorite color shift!

• Acrylic Paint – try to have a variety of colors but remember you can absolutely mix paint to get more color options without buying extra bottles. I have found that the best paint for pumpkins is acrylic paint!
• Brushes – I like having both sponge brushes and bristled brushes on hand. Different sizes and shapes provide different levels of control. Just keep in mind if you are planning on reusing the brushes to make sure to clean the brushes before the paint dries. This is a great set that comes with pallets. I also really like these brushes!
• Water Cup – this is optional but I like having water cups around. That way the kids can dunk their brushes when they are done and if you’re busy having too much fun to quickly tend to the brushes they won’t be ruined.
• Pumpkins – my favorite is to use the mini pumpkins because they are inexpensive and little ones won’t get bored or frustrated by the large canvas. You could even let more motivated kids paint more than one. That said you can absolutely paint large pumpkins and if you want a bigger or more complex design that my be a better choice.
• Old boxes – I like to use old boxes or scrap cardboard to paint on. It’s also handy if you need to transport not totally dry pumpkins.
• Painting Palettes – totally optional but if you have them (or have kids that love to paint) these palettes to be very handy. It’s nice to help control the amount of paint that’s used and they are easy to clean up. That said you can absolutely just squirt some paint onto a scrap of cardboard or paper plate. I just like that the pallets are easy to see (less accidents from stepping in or putting your hand on a pallet than scraps) and portion control.
• Other add ons – you can add sequins, glitter, stickers, gems, pom poms or so much more. If you have it laying around offer it up! Somethings like sequins and glitter may stick to the paint but if you use bigger items you may want to grab some glue as well.

How Paint a Pumpkin

It is easy to make it’s really just a few basic steps, perfect for letting your creativity shine!

1. Set up the area. I strongly prefer to paint pumpkins outside.
2. Give the kids some ideas and basic tricks. Part of the fun is seeing what the kids decide to do with their pumpkins but I find it helpful to give them ideas and painting tips.
3. Allow layers to dry. Make sure to remind the painters to have fun and if they don’t like how it looks, they can paint over it!
4. Add accents. If you want to take it up a notch pull out the glue and add some accents.

Set up the Pumpkin Painting Area

But if there’s not space you can put some protection down inside. I use this old baby food drop mat but you could get cheap tablecloths from the dollar stuff or drop cloths. Just make sure if using a thinner material that the kids don’t poke holes in them. I like to provide a surface to paint on even when we are outside.

That helps to establish that area as that kids’ and it’s much harder to accidentally step or kick someone’s stuff over. Usually we just use boxes, scrap cardboard or even paper grocery bags.

Set the Kids Up for Success

As you’re getting the painters going give them some basic painting tips and easy pumpkin painting ideas. This can be open ended like reminding them or showing different pumpkin painting designs or inspiration or just some reminders of what to do with spills and the supplies and when they are done with a color.

Remind them that they can paint something, an imagine or scene or they can just play with paint and color and designs. This is a fun time to try out different paint techniques or brushes to get different looks.

Allow the Layers to Dry

With acrylic paint be sure that everyone knows if they want layers to give the first layer a few minutes to dry before adding a second layer or else the colors will likely blend. And if you get some poop looking ones (especially from the toddlers just loving the painting process) just embrace it. It’s more about the process anyways!

Like the “gold peacock” pumpkin below was my kids pride and joy. Not my style but after seeing his love for it I saw how cool it actually was! This baby was displayed in my house until January.

Add Accents to the Pumpkins

You can totally just do paint but last time we did this I grabbed some sequins and glitter I had on hand and they had a blast adding little accents to the pumpkins. You can use anything, little toys, buttons, beads, random craft findings really anything that can be glued on might be fun.

They could even go beyond the pumpkin and use pipe cleaners to add some texture.

What to Do With Painted Pumpkins

If you’re like us you will LOVE painting pumpkins. Especially if you are using mini pumpkins you my find yourself with quite a bit of decorated pumpkins on your hand. There are so many different ideas for painting mini pumpkins to play with. So what do you do with all of them? Well if you don’t want to display all of the pumpkins here are some fun ideas for getting the pumpkins out of your house, errr I mean spreading the love.

• Write a nice note and drop a pumpkin off on the doorstep of a neighbor that could use a pick me up or send it to school as a teacher give with a Starbucks gift card!
• Let the kids keep their own pumpkin in their rooms. Just make sure to check on them once in a while to see if they are starting to go old. Mine lasted a good 2 months before they even started wrinkling!
• Stack them up outside and let them cheer up the neighborhood. This will make them go bad sooner but if you used acrylic paint they can handle the elements for a while!

More Awesome Pumpkin Crafts

I joining my friends in sharing pumpkin crafts today. Check out all the awesome ones everyone made!

Create the most adorable DIY Fall Wreath with Pom Pom Pumpkins by following the tutorial on Laura’s blog Me and My INKlings.

Learn How to Draw a Pumpkin with step-by-step instructions from the talented Smitha of Smiling Colors. Download her free printable guide.

Laura with Laura’s Crafty Life has created a Mini Pumpkin Wreath with easy to find supplies from Dollar Tree. Just gorgeous!

Create Pumpkin Contact Paper Suncatchers with a quick tutorial from Shani at Sunshine and Munchkins. A fun and easy fall craft for even the littlest crafters.

So creative and unique, learn how to Make an Easy Mod Podge Map Pumpkin for travel enthusiasts. Justine from Little Dove Blogshows you all the steps.

Erica from 5 Little Monsters is sharing her Alpine Stitch Crocheted Pumpkin, complete with a full set of patterned instructions, so you can create your own!

Learn how to make DIY Wooden Pumpkin Blocks with a step-by-step tutorial from Kelsey at Poofy Cheeks and learn what she used to stencil these beauties.

Katie, the Crafty Blog Stalker is sharing a gorgeous Hand Painted Pumpkin, and we love her color palette of white and gold.

Simple strips of colored paper have never looked so good then when Chelly from We Can Make That shows us How to Make Paper Pumpkins.

Jewels and buttons transform into the most elegant Bejeweled Pumpkin Art created by the talented Jane of DIY by Jane. Simply stunning!

Beth with Creatively Beth can transform any found object into a pumpkin with some paint. We think that her Recycled Mini Bundt Pan Pumpkins are adorable.

Inspired by her favorite characters, Lindsay of Artsy Fartsy Mama has created No-Sew Fabric Pumpkins. Click through for the full tutorial.

Take adorable to the next level with Upcycled Crochet Thread Ball Pumpkins created by Beth of Creatively Beth.

We are always in for the glam creations that Lindsay of Artsy Fartsy Mama makes with resin. Her Pastel Pumpkin Charms do not disappoint!

Liz with Liz on Call loves sharing her free printables with the world and we are all in for her modern patterned Pumpkin Coloring Sheet.

Take your water coloring skills to the next level with a fun and funky Free Pumpkin Template and Tutorial from Heather at Homemade Heather.

Blanca from Creativities Galore is all about the glitter with her sparkling DIY Pumpkin Bookmarks. Click through for the full instructions.

We love a good project that fools our eye and this Cement Look Pumpkin Cup from Candice of She’s Crafty has us all doing a double take.

Transform your mantel with simple supplies from the Dollar Tree with Michelle of Michelle’s Party Plan-It. Her Pumpkin Mantel Décor is elegant enough to leave up all season long.

Beth with the Ruffled Daisy shows us how to create an Aged Metal Pumpkin with simple supplies and a full tutorial.

Styrofoam balls and yarn go along way with these simple DIY Yarn Pumpkins for your mantel or tablescape. Diana from the Girl Creative is sharing her instructions.

Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings has created a complete tutorial covering all of her Painted Pumpkin Tips and Tricks, so check them out today.

Learn how to Create a Pumpkin Landscape by Color Matching Paint and Markers with a full tutorial from Jenny of Jenny’s Crayon Collection.

Take a simple plaque to the next level with a colorful DIY Stained Wood Pumpkin created by Laura of Me and INKlings. Click through to see how she made it!

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